College of Law

October 3rd
National Day of the Republic of Iraq,,,
In 1919, the League of Nations was established as the first international organization that came to maintain international peace and security after World War I. It included a number of European countries in its membership. One of the conditions for joining it was that the state be independent and sovereign, with the elements or pillars of the state of people, land and government.
At that time, the Arab countries were under mandate.
Iraq (the Kingdom of Iraq at the time) submitted a request to join the League of Nations signed by the Prime Minister at the time, Nuri al-Said, on July 12, 1932, based on the provisions of Article 1 of the Covenant, which allows the request for membership in the organization according to the conditions it specified.
League of Nations approval,,,
On October 3, 1932, the General Assembly of the League of Nations approved the acceptance of Iraq as a member, making Iraq the first Arab country to join this international organization at that time. The documents of the General Assembly of the League of Nations indicate that the acceptance of Iraq’s accession to it came after Iraq gained The components of the state through the existence of an independent government capable of running the affairs of the state and managing it in a regular manner and preserving its unity and independence and maintaining security in all parts of it.

The legal basis for accepting membership,,,
The legal basis on which the international organization relied in accepting Iraq’s membership in it, is what was stated in Article 22 of the League Covenant that some societies that previously belonged to the Turkish Empire reached a stage of development where their existence as independent states could be temporarily recognized, and therefore October 3 became a national day for Iraq upon its joining the League of Nations and as a sovereign state that emerged from the British mandate.

Dr. Ziad Abdul Wahab Al-Naimi
Human Rights Law Branch
College of Law
University of Mosul.