College of Law

A Master’s Thesis in the Public Law Department: The Authority of the Criminal Court to Change or Amend the Legal Description of a Charge / A Comparative Study

On Sunday, May 11, 2025, the Public Law Department at the College of Law at the University of Mosul discussed a Master’s thesis on the Authority of the Criminal Court to Change or Amend the Legal Description of a Charge / A Comparative Study. Professor Dr. Abdulaziz Ramadan Ali, Dean of the College of Law, and several members of the College Council and faculty members attended the discussion.

The thesis, submitted by student Ramzi Khader Khalaf in the Public Law Department, addressed the authority of the Criminal Court to change or amend the legal description of a charge. This is one of the fundamental principles stipulated in the rule that the court is bound by the facts of the case. It also establishes the foundations of the principle of criminal legality, stating that a person may not be tried for a charge that has not been subject to the legislature’s powers of criminalization and punishment.

The thesis aims to demonstrate that the Iraqi legislature has vested the Criminal Court with broad powers and authority to change or amend the legal description of a charge, both when exercising its inherent jurisdiction as a court of first instance and in terms of its discretionary powers.

The discussion committee was chaired by Assistant Professor Dr. Talal Abdul Hussein, and included Assistant Professor Dr. Ahmed Mustafa Ali and Assistant Professor Dr. Ali Adnan Yahya, and the membership and supervision of Professor Dr. Muhammad Abbas Hamoudi.