The Continuing Education Unit at the College of Law – University of Baghdad organized a scientific workshop on Monday, 23/2/2026, at the College of Law building, entitled “The Civil Judiciary and Its Role in Filling Legislative Gaps.” The workshop was presented by the Head of the Private Law Department, Associate Professor Dr. Amer Ghanem Alwan, and was attended by postgraduate students.
The workshop aimed to examine the role played by the Iraqi civil judiciary in filling legislative gaps by analyzing the legal mechanisms adopted by civil judges when legal provisions are absent or insufficient. These mechanisms include judicial interpretation, reliance on the general principles of law, custom, and judicial reasoning, while clarifying the limits of this role in light of the principle of separation of powers, in order to achieve a balance between respecting the will of the legislator and the requirements of justice and fairness.
The workshop addressed the following topics:
1.The natural scope in which the civil judge intervenes to fill legislative gaps.
2.The concept of legal reasoning (ijtihad) and its conditions.
3.The problem of legislation as a source of law and the competing theories concerning this role.
4.The causes of legislative deficiency and legal gaps.
5.Methods of filling legislative gaps.
The workshop concluded with several recommendations, most notably:
1.Giving special importance to clarifying the role of the civil judiciary in filling legislative gaps.
2.Encouraging postgraduate students to write on topics related to the foundations and philosophy of law.
