The College of Law – University of Baghdad discussed a master’s thesis entitled “The Provisions of Proportional Fines in the Iraqi Penal Code – A Comparative Study,” submitted by the student Abdulameer Hashim Sakar, in the Department of Criminal Law, on Sunday 10/3/2026, in the college conference hall.
The examination committee consisted of the following professors:
1.Prof. Dr. Nawal Tariq Ibrahim – Chairman
2.Prof. Dr. Haider Ghazi Faisal – Member
3.Prof. Dr. Alaa Nasser Hussein – Member
4.Prof. Dr. Firas Abdulmunim Abdullah – Member and Supervisor
The thesis aimed to examine the distinctive nature of the proportional fine penalty, which has special provisions requiring the trial court, in certain crimes, to impose a proportional fine in addition to the principal penalty on all participants in the crime with a single fine, whether they are principal offenders or accomplices. The law also obliges them to pay the fine jointly and severally, which raises concerns regarding conflict with established principles in criminal law, especially the principle of personal criminal liability and punishment.
The thesis consisted of three chapters:
•The first chapter examined the concept and nature of proportional fines.
•The second chapter discussed the provisions governing proportional fines.
•The third chapter addressed the procedures for enforcing proportional fines and their impact on the contemporary penal system.
The thesis reached several recommendations, the most important of which are:
1.The Iraqi legislator should specify the nature of the benefit gained by the offender from the crime or the benefit intended, in order to avoid multiple interpretations of the penal provision stated in Article (92/2) of the Penal Code.
2.The Iraqi legislator should expand the application of proportional fines, whether in crimes included in the Penal Code or in special penal laws, in order to compensate for damages resulting from crimes, particularly illicit enrichment and financial corruption crimes.
3.Proportional fines should not be substituted with custodial penalties (imprisonment).
