Iraq's top court postpones session on dissolving the parliament

Iraq's Supreme Federal Court once again postpones session to look into complaints urging it to dissolve the country's parliament.

The Iraqi Supreme Federal Court on Wednesday for the third time this month postponed a scheduled session to examine calls to dissolve the country's parliament due to security concerns in Baghdad's Green Zone, according to Iraq's National News Agency (INA). 

The agency citing a statement by Iraq's Supreme Judiciary reported that the court did not look into the complaints yesterday due to a nationwide curfew that was imposed by the Iraqi security forces since late Monday following heavy clashes between militias loyal to Iraqi powerful cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and pro-Iran militias.

The court then postponed its session on Wednesday until Thursday, without elaaborating.

Iraq has been stuck in a political impasse since last October's parliamentary elections, and the rival political parties could not collect enough votes to elect a president and form a new cabinet. 

 Iraq's Supreme Federal Court is the country's top judiciary authority tasked with interpreting the articles of the Iraqi constitution, and its decision is binding to all and cannot be appealed. The court adjourned a previous session on 17 August.

Sadr called on his supporters to submit thousands of complaints to the related Iraqi judiciary courts to dissolve parliament on the pretext of a failure to respect the constitutional timelines. According to article 72 of the Iraqi constitution, the newly elected parliament should elect a president within one month from the date of the legislator's first session.

Heavy clashes began late Monday after Sadr announced his "retirement" from politics in Iraq. Consequently, pro-Sadr protests stormed presidential and government palaces located in the capital's Green Zone, where most diplomatic missions are also located.

Overnight Monday and on Tuesday morning, clashes raged between Sadr's supporters and the army and men of the Hashed al-Shaabi, former Tehran-backed paramilitaries integrated into the Iraqi forces.

On Tuesday morning, medics updated the toll of Sadr supporters killed to 23, with some 380 others injured - some with bullet wounds and others suffering tear gas inhalation.

Sadr gave a press conference on Tuesday calling on his supporters to immediately withdraw from protests outside the Iraqi parliament, which they did immediately.