After a lawsuit is filed, as part of the judge’s investigative procedures to complete the formal requirements of the case, the judge contacts the Companies Registrar to verify whether the defendant is actually a registered company. In some situations a defendant conducts business as if it were a registered company, but it turns out not to be registered (November 2025).
The Companies Registrar
- We try to obtain information from the Companies Registrar regarding a company’s registration. In some cases we succeed; in others we are unable to, because we do not possess a power of attorney on behalf of the company, and consequently the Registrar refuses to provide any information (November 2025).
- If it is later proven that the defendant company is not registered or that details in the statement of claim are inaccurate, the dismissal of the case can be requested and a new case refiled, since such cases are not subject to any statutory time limits (November 2025).
- There is no published database of registered companies in Iraq or in Kurdistan; the General Tax Authority is required to contact the Registrar of companies to verify whether a company is registered as a foreign entity, and whether there are any outstanding payments due or whether it is listed among those prohibited from conducting business. This procedure is followed when authenticating any power of attorney at that Authority (November 2025).
Who can be sued
- According to the Iraqi Civil Procedures Law, lawsuits must be filed exclusively against individuals or companies (October 2024).
- The Court of Cassation has a judicial decision to nullify trademark registrations in the name of a store or restaurant; the trademark should be registered in the name of the owner of the store or restaurant (October 2024).
Foreign defendants
- The judge cannot decide to proceed with a case in absentia unless there is sufficient official evidence that serving the defendant with the court notification is not possible; in that case the judge may order notification by publication in local newspapers. In the case of a foreign company, the confirmation of inability to serve must be issued by the Central Baghdad Post Office, which is the authority responsible for serving judicial notifications on foreign entities, or by the Iraqi Embassy in the defendant’s country (October 2026).
The Kurdistan Region
- In Kurdistan there is stricter insistence on providing a power of attorney when attempting to obtain information about a company registered in the commercial register. In some cases, specifically in Baghdad, we are able to obtain the required information; in Kurdistan it is not possible (November 2025).
- In a Kurdistan court matter in October 2025 we advised that the Companies Registrar would be contacted to check whether the plaintiff has a registered branch in Kurdistan, and that the case might be rejected if it does not. The plaintiff’s officially appointed exclusive agent in Kurdistan, legalised up to the Iraqi embassy, allows us to bypass the issue of the non-existent branch in the region.
Plaintiffs
- To initiate legal proceedings and rely on specific trademarks, those trademarks must be registered in Iraq in the name of the plaintiff. Trademark licences or similar arrangements are not recognised for this purpose (July 2026).
- In all trademark litigation, the plaintiff must prove the use of the trademark, by providing the court with shipping invoices evidencing the importation of the goods into Iraq, as well as the names of the exclusive distributors of the goods in Iraq (September 2025).
Frequently asked questions
Does the court check that a defendant company is registered?
After a lawsuit is filed, as part of the judge’s investigative procedures to complete the formal requirements of the case, the judge contacts the Companies Registrar to verify whether the defendant is actually a registered company. In some situations a defendant conducts business as if it were a registered company, but it turns out not to be registered (November 2025).
What if the defendant company turns out not to be registered?
If it is later proven that the defendant company is not registered or that details in the statement of claim are inaccurate, the dismissal of the case can be requested and a new case refiled, since such cases are not subject to any statutory time limits (November 2025).