Bodily harm in non-fatal injuries according to the provisions of Iraqi Civil Law No. (40) of 1951 AD, as amended and in force

Abstract

By reading and analyzing the text of Article (207/1) of the Iraqi Civil Code No of the Iraqi Civil Code No. 40 of 1951 AD, as amended and in effect, which states that: “1- The court shall estimate compensation in all cases according to the amount of harm suffered by the injured party and the amount of earnings he has lost, provided that this is a natural result of the unlawful act.” We find that the Iraqi legislator has defined compensation as the type of material damage represented by the material loss suffered by the injured party, such as treatment expenses, and the amount of income he has lost during the period of his treatment or recovery from the non-fatal bodily injury resulting from the unlawful act committed by the perpetrator. It also stipulated compensation for moral damage in Article (205/1) thereof, which stipulated that: “1- The right to compensation includes moral damage...” From all of the above, we find that the Iraqi legislator did not stipulate the physical damage that befalls the injured party as a result of the non-fatal injury, as we find that it is possible to divide the damage into three types: Due to its importance in practical life, namely:

Material damages: These affect the financial liability of the injured party. This is addressed by the provisions of the first paragraph of Article (207) of the Civil Code.

Bodily damages: These affect the human body itself, the subject of this research.

Moral damages: These affect emotions and feelings. This is addressed by the provisions of Article (205) of the Civil Code, the subject of this research.

Necessity dictates separating these three types of damage when assessing compensation. Bodily damage is independent of material and moral damage, as attention must be paid to the bodily injury itself, without regard to the material or moral damage it may cause. The judiciary must take into account compensation for bodily injuries, because neglecting them leads to the injured party bearing a significant portion of the damage without acceptable justification as a result of the disability that afflicted him, whether permanent or temporary. This is what must be stipulated and addressed in the provisions of the Iraqi Civil Code, the subject of this research. Whereas we find that bodily harm is an independent and self-contained harm that must be compensated for independently, even if the assault did not result in any other material or moral harm in the case of a non-fatal injury, i.e. it did not result in any financial loss at work, or the injured party did not prove that he suffered any psychological or moral harm as a result of the non-fatal injury (such as a school student being involved in an accident that