The law is extremely restrictive in constraining the development of civil society in Iraq; it vests excessive, unwarranted authority in government officials to control the establishment, operation and termination of non-governmental organizations. While there are worse examples out there, this is one of the most restrictive laws we've seen recently.

It is likely (the law) will undermine the development of civil society and democracy in Iraq. The government needs to slow down, consult with local civil society and other stakeholders and then proceed with a more reasonable initiative.

It's not just the law, it's the process. They've compressed the consultation period which is critical when dealing with the organization of civil society. And it's troubling that the process for developing the draft isn't as participatory as one would hope.

We did business with an authority in Iraq. The same authority tells our agent that you have to pay a fee to do any business at all,

They accused Commonwealth Ports Authority of violating the law which they themselves passed.

In rejecting my suit in District Court, the judge relied on the initial sanctions law against Iraq of 1990, a response to the limited and specific situation of the Iraq invasion of Kuwait. It was created to limit economic interactions with Iraq. Yet this same law is being applied to humanitarian travel to pre-war Iraq. Under this interpretation, buying food while on such a mission is a crime.