unless they conflict with some other provision of the Iraqi legal system. Christians, Jews and other minorities are covered partly by the Personal Status Law, partly the Civil Law and partly their own personal status legal systems. In 2003 the Iraqi Interim Governing Council issued Resolution 137 on 29 December that expanded the power of Muslim courts to rule in all disputes among Muslims concerning marriage and divorce. It would appear that this Resolution was overruled by Paul Bremer after domestic and international human rights groups protested the resolution on the grounds that the imposition of Islamic law would erode Iraqi women's rights. An English translation exists on the American Bar Association website. Military law The current basis for the organization and discipline of the Iraqi military originates from Bremer Orders Number 22 and 23 issued in 2003. Private Sector law The fundamental definition of the private sector was mentioned in article 8 of the Law of Companies No 21 (1997) states: "A private-sector company is established on the agreement between two or more persons outside the nation sector, using private capital." Article 8, in addition, obtains a provision that includes private-joint stock or limited liability companies whenever the state gets a share of less than 25% of the capital. Internationally, it is universally accepted that the private sector represents the key part of the national economy that is not under direct state control and that is run for economic profit. Election law Paul Bremer legalized political parties and NGOs, and the specific rules regulating political parties were enacted by the 2004 Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq. Under these rules an Iraqi political party must register with the Commission in order to be entitled to have its endorsed candidates appear on the election ballot. Registration of a political party (aka "political entities") includes paying a filing fee of 2.5 million Iraqi dinars, a second party registration fee of 7.5 million dinars and petition signatures from five hundred Iraqi citizens. International law The Iraqi government has ratified various international treaties and documents. See also Iraqi Penal Code Law enforcement in Iraq Iraqi Police Iraqi nationality law Iraqi Local Governance Law Library References External links Law in Iraq : A Document Companion A Long Way From A Way Forward : Our Journey Through Legal Reform in Post-War Iraq The Iraqi Legal Database A collection of articles, drafts, studies and reports on the