Iraq is a country full of potential. The people are welcoming, warm, and some of the most resilient in the world. I recently had the opportunity to interview Jaafar Al-Sabti, Head of the Corporate Department at Al Hadeel Al Hasan Law Firm in Baghdad. His work focuses on corporate law, commercial litigation and arbitration, taking foreign investors from market entry through to everyday compliance and disputes.
Mr. Al-Sabti was born in Baghdad and he explained that his family’s story has shaped much of who he is. He lost his father when he was six years old. His mother was left to raise his sister and him during some of Iraq’s most difficult years. She worked tirelessly and, over time, built a successful law firm. His grandfather also had a distinguished career in law and academia. Jaafar credits watching their example with teaching him the value of resilience, discipline, and hard work long before he entered the professional world. He holds a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb) qualification and has much-desired experience in international arbitration and commercial litigation alongside corporate law.
Jaafar enjoys working with people and solving difficult problems. He describes his work as mainly in corporate and commercial law, litigation and international arbitration. In simple terms, corporate law helps businesses enter a market, set up correctly, negotiate contracts and comply with the rules that govern their operations. Commercial litigation is what happens when a business disagreement reaches the courts. Arbitration is another way of resolving disputes, usually under an agreement between the parties, and is especially relevant when businesses from different countries work together. Much of his work involves helping international companies understand how those processes actually function in Iraq, not just what the law says on paper.
The recurring issue he sees is that companies sometimes confuse entering Iraq with being ready to operate in Iraq. Registering a company is only the beginning. There are questions about licensing, taxes, employment, social security, contracts, payment arrangements and what happens if a dispute arises. Those issues are connected, but they are often considered separately or too late. His role is frequently to help clients move from a short-term transaction mindset to a long-term operating plan. Legal advice adds the most value when it helps a business avoid a dispute, rather than simply respond after one has developed.
He explained that beyond his legal career, he has always had an entrepreneurial mindset. He is involved in several businesses across different sectors in Iraq, including retail, hospitality, and commercial services. He finds that being a business owner has made him a better commercial lawyer. He doesn’t approach business challenges exclusively from a legal perspective. He understands what it means to manage employees, deal with operational difficulties, navigate regulations, and make commercial decisions where there is real financial risk.
He describes Iraq as a market with tremendous opportunities, but operating a successful business there requires more than capital. It requires patience, local knowledge, and a clear understanding of the regulatory environment. He believes that his experience on both sides of the table as a legal adviser and as a business operator allows him to provide more practical and commercially informed advice to his clients. Iraq is a market of genuine commercial opportunity, but it requires a realistic understanding of how business is conducted. International attention often begins with oil and gas, yet Jaafar sees growing relevance in infrastructure, power, telecommunications, logistics, healthcare, technology and consumer services. There is an entrepreneurial population and considerable demand for better products and services. At the same time, investors need to understand administrative procedures, the role of public institutions, local business relationships and the time it can take to execute a plan. He would not describe Iraq as an easy market or an impossible one. He describes it as a market where preparation and patience can make a very significant difference.
A common legal hurdle is assuming that one approval or registration settles every legal question. Depending on the sector and where a company operates, a business may need to address corporate registration, specific licenses, tax matters, labor and social security obligations, customs requirements and contractual protections. Companies operating across federal Iraq and the Kurdistan Region must also understand the relevant differences in administrative and regulatory practice. Another challenge is planning for dispute resolution and enforcement before a disagreement occurs. Clear contracts, correctly maintained records and a realistic legal strategy are much more useful than trying to fix everything after a commercial relationship breaks down.
“Baghdad is a city with enormous character, energy and contradictions. It is impossible to understand it fully from news headlines alone.”
Jaafar explained that he understands why many Americans associate Iraq with conflict, because that has dominated international coverage for so long. He says those experiences are part of the country’s history and should not be minimized. But they are not the whole story of daily life. People go to work, build companies, meet friends in restaurants and cafes, play sports, study, get married and plan for their children’s futures. Baghdad has a very active social and business life. There are still serious problems with infrastructure, public services and administrative efficiency, and experiences differ across the country. The important point is that Iraq is a society of millions of individual lives and ambitions, not just a geopolitical headline. Jaafar enjoys visiting international cities, especially for professional events and meeting people with different perspectives, but travel also reminds him how much opportunity there is to build at home. Jaafar’s favorite thing about Iraq is the people: their hospitality, resourcefulness and ability to keep building even when circumstances are difficult. He sees that spirit in young entrepreneurs and in ordinary families every day. His least favorite thing is the uncertainty that people and businesses sometimes face on a daily basis. Iraq has tremendous human potential; he would like to see more systems that allow that potential to be rewarded through consistency, efficiency and fair competition.
“People go to work, build companies, meet friends in restaurants and cafes, play sports, study, get married and plan for their children’s futures.”
He is optimistic about Iraq’s potential, but he does not think progress is automatic. He believes that over the next five to ten years, the biggest opportunity is to build a stronger and more diversified private sector alongside the energy industry. Infrastructure, electricity, logistics, education, technology and healthcare all need sustained investment. Young Iraqis have the ambition to create businesses and pursue international standards. What will determine the pace of progress is the quality of execution: clearer rules, reliable institutions, a more functional financial environment and better delivery of public services. His hope is for Iraq to be known increasingly for what its people build, not only for the crises they have lived through.
Ultimately, Jaafar would like to challenge the idea that Iraq must be viewed only through the lens of risk. The challenges are real, and he would never suggest that international businesses ignore them. But when the conversation stops at risk, it misses an entire generation of professionals, entrepreneurs and investors trying to build something substantial. His goal, through his legal work and public discussions, is to explain the country as it is: promising, complicated and deserving of serious analysis. He often puts it this way: ‘Iraq is not a market that rewards risk-taking. It is a market that rewards preparation.’ That principle applies well beyond Iraq.
To learn more about Jaafar Al-Sabti and Al Hadeel Al Hasan Law Firm, please visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaafar-al-sabti-fciarb-mba-1434b7174/ and https://www.hhl-iq.com .
