The court was established under article 22 of the Judicial Regulation Code 2010. Article 22 allows for the creation of first instance courts that specialize in certain types of cases. The commercial court has jurisdiction to handle commercial cases with a foreign element, it does not handle domestic commercial cases. 

The court came into existence to meet the growing demand by foreign investors for more specialized courts, which increased after Iraq welcomed greater foreign investment following the 2003 gulf war. However the court is not limited to investment disputes. There are two basic requirements for accepting a case: (1) it must have a foreign element; and (2) it must be commercial in nature. Once met, any party can file a case, including foreign government entities and other non-private parties.