Iraqi Special Tribunal
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The Iraq Special Tribunal is a body established under Iraqi national law to try Iraqi nationals or residents accused of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes or other serious crimes committed between 1968 and 2003. It is organising the trial of Saddam Hussein and other members of his Baath Party regime.
The Tribunal was set up by a specific Statute issued under the Coalition Provisional Authority and now reaffirmed under the jurisdiction of the Iraqi Interim Government. The Transitional Administrative Law [TAL] promulgated by the Iraq Governing Council before the restoration of Iraqi sovereignty preserves and continues the Iraq Special Tribunal Statute in force and effect.
The Tribunal is responsible for the trial of Saddam Hussein, Ali Hassan al-Majid (also known as "Chemical Ali"), former Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan, former deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz and other former senior officials in the deposed Ba'athist regime. The Tribunal follows standard Iraqi custom in applying the Continental or Civil law system, in which crimes are investigated by Tribunal Investigative Judges rather than police officers, and trials will be heard before panels of five Trial Judges, rather than the Anglo-American common law jury. One of the Tribunal Investigative Judges is Ra’id Juhi, who was also a judge under the Baathist regime, and who arraigned Saddam Hussein and eleven other defendants in July 2004. The arraignments, which were nothing more than confirming the identities of the defendants and informing them that they were the subjects of formal criminal investigation by the Tribunal, became necessary upon the transition and transfer of sovereignty to the Iraqi Interim Government. Iraqi court proceeedings thereby became the formal domestic legal basis for detaining the defendants rather than any military necessity.
The Tribunal has declared it will adhere to standards of international law in compliance with the sovereign law of Iraq. Many international human rights law groups have opposed the Tribunal, primarily because they felt excluded from the process of its creation, they had wished to see international (non-Iraqi) lawyers empaneled on the Tribunal, and they also object to the availability of the death penalty under Iraqi law. The longstanding principle of international law however has been to rely first on the domestic national court capability of a country before turning to the extraordinary creation of international tribunals. The Iraqis as well view the Tribunal as a matter of pride and sovereignty that they can govern and judge themselves. Following the re-introduction of capital punishment, the Iraqi interim PM Iyad Allawi gave assurances that he would not interfere with the trial and would accept any court decisions, although some of his comments are open to mis-interpretation: "As for the execution, that is for the court to decide — so long as a decision is reached impartially and fairly." [1] (http://www.abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20040706_164.html)
According to British journalist Robert Fisk, the judge, Ra’id Juhi, had indicted Moqtada al-Sadr of murder in April 2004, an important event in the growing Iraqi insurgency. After working as a translator, Juhi was appointed by Paul Bremer. Juhi, 33, is a Shia Muslim and had served for a decade as a judge under Saddam Hussein. [2] (http://www.counterpunch.org/fisk07022004.html)
Although officials had asked for the judge's name to be kept secret, allegedly to protect him from retribution [3] (http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/world/9063483.htm?1c), it was widely reported in the Arabic press, including newspapers in Baghdad. The only Western newspaper to refuse this kind of self-censorship was the British The Independent and was criticised by Tony Blair's government as a result. Ra'id Juhi had also given interviews and posed for pictures in the context of the Moqtada al-Sadr indictment.
General Director
The tribunal was initially led by Salem Chalabi a former exile and relative of Ahmed Chalabi. Critics pointed to Salem's lack of experience and close ties to Iraqi dissidents, questioning US motives in his appointment. However, as his uncle Ahmed Chalabi fell from US favour in August 2004, warrants were issed for their arrest while they were both out of Iraq. Some saw this as an attempt to remove them from Iraqi politics. On September 19 2004 the New York Times quoted Iraqi interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi as saying that he had received Salem's resignation. [4] (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/19/international/middleeast/19saddam.html)
Speculation immediately started on who would replace Salem; names mentioned include Taleb al-Zubaidi and Naim al-Oukaili. On October 4 2004, the Iraqi National Council approved the nomination of Judge Ammar al-Bakri, who becomes the new Administrator of the Special Tribunal. Upon the installation of the full complement of nine Appellate Judges for the Tribunal, the Appellate Judges will select a President, who will then become the formal leader of the Tribunal. The full Tribunal will then proceed to adopt and enact Rules of Procedure and Rules of Evidence governing the proceedings of the Tribunal.
See also
External links
- Statute of the Iraqi Special Tribunal (http://www.cpa-iraq.org/human_rights/Statute.htm)
- Official website of the Iraqi Special Tribunal (http://iraq-ist.org)