News and Analysis
We have posted articles about:

• The many lives of Article 136(B) of the Criminal Procedure Code
• November 2009 CoI, GJPI, IREX roundtable on anti-corruption
• International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP)
• Ministry of Interior and Higher Judicial Council collaborate to combat corruption
• Anti-corruption report leaked

There are three anti-corruption entitites in Iraq: the Board of Supreme Audit, the Commission of Integrity (formerly known as the Commission on Public Integrity) and the Inspectors General. The Commission of Integrity and Inspectors General are creations of the Coalition Provisional Authority. The Commission of Integrity (under its previous name) is specifically referenced in Article 102 of the Constitution. The Joint Anti-Corruption Council attempts to coordinate the functions of these entities with the Ministry of Interior and Higher Judicial Council.

Legislation

• Board of Supreme Audit Law No. 17 of 1927 was replaced by No. 42 of 1968, which was replaced by Law No. 194 of 1980, which was replaced by Law No. 6 of 1990 (in Arabic unamended as published in the Official Gazette)which was substantially amended by CPA Order 77, Strengthening the Board of Supreme Audit (signed 25 April 2004)
• CPA Order 55, Delegation of Authority Regarding the Iraq Commission on Public Integrity (signed 28 January 2004)
• CPA Order 57, Inspectors General (signed 10 February 2004)
• CPA Order 100: Transition of Laws Issued by the CPA (signed 28 June 2004)
• CPA Memorandum 13, Appointment of an Inspector General to Baghdad City Council (signed 2 June 2004)
• Law 35 of 2007, Iraq’s Accession to UNCAC (arabic)
• Amnesty Law 19 of 2008 from the Iraq Slogger site

Other materials

• Commission of Integrity 2008 Annual Report in English
• Bribery in Government Agencies – Government Handout (Arabic)
• Global Integrity: Iraq Report 2008
• The Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) قسم العلاقات العامه للمفتش العام لإعادة إعمار العراق
  • Hard Lessons: The Iraqi Reconstruction Experience
  • Quarterly reports
• Transparency International
• United Nations Convention Against Corruption
  • Review of Anti-corruption Agency Implementing Legislation and Laws Related to UNCAC Self-Assessment Checklist
• The Ground Truth in Iraq – blog posts on corruption

Other Issues

Transparency is an important element in the fight against corruption. According to Article 129 of the Constitution, National Laws should be published in the Official Gazette and shall take effect on the date of their publication unless stipulated otherwise. This does happen – although prior to issue 4130 published on 20 July 2009, the Official Gazette was published only in Arabic and not in Kurdish.
In addition, under the Governorates not Organised into a Region Law No. 21 of 2008, Article 7(Twelfth) a local Official Gazette should be established in each Governorate and publish all decisions and orders issued by the Governorate Council. These local Gazettes are not being established although the Governorate Councils have now been operating for some time.

Accountability is another important element in the fight against corruption. Under CPA Order 55 public officials, including elected officials, must disclose their finances on an annual basis. In 2008, according to the CoI’s annual report, not one of the 275 members of the Council of Representatives, nor the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Ministers, President, Vice Presidents nor most of the cabinet disclosed their finances.