In 1920 the British Mandate power commissioned a report, written by Gertrude Bell of the Civil Administration of Mesopotamia, covering the period of the British Military Occupation up to the summer of 1920. It was applauded by both houses of the British Parliament upon receipt. She noted that “at various times modifications [had been] introduced […]
Read MoreDeborah Isser, senior rule of law adviser at the United States Institute of Peace, and Peter van der Auweraert senior legal adviser at the International Organisation for Migration have published a special report entitled ‘Land, Property, and the Challenge of Return for Iraq’s Displaced‘. The report draws on the assistance offered by both USIP and […]
Read MoreAl-Sabaah, the Government newspaper, published a supplement on 2 June 2009 relating to the draft Law on Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs). The law is described as ‘dangerous’. Many of the Articles can be found here On 8 June 2009, Niqash published a piece on this topic recording concerns expressed by NGOs.
Read MoreMiddle East Online reports that the Article 140 Commission has delayed by a week its report to the Council of Representatives on staging local elections in Kirkuk . Iraq held provincial elections in 14 of its 18 provinces in January 2009 with national elections scheduled for 30 January 2010. The three Kurdish provinces — Erbil, […]
Read MoreThe Ministry of Interior website on 28 May 2009 noted the formation of a central operations facility and the allocation of inspection units of the Ministry of the Interior and the High Judicial Council as part of the national campaign to combat corruption. The Secretary General of the Council of Ministers, Mr. Ali Mohsen Alaak, […]
Read MoreIt was reported on 14 May 2009 on the front page of Al-Sabaah, the government newspaper, that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had suspended in part the operation of Article 136(b) of the Criminal Procedure Code 23 of 1971 as part of his anti-corruption drive. Article 136(b) has had a varied life. All of Article 136 of […]
Read MoreThe Higher Judicial Council (HJC) has released its statistical report for 2008. The report sets out in tabular and graphic form figures for the number of cases heard before various different federal courts, the number of convictions for various different crimes, numbers of detainees and a lot of other analyses. The excellent HJC website contains an account […]
Read MoreCriminal Law in Iraq Contrary to some international media reports, homosexuality per se is not illegal in Iraq and as far as we can tell never has been illegal. However there have been a number of reliable reports of extra judicial persecution, assault, and murder of gay men in Iraq. The Penal Code 111 of […]
Read MoreThe Federal Supreme Court gave its opinion on 13 May 2009 following the request of the Speaker of the Council of Representatives to the Court in its capacity as interpreter of the Constitution under Article 93(2). The issue arising was the interpretation of Article 56 of the constitution which states: First: The electoral term of the […]
Read MoreA recent report by the Commission on Integrity to the anti-corruption committee of the Council of Representatives, leaked to the Western media, set out the size of the problem facing the Iraqi government. The BBC report is here. In related news, a group of about 110 Parliamentarians have called for the Minister of Trade, Abdul-Falah […]
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