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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs |
IRAQ: Interview with senior advisor to Ministry of Justice
BAGHDAD, 22 October 2004 (IRIN) - Iraq's Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has gone through numerous changes in the last year as US advisers try to help Iraqis make the rule of law stronger in Iraq.
Malik Dohan Hassan, the minister, is now reviewing all of Iraq's laws to make sure they meet international human rights standards. In an interview with IRIN senior adviser to the ministry, Nouri A. Brahim said some aspects of Shariat law would remain in the system.
QUESTION: The ministry's authority appears to have changed since power to govern the country was handed back to Iraqis in late June. How is its authority organised now?
ANSWER: All of the courts are separated from the MoJ now, following a resolution from (former US administrator) Paul Bremer. Now, the government cannot have any affect on a judge's decision.
Instead, we created a council of judges. The division makes things better in that the minister makes decisions independently of the courts and the courts make decisions independently of the minister. It's more like the American system now.
Q: What was decided about the death penalty? We understand Iraq's appointed government reinstated the death penalty used under the former regime of Saddam Hussein.
A: Since the fall of the regime, we have stopped torture of all kinds in police facilities and in the prisons. We have returned to the death penalty that we had under Saddam Hussein. In many crimes before, the sentence resulted in execution. Now, only a few crimes call for the death penalty. For example, if you kill somebody, you can be sentenced to death.
Q: What is happening with the trial of former president Saddam Hussein now?
A: First, we have to review the laws governing the things he did wrong. Then the judge looks at the case. When a trial starts, it will be open to the journalists and to all other people. Actually, we are handling the investigation, but it will then be turned over to a special tribunal to try the case.
Q: Will you have a separation of religion and state in legal issues of the new Iraq, as the United States and many European countries do?
A: Our religion and our politics are intertwined. Our children have religious classes in school to make sure they understand the tenets of Islam. So, first of all, it is a country where there are many different kinds of religions, but Islam is the largest one, you have to build it up towards democracy.
Second, even though Iraq has many religious leaders, they are not extremists. For example, [Shi'ite Muslim cleric Ali] Sistani is the most respected religious leader in the country. He is not trying to tell government leaders what to do. In Iran, for example, they are much more conservative. We are much more moderate.
Q: Will you keep Shariat (Islamic) law in your justice system, the religious law governing many civil court cases?
A: Sheikhs from the tribes in Iraq most commonly use Shariat law to settle disputes. Now, most of them have a democratic feeling and that will help them. For example, the president (Sheikh Ghazi al-Yawar) has a tribal background. The defence minister Hazem Sha'alan [sheikh of the Ghazal tribe] has a tribal background too.
But the West has a false image of us. We are not just all Bedouins here. A lot of Islamic countries have a civilian law like Shariat. Where the Shariat laws fit together with our current laws, we will keep them. We are not like Saudi Arabia or Iran when it comes to laws. We are much more liberal and we will look to the future.
Q: What is the ministry's biggest goal?
A: We have many activities with other ministries and we will continue to work with them. We also control the prisons, for example. In the future, we want to become more democratic and rebuild the country with more democratic laws. I think it's possible to do that. We all want progress.
Q: What laws have changed, or what laws do you feel are needed to become more democratic?
A: We have no law for media; we have no law on political parties. New laws must be written by the MoJ and presented to [interim prime minister Iyad] Allawi and the government. If the laws are considered to be good ones, they will be presented to the Council of Ministers for approval.
Even though the ministers are not elected, there is a procedure on how to approve these things. Both the government and the interim National Assembly will make the law for this interim period before the elections. [National elections to elect a parliamentary body and regional governments are slated to be held by the end of January.] When an elected government comes into power, they will need to approve all of these laws. After the elections, things may change.
Q: Many people from other countries feel the rule of law is weak in Iraq now. How do you respond?
A: It's not weak now, but there's a new situation in Iraq. Most of the political parties came into the country with the occupation forces, so you have to separate them by the law. Iraq's political situation is very complex now. Political parties and politicians need time to prove themselves and to settle in.
Q: What is the ministry's role to play in the new Iraq?
A: Our main job is to study the laws that exist and change them if we need to, or to make new laws. We need advisers to help us with this. We are working on this now with our legal experts. Right now, the Council of Ministers [an interim, appointed body] is ready to help us make decisions. But they are not elected.
Q: How does the ministry work with other agencies, if it does, to meet its goals?
A: We are working closely with the human rights ministry now, which is very different to what we did before the fall of the regime. There was no human rights ministry then. We go to them sometimes for help. The ministry also looks to the Iraqi people now for ideas and points of view. We also want help, especially training from the NGOs and people from outside.
Themes: (IRIN) Conflict, (IRIN) Governance, (IRIN) Human Rights
[ENDS]
This material comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. All materials copyright © UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2004
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