PROBLEMS FACING THE IRAQI JUDICIARY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 001964 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DOJ FOR DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINS KJUS IZ SUBJECT: PROBLEMS FACING THE IRAQI JUDICIARY ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Improving performance of the Iraqi judiciary faces immediate challenges: too few judges, a lack of security, and a constitutional mandate that needs to be defined by further legislation. ¶2. (SBU) The Mission has already taken measures to begin addressing these problems, including building new courthouses and providing secure housing for judges in the International Zone. We are also looking into ways to find funding to build secure housing, to expand the capacity of the institute that trains Iraqi judges, and to support other capacity and security improvements. END SUMMARY LACK OF CAPACITY -------------- ¶3. (SBU) At present, the total number of trial and investigative judges is 724. This is far less than the estimated minimum of 1,200 needed to reduce overcrowding in detention facilities and to increase the resolution of criminal and civil cases. A lack of work ethic among some judges also impacts upon the capacity of the judiciary. LACK OF SECURITY -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The Iraqi judiciary also faces a critical lack of security. -- On a routine basis, judges, as well as members of their staffs and families, are threatened with violence. Seventeen judges have been assassinated since 2003. The son of the President of the Higher Juridical Council was killed on May 12, ¶2006. -- The juvenile court in Baghdad's Adhamiyah district was burned down in March 2006. In May, a bomb exploded outside the courthouse in Baghdad's Rusafa district, killing nine people and wounding many more. -- In Anbar, Diyala and Ninawa provinces, violence and threats have been so extreme that the criminal courts are functioning little if at all. -- As a result of poor security, some judges decline to report to work; others have tendered their resignations. This has exacerbated problems related to already low judicial capacity. EXISTING PROGRAMS -------------- ¶5. (SBU) The United States has several programs designed to improve court security and capacity. -- The United States Marshals Service is providing security support to some high-visibility Iraqi judges, including those of the Iraqi High Tribunal (which hears cases against Saddam Hussein and his associates) and of the Central Criminal Court of Iraq (which hears insurgency and terrorism cases, among others). This support includes daily courthouse security, courthouse modernization, housing, transportation, and threat response. -- The Mission is supporting the construction of five new courthouses in Basrah, Hillah, Mosul, and Baghdad (in the Karkh and Rusafa districts). Improvements are also being made in the security features and operational capacities of other courthouses, including the establishment of secure facilities for witnesses. THE WAY FORWARD -------------- ¶6. (SBU) The Mission is examining ways to increase the number of judges and to promote their safety, both at work and at home. BAGHDAD 00001964 002 OF 002 ¶7. (SBU) We are soliciting enhanced financial support from other donors for: -- Increasing the number of judges graduating from the Judicial Training Institute (which is responsible for training new judges and prosecutors) by increasing the size of the faculty and the facility; -- Constructing secure judicial housing; -- Establishing an Iraqi Marshals Service, providing personal security details (PSDs), obtaining secure transportation, and other safety measures. ¶8. (SBU) We also plan to encourage the direct appointment to civil courts of additional judges from the ranks of those who previously served as judges and to criminal courts of practicing attorneys with more than ten years of experience. CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTIONS -------------- ¶9. (SBU) The new constitution maintains the judiciary's nominal status as an independent branch of government, but it vests in the Council of Representatives considerable authority to define through legislation the role, powers and procedures of the Higher Juridical Council and the courts. ¶10. (SBU) If this legislation is influenced by extremist agendas, it likely will undermine the judiciary's ability to hold the government accountable and to adjudicate and interpret the constitution equitably and independently. The Mission will cooperate with the Iraqis and will attempt to help them draft legislation that defines the structure and mandate of the judiciary while maintaining its independence. KHALILZAD