VICE CHAIR OF COUNCIL OF REPRESENTATIVES LEGAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 002460 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/11/26 TAGS: PGOV PNAT KDEM IZ SUBJECT: VICE CHAIR OF COUNCIL OF REPRESENTATIVES LEGAL COMMITTEE ON LEGISLATIVE AGENDA Classified By: Classified by Political Counselor Margaret M. Scobey for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary. Saleem al-Jaboori, Vice Chair of the Council of Representatives (CoR) Legal Affairs Committee, told Legal Adviser and PolOff July 10 that he expected the Tawafuq members to end their legislative boycott, which he characterized as a signal to the other parties and the USG not to take the Sunni Arab bloc for granted. He said the Legal Committee (and possibly the CoR as a whole) would review and possibly seek to annul CPA Order 17. Legal Adviser said such a step would be unwise to take unilaterally. Jaboori gave a frank assessment of the challenges facing the Legal Committee and the CoR in setting priorities and enacting legislation, including lack of expertise, conflicts of interest, and a lack of resources. Jaboori provided a list of laws that he expected the CoR to act upon before its recess, including measures on an electoral commission, pensions, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, and the Ministry of Health. Other legislative priorities mentioned included an investment law, a militia law, an amendment to the terrorism law, and an oil revenue regulation. End Summary. -------------- Tawafuq Boycott -------------- ¶2. (C) Vice Chair of the Legal Committee Saleem al-Jaboori (Tawafuq) told Embassy Legal Adviser and PolOff July 10 that Tawafuq members would end their CoR boycott and attend the next session July 11. He said the Tawafuq boycott had signaled to the other parties and the USG not to take the bloc for granted. He added that Tawafuq members also wanted to assure their constituents that the bloc will not tolerate actions such as the abduction of CoR member Tayseer al-Mashadani. While claiming that other political blocs were sympathetic to Tawafuq, he admitted that the boycott had not been a perfect solution. He added that there were Tawafuq members who wanted to continue the boycott, but that the majority were in favor of returning. (NOTE: The Tawafuq members did not return to the CoR on July 11 (septel),but announced that they would end their boycott the following day.) -------------- CPA Order 17 -------------- ¶3. (C) Jaboori asked Embassy Legal Adviser if the CoR had the legal authority to review CPA orders, adding that there is a proposal within the Legal Committee to discuss CPA Order 17 in the wake of recent allegations of crimes by MNF-I troops. (NOTE: CPA Order 17, inter alia, provides for the immunity of MNF-I from the Iraqi legal process. END NOTE.) Embassy Legal Adviser answered that such a unilateral action could be politically unwise without careful consideration by the CoR and that any decision on alternatives to CPA Order 17 should be the result of a dialogue between the GoI and USG. Al-Jaboori claimed that there is a political agreement among all parties to have at least a "legal discussion" of the possibility of revoking Order 17. He noted that the CoR as a whole would likely discuss the issue as well. -------------- - CoR to Consider Many Laws Before August Recess -------------- - ¶4. (C) Al-Jaboori said the CoR will try to complete action on the following pieces of legislation before it adjourns at the end of July: amendments to the Pension Law and laws on the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, Ministry of Health and electoral commission. He said that other measures under discussion, which had not yet been drafted, included amendments to the antiterrorism law, a law on militias, and a law that would regulate revenues from oil. He said that an investment law had not yet been transmitted to the CoR from the Council of Ministers. He noted that a major challenge for the legal committee will be setting priorities, noting that it had 10 laws submitted to the former Transitional National Assembly to assess, as well as a number of members' legislative proposals referred by the current Speaker. He said that additional legislation was on its way from the Ministry of State for CoR Affairs. He added that the Legal Committee has only met once, but that it would meet again July 11 to discuss priorities. He stated that the Legal Committee will try to present a version of the electoral commission legislation within a week and was considering drafts from the current electoral commissioners, the BAGHDAD 00002460 002 OF 002 electoral commission's chief administrative officer, and from the Tawafuq bloc. -------------- Views on the Legal Committee -------------- ¶5. (C) Al-Jaboori expressed dissatisfaction with the relationship between the Council of Ministers and the CoR, stating that it was not well-organized and involved breaches of legislative procedures. For example, he complained that the Ministry of State for CoR Affairs had appointed representatives to attend all CoR committee meetings. Al-Jaboori said this violated the CoR procedures requiring a written invitation from a committee to the Ministry to send a representative to attend particular meetings. He noted that, while the Speaker and other CoR members had not objected, it was an unwise precedent as actions taken now will provide the basis for the future of the CoR. ¶6. (C) Al-Jaboori expressed some optimism about the ability of the Legal Committee to work effectively, noting that most members had degrees in law. He added that Chairman Baha al-Araji (Sadrist) and he had agreed that it was necessary for the committee members to work together on a technical basis, setting aside political differences when possible. Despite this, he noted four major problems facing the committee. First, it will need drafting assistance and might have to turn to the State Consultative Council or international experts for assistance. Second, he expressed fear of conflicts of interest between members, in particular with respect to laws on politicized topics such as federalism, formation of regions, and natural resources. Third, he argued that the Committee needed a better specialized legal library. Fourth, he thought the committee members, though motivated, were inexperienced. SATTERFIELD