GOI INCREASES CAPACITY OF IRAQI JUDICIARY

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 002551 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DOJ FOR JJONES, ANORMAN, EJOHNSON, TBARTLETT STATE FOR INL/I, NEA/I E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/23/2019 TAGS: PGOV KJUS IZ SUBJECT: GOI INCREASES CAPACITY OF IRAQI JUDICIARY Classified By: Senior Advisor to the Rule of Law Coordinator Robert W. Ogburn for reasons 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: In September, 66 new judges graduated from the entry-level judicial education program at the Iraqi Judicial Training Institute (JTI),which is administered by the Ministry of Justice. These newly graduated judges are evidence of the Iraqi judiciary,s advancement as an institution in the six years following the re-establishment of the Higher Judicial Council (HJC) as a body independent of the executive branch of government. The total number of judges serving in the judiciary has more than doubled since 2003, and the number of female judges has risen nearly tenfold. In addition, the HJC,s investigative and administrative staffs have nearly doubled since 2003. END SUMMARY ¶2. (SBU) During a meeting on September 14, with Embassy Rule of Law Coordinator and MNF-I Staff Judge Advocate, Chief Justice Medhat Al-Mahmoud, President of the HJC, announced that a class of 66 new judges graduated from the JTI during the week of September 7. The addition of these new judges to the ranks of the judiciary raises the total number of judges in Iraq to 1,277, an increase of approximately 700 judges in the last six years. The Chief Justice expressed particular pride that the number of female judges in the HJC increased from 7 to 68 during this time period. ¶3. (SBU) The Chief Justice further explained that the 66 new judges will be assigned to courts around the country to work under senior judges for one year before being re-distributed to other courts to develop further experience. Over time, the new judges will become more involved in existing cases until they have enough experience to develop their own cases. ¶4. (U) In addition to increasing the total number of judges, the HJC has increased the number of Investigative Judges (IJs) from 51 in 2003 to a current total of 322, which includes 111 IJs in Baghdad alone. The HJC has more than doubled its investigator staff from 406 to 887 and nearly doubled its administrative staff from 2,664 to 4,175. The HJC also increased the number of courts from 458 in 2003 to 670 in 2009. While these totals do not represent individual physical courthouse buildings, they do represent courts established for all areas of law, including civil, customs, commercial and criminal law. The Chief Justice expressed pleasure that the HJC has not only increased the number of operating courts, but has staffed and furnished them, some with the financial and technical assistance of the United States. ¶5. (U) The HJC would like to place 100 new students in the next class to enroll in the JTI. The Chief Justice explained that 955 individuals applied for the entry test, with 130 aspiring students passing all pre-requisites for enrollment. The HJC is working with the JTI, which is located within the Ministry of Justice, to determine whether or not the capacity and resources exist to accept all 130 successful applicants. Optimally, the HJC would like to receive 100 graduates from the JTI each year over the next five years, which would fulfill one of the goals of the HJC,s 5-year strategic plan. ¶6. (C) The Chief Justice also commented on the pressure placed on the judiciary to compromise its values both for the interest of expediency and for sectarian purposes. He asserted that the quality of judges has increased along with the quantity because the HJC has been careful not to succumb to pressure to accept unqualified individuals simply to fill positions. The HJC has suffered the consequences of this principled stand, and some groups are now angry at the judiciary as a result. The HJC could have increased the number of judges to 5000 or more, but would have paid a price in the quality of jurists, and the integrity and independence of the judiciary would have suffered as a result. ¶7. (C) Sectarian influences have presented a problem during the HJC,s development since its formal establishment in 2004. The Shi,a community believed that the HJC should support them especially because of the history of oppression toward that group under the prior regime, but the Chief Justice argued that this wrong cannot be fixed with another wrong, so HJC policy is to accept only the best jurists from each sect who place the rule of law first, not sectarian divisions. The Chief Justice thanked his American friends for supporting the HJC through this process, and suggested that the HJC could not have stood up to these influences without the support of the United States. ¶8. (U) COMMENT: During the years of heavy combat operations, the judiciary was under tremendous pressure to increase its number of judges to handle the tidal wave of new detainees. The Chief Justice responded to the pressures placed on the HJC by pushing for a somewhat larger judiciary while consistently cautioning that judging is an art and that quality judges are not created overnight. This emphasis on quality over quantity has served the Iraqi judiciary well as the institution attempts to normalize its operations in a post conflict environment. END COMMENT. ¶9. (U) COMMENT: The HJC,s progress in defining the size and scope of the judiciary is a major accomplishment for the newly independent institution. Following the fall of the regime, the judiciary was required to make immense strides in a short period of time to uphold its part of the rule of law in Iraq. The efforts made by the HJC to build the institution of the judiciary are indicative of the HJC,s independence and increasing operational capabilities to effectively administer justice in Iraq. END COMMENT. HILL