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