PARLIAMENT CONFIRMS JUDGE DARA NOOR-ELDEEN AS NEW

UNCLAS BAGHDAD 000563 SENSITIVE SIPDIS JUSTICE PASS TO JOHN EULER, PHIL LYNCH E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM KJUS SNAR IQ SUBJECT: PARLIAMENT CONFIRMS JUDGE DARA NOOR-ELDEEN AS NEW MINISTER OF JUSTICE ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: On February 19, the Iraqi Parliament voted by an overwhelming majority to confirm the appointment of Judge Dara Noor-Eldeen Baha,-Eldeen as the new Minister of Justice. Subsequent to the vote, Judge Dara Baha,-Eldeen took the oath of office and was sworn in as the Minister of Justice. Minister Dara Baha,-Eldeen replaces Dr. Safa al-Safi, who served as the Acting Minister of Justice since April 2007 and will continue serving in his normal capacity as Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs. Minister Dara Baha,-Eldeen expressed his desire to work closely with the United States. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) After a long delay since his initial nomination, the Council of Representatives (CoR) on February 19 confirmed the nomination of Judge Dara Noor-Eldeen as the new Minister of Justice. Judge Dara took the oath of office and was sworn in as the Minister of Justice the following day. Dara replaces Acting Minister of Justice Dr. Safa al-Safi, who had been Acting Minister since April 2007. -------------- Biography -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Judge Dara Baha,-Eldeen, an Iraqi Kurd, was born in 1947. He graduated from the Baghdad University College of Law in 1970 and following graduation served in the Kirkuk courts. He graduated from the Judicial Institute in 1982, and continued serving as a judge in several courts in Baghdad until 2001, when he became the Deputy Head of the Court of Appeals. While serving in this capacity, he was incarcerated for a period of time at Abu Ghraib prison after entering a judicial decision adverse to a member of Saddam Hussein,s family. The Minister served as a member of the former Governing Council, as a member of the former Interim National Council, and as a member of the former National Assembly. He understands and speaks English to a limited degree, but he predominately speaks in Arabic and Kurdish. -------------- Priorities and Desire to Cooperate -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Rule of Law (RoL) officials met with Minister Dara on February 21. He informed us that he would assume official duties as Minister of Justice on February 22. The Minister repeatedly emphasized his desire to work closely and cooperatively with the Embassy and Coalition Forces, and he emphasized that a lot of time had passed with insufficient progress within the Ministry of Justice. He was extremely polite and engaging throughout. Though the meeting was focused on personal introductions, courtesies, and administrative matters, the Minister provided the following general overview of his priorities, and indicated that was eager to begin work on them: -- Prisons and detention, including training, management, staffing, and detainee transfers and releases. -- The need for a secure computerized database to fully automate the Iraq Correctional System (ICS). -- The need for a secure computerized database as it relates to recording and reclaiming rightful ownership of real property. -- Coordinating anti-corruption training and programs with the U.S. Embassy. -- Developing and implementing management and personnel training programs within the Ministry of Justice. -- The need to better enforce judicial rulings and court orders. (The Minister stated: "What good is a court order if it is not followed?") -- The importance of working closely with the Shura Council, which serves a limited administrative court function mediating disputes between ministries and reviews all draft Qmediating disputes between ministries and reviews all draft executive legislation. (The Minister stated that he will seek U.S. assistance in supporting an extended term of office for the current head of the council, Dr. Ghazi Ibraheem Al-Janabi.) ¶5. (SBU) The Minister asked for regular weekly meetings with RoL officers and noted that he would add additional engagements whenever necessary. He also readily approved continued Embassy engagements with Deputy Minister of Justice Posho Ibrahim to conduct business. While he noted that his first few days are already filled with ministry formalities and courtesy calls, he expressed a desire to meet soon with other senior U.S. Embassy and coalition forces officials. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Relations with Dr. Safa were characterized by a high degree of tension and mistrust. The confirmation of Judge Dara as the permanent minister should lead to substantially improved relations with the Ministry of Justice. Our initial interactions with the Minister were positive and support this assessment. His judicial reputation is very good. He was a former student of Chief Justice Medhat,s, and the Chief Justice has called him a "good and honest man." U.S. Circuit Judge Gilbert S. Merritt, who has over 24 years on the federal bench and spent 7 weeks in postwar Iraq interviewing Judge Dara and 28 other Iraqi Supreme Court Justices, said, "Dara is an independent soul, a courageous man of great integrity." BUTENIS