The Iraqi High Tribunal (IHT), formerly the Iraqi Special Tribunal and sometimes referred to as the Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal, is a body established under Iraqi national law to try Iraqi nationals or residents accused of
genocide
Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Latin ...
,
crimes against humanity
Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...
,
war crimes or other serious crimes committed between 1968 and 2003. It organized the trial of
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...
and other members of his
Ba'ath Party
The Arab Socialist Baʿath Party ( ar, حزب البعث العربي الاشتراكي ' ) was a political party founded in Syria by Mishel ʿAflaq, Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn al-Bītār, and associates of Zaki al-ʾArsūzī. The party espoused B ...
regime.
The Court was set up by a specific Statute issued under the
Coalition Provisional Authority
)
, capital = Baghdad
, largest_city = capital
, common_languages = ArabicKurdishEnglish (''de facto'')
, government_type = Transitional government
, legislature = Iraqi Governing Council
, title_leader = Administrator
, leader1 = Jay ...
and now reaffirmed under the jurisdiction of the
Iraqi Interim Government
The Iraqi Interim Government was created by the United States and its coalition allies as a caretaker government to govern Iraq until the drafting of the new constitution following the National Assembly election conducted on January 30, 2005. T ...
. In 2005 it was renamed after the constitution established that "Special or exceptional courts may not be established." The
Transitional Administrative Law
The Law of Administration for the State of Iraq for the Transitional Period ( ar, قانون إدارة الدولة للفترة الانتقالية), also called the Transitional Administrative Law or TAL, was Iraq's provisional constitution fol ...
(TAL) promulgated by the Iraq Governing Council before the restoration of Iraqi sovereignty preserves and continues the Iraq Special Tribunal Statute in force and effect.
The Court was responsible for the trial of Saddam Hussein,
Ali Hassan al-Majid
Ali Hassan Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti ( ar, علي حسن عبد المجيد التكريت, ʿAlī Ḥasan ʿAbd al-Majīd al-Tikrītī; 30 November 1941 – 25 January 2010), nicknamed Chemical Ali ( ar, علي الكيمياوي, ʿAlī al-Kīm ...
(also known as "Chemical Ali"), former Vice President
Taha Yassin Ramadan
Taha Yasin Ramadan al-Jizrawi ( ar, طه ياسين رمضان الجزراوي; (1939 – 20 March 2007) was an Iraqi politician and military officer of Kurdish origin, who served as one of the three vice presidents of Iraq from March 1991 to t ...
, former deputy Prime Minister
Tariq Aziz
Tariq Aziz ( ar, طارق عزيز , 28 April 1936 – 5 June 2015) was an Iraqi politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and a close advisor of President Saddam Hussein. Their association began in the 1950s wh ...
and other former senior officials in the deposed
Ba'athist
Ba'athism, also stylized as Baathism, (; ar, البعثية ' , from ' , meaning "renaissance" or "resurrection"Hans Wehr''Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic'' (4th ed.), page 80) is an Arab nationalist ideology which promotes the creation a ...
regime.
It is also the only criminal court against crimes against humanity of the 21st century where capital punishment (a
legal penalty in Iraq) is in force.
Judges
The Tribunal follows the
inquisitorial system
An inquisitorial system is a legal system in which the court, or a part of the court, is actively involved in investigating the facts of the case. This is distinct from an adversarial system, in which the role of the court is primarily that of a ...
which is standard in Iraq and uses investigative judges. Trials are heard before a panel of the five Trial Judges, who conduct hearings, pronounce judgements and impose the sentences, without using a jury. There is also a separate Appeals Chamber, with nine judges, a prosecutions department and an administrative department. The statute of the court allows for international judges to be appointed on the request of the court and approval of the Council of Ministers, but none have yet been appointed.
Judges were initially appointed to a five-year term by the
Iraqi Governing Council
The Iraqi Governing Council (IGC) was the provisional government of Iraq from 13 July 2003 to 1 June 2004. It was established by and served under the United States-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA). The IGC consisted of various Iraqi pol ...
, in consultation with the
Iraqi Judicial Council.
For security reasons, the names of the judges were not initially released, but five judges' identities were subsequently disclosed:
*
Rizgar Mohammed Amin
Rizgar Mohammed Amin ( ar, رزكار محمد أمين) (born 1957) is the former chief judge of the Iraqi Special Tribunal's Al-Dujail trial. He is the only judge whose name was revealed on the trial's opening on 19 October 2005, the names of t ...
, a Kurdish judge, was presiding judge of the Trial Chamber until 23 January 2006 when he quit citing government interference
*
Rauf Rashid Abd al-Rahman
Rauf Rashid Abd al-Rahman (born 1941) is the replacement chief judge of the Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal's Al-Dujail trial of Saddam Hussein in 2006, when he sentenced Saddam and some of his top aides to death by hanging.
Abd al-Rahman is a ...
, the presiding judge of the Trial Chamber from 23 January 2006.
*
Said Hameesh, the deputy presiding judge, who was removed from the Tribunal after the
De-Baathification Commission found that he was a former member of the
Baath Party
The Arab Socialist Baʿath Party ( ar, حزب البعث العربي الاشتراكي ' ) was a political party founded in Syria by Mishel ʿAflaq, Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn al-Bītār, and associates of Zaki al-ʾArsūzī. The party espoused B ...
, which made him ineligible to be a judge.
*
Raed al-Juhi Raed (; Arabic language, Arabic: , ') is an Arabic male name, meaning ''leader or pioneer''.
People
* Raed Arafat (born 1964), Syrian-born physician of Palestinian descent and Romanian citizenship
* Raed Elhamali, Libyan-American basketball pla ...
(also transliterated as Raid Juhi, Ra'id Juhi or Raid Juhi Alsaedi), the tribunal's Chief Investigative Judge.
*
Barwize Mohammed Mahmoud al-Merani, an investigative judge who was fatally shot on 2 March 2006
Jurisdiction
The tribunal has jurisdiction over any Iraqi national or resident accused of the following crimes:
*
Genocide
Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Latin ...
*
Crimes against humanity
Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...
*
War crimes
* Manipulating the
judiciary
The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...
* Squandering national resources
* The use of armed force against an
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
country
These crimes must have been committed:
* After the coup by
Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr
Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr ' (1 July 1914 – 4 October 1982) was the fourth president of Iraq, from 17 July 1968 to 16 July 1979. He was a leading member of the revolutionary Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party and later the Baghdad-based Ba'ath Party and i ...
on 17 July 1968
* Before 1 May 2003 which was after the
invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Ba'athist Iraq, Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one mont ...
that brought an end to the rule of
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...
.
Rights of the accused
The rights of the accused are set out in the Tribunal's statute and include the presumption of innocence, equality before the tribunal, a
public trial
Public trial or open trial is a trial that is open to the public, as opposed to a secret trial. It should not be confused with a show trial.
United States
The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution establishes the right of the accused ...
without undue delay, appointing counsel of your own choosing, calling witnesses and the right to remain silent.
Penalties
The tribunal must impose sentences in line with existing Iraqi law, which includes the death penalty. For crimes such as crimes against humanity which have no counterpart in Iraqi law, the statute says the trial chamber should take into consideration the gravity of the offense and sentences issued by
international criminal tribunals.
Investigations
Dujail trial
From October 2005 till 5 November 2006, the tribunal had been trying eight people who were accused of crimes against humanity in a massacre of 148 Shiites in
Dujail
Dujail ( ar, الدجيل; alternate spelling: Ad Dujayl) is a town in Saladin Governorate, Iraq. It is situated about north of Baghdad, and has approximately 100,000 inhabitants, who are mostly Shia. It was the site of the 1982 Dujail Massacre, ...
. The defendants included:
*
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...
, former
President of Iraq
The president of Iraq is the head of state of Iraq and "safeguards the commitment to the Constitution and the preservation of Iraq's independence, sovereignty, unity, the security of its territories in accordance with the provisions of the Con ...
(1937–2006)
*
Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti
Barzan Ibrahim Hassan al-Tikriti (17 February 1951 – 15 January 2007) ( ar, برزان إبراهيم الحسن التكريتي), also known as Barazan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, Barasan Ibrahem Alhassen and Barzan Hassan, was one of three half-brot ...
, Hussein's half-brother and former chief of intelligence (1951–2007)
*
Taha Yassin Ramadan
Taha Yasin Ramadan al-Jizrawi ( ar, طه ياسين رمضان الجزراوي; (1939 – 20 March 2007) was an Iraqi politician and military officer of Kurdish origin, who served as one of the three vice presidents of Iraq from March 1991 to t ...
, former Vice-President (1938–2007)
*
Awad Hamed al-Bandar
Awad Hamad al-Bandar ( ar, عواد حمد البندر السعدون, ʿAwād Ḥamad al-Bandar al-Saʿdūn; (2 January 1945 – 15 January 2007) was an Iraqi chief judge under Saddam Hussein's presidency. He was a member of the Arab Socialist ...
, a former chief judge (1945–2007)
*
Abdullah Kadhem Roweed Al-Musheikhi (1925–2011)
*
Ali Daeem Ali Ali Dayeh Ali (1940 - 2015) served as an Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party official in Dujail in 1982, where he was accused of involvement in the executions of 148 Shia Muslims in the area. He was tried alongside Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein ( ; ...
(1940–2015)
*
Mohammed Azawi Ali
The trial of Saddam Hussein was the trial of the deposed President of Iraq Saddam Hussein by the Iraqi Interim Government for crimes against humanity during his time in office.
The Coalition Provisional Authority voted to create the Iraqi Spec ...
(1943–2011)
*
Mizher Abdullah Roweed Al-Musheikhi Mizhar Abdullah Ruaid (born 1952) is a former Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party official in the Dujail region of Iraq, and the son of Abdullah Kadhem Ruaid. He was arrested in 2005 by US Forces while still living in Dujail. The arresting unit was the A/1 ...
(1952)
At Saddam Hussein's initial arraignment he was also accused of:
*the killing of religious figures in 1974;
*the
Halabja poison gas attack
The Halabja massacre ( ku, Kêmyabarana Helebce کیمیابارانی ھەڵەبجە), also known as the Halabja chemical attack, was a massacre of Kurdish people that took place on 16 March 1988, during the closing days of the Iran–Iraq War ...
;
*the killing of
Kurd ug:كۇردلار
Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian peoples, Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Ir ...
s in 1983;
*killing members of political parties;
*displacing Kurds in the mid-1980s;
*suppressing Kurdish and Shiite uprisings in 1991; and
*the
invasion of Kuwait
The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait was an operation conducted by Iraq on 2 August 1990, whereby it invaded the neighboring State of Kuwait, consequently resulting in a seven-month-long Iraqi military occupation of the country. The invasion and Ira ...
.
On 5 November 2006, Saddam Hussein was found guilty of all charges relating to the Dujail massacre and was sentenced to death by hanging. He received an automatic appeal. However, the appeal was rejected and the guilty sentence was upheld. It was ordered that he be executed within 30 days and he was executed by hanging on 30 December 2006.
Al-Anfal Campaign
The Special Tribunal investigated the crimes of the
Al-Anfal Campaign
The Anfal campaign; ku, شاڵاوی ئەنفال or the Kurdish genocide was a counterinsurgency operation which was carried out by Ba'athist Iraq from February to September 1988, at the end of the Iran–Iraq War. The campaign targeted rur ...
in 1988 and during the 1991 uprising. The judges issued arrest warrants against these persons for crimes against Kurds in 1988:
*
Taher Tawfiq al-Ani
*
Hussein Rasheed Mohammed
The judges also issued arrest warrants against these persons for crimes in 1991:
*Barzan Abdul Ghafoor
*
Muzahim Sa`ab Al-Hassan
In 2005 June the judges had investigated crimes in 1990, ethnic crimes in the city of
Kirkuk
Kirkuk ( ar, كركوك, ku, کەرکووک, translit=Kerkûk, , tr, Kerkük) is a city in Iraq, serving as the capital of the Kirkuk Governorate, located north of Baghdad. The city is home to a diverse population of Turkmens, Arabs, Kurds, ...
, and crimes against
Faili Kurd ug:كۇردلار
Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian peoples, Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Ir ...
s, questioning these accused:
*Aead Futaih Khaleefa for the 1990 events and crimes in Kirkuk;
*Muhsen Khedher Abass for the 1990 events;
*
Watban Ibrahim al-Tikriti
Watban Ibrahim al-Nasiri ( ar, وطبان إبراهيم الناصري; 1952 – 13 August 2015) was a senior Interior Minister of Iraq. He was the half-brother of Saddam Hussein and the brother of Barzan al-Tikriti. He was taken into co ...
for exiling and killing Ufaili Kurds.
*Mohammed Zemam Abd Al-Razaq for ethnic cleansing in Kirkuk;
*
Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti
Barzan Ibrahim Hassan al-Tikriti (17 February 1951 – 15 January 2007) ( ar, برزان إبراهيم الحسن التكريتي), also known as Barazan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, Barasan Ibrahem Alhassen and Barzan Hassan, was one of three half-brot ...
for exiling and killing Ufaili Kurds;
*Lateef Nusaif Jassim for ethnic cleansing in Kirkuk.
In late June the judges had investigated
Tariq Aziz
Tariq Aziz ( ar, طارق عزيز , 28 April 1936 – 5 June 2015) was an Iraqi politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and a close advisor of President Saddam Hussein. Their association began in the 1950s wh ...
concerning the events of 1991.
The judges also questioned these persons concerning the use of chemical weapons in the
al-Anfal Campaign
The Anfal campaign; ku, شاڵاوی ئەنفال or the Kurdish genocide was a counterinsurgency operation which was carried out by Ba'athist Iraq from February to September 1988, at the end of the Iran–Iraq War. The campaign targeted rur ...
:
*Saber Abd Al-Aziz Aldori
*
Sultan Hashim Ahmed
Sulṭān Hāshim Aḥmad Muḥammad al-Ṭāʾī ( ar, سلطان هاشم أحمد محمد الطائي; 1945 – 19 July 2020) was an Iraqi military commander, who served as Minister of Defense under Saddam Hussein's regime. Considered one ...
*
Ali Hassan al-Majid
Ali Hassan Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti ( ar, علي حسن عبد المجيد التكريت, ʿAlī Ḥasan ʿAbd al-Majīd al-Tikrītī; 30 November 1941 – 25 January 2010), nicknamed Chemical Ali ( ar, علي الكيمياوي, ʿAlī al-Kīm ...
(1941–2010)
The judges questioned these persons on various events:
*
Awad Hamed al-Bandar
Awad Hamad al-Bandar ( ar, عواد حمد البندر السعدون, ʿAwād Ḥamad al-Bandar al-Saʿdūn; (2 January 1945 – 15 January 2007) was an Iraqi chief judge under Saddam Hussein's presidency. He was a member of the Arab Socialist ...
about religious oppression and crimes in
Balad, Iraq
Balad ( ar, بلد), also transliterated ''Beled'' or ''Belad'', is a city in Saladin Governorate, Iraq, north of the national capital, Baghdad. It is the capital of Balad District. Located between the towns of Al Dhuluiya, Yathrib and Ishaqi, B ...
;
*Abd Al-Ghany Abd Al- Ghafoor about religious oppression and crimes in
Balad, Iraq
Balad ( ar, بلد), also transliterated ''Beled'' or ''Belad'', is a city in Saladin Governorate, Iraq, north of the national capital, Baghdad. It is the capital of Balad District. Located between the towns of Al Dhuluiya, Yathrib and Ishaqi, B ...
;
*Mahmood Faizi Al-Hazaa about the Jomaa crime in Al-Emara city in 1999;
*Hashim Hassan Al-Majeed;
*Hassan Azeba Al-Ubaidi.
On 24 June 2007, Ali Hassan al-Majid, Sultan Hashim Ahmed al-Tay, and Hussein Rashid Mohammed were sentenced to hang for their role in the
Al-Anfal Campaign
The Anfal campaign; ku, شاڵاوی ئەنفال or the Kurdish genocide was a counterinsurgency operation which was carried out by Ba'athist Iraq from February to September 1988, at the end of the Iran–Iraq War. The campaign targeted rur ...
against the Kurds. Two other former regime officials, Saber Abd Al-Aziz Aldori and Farhan Mutlaq Saleh were sentenced to life in prison. All charges against former governor of Mosul Taher Tawfiq Al-ani were dropped because of insufficient evidence.
Al-Majid would receive three more death sentences for other crimes: one for the 1991 suppression of a Shi'a uprising along with Abdul-Ghani Abdul Ghafur on 2 December 2008; one for the 1999 crackdown in the assassination of
Grand Ayatollah Mohammad al-Sadr on 2 March 2009; and lastly on 17 January 2010 for the gassing of the Kurds in 1988. Afterwards, he was hanged over a week later on 25 January.
General Director
The tribunal was initially led by
Salem Chalabi Salem Chalabi (aka "Sam Challabi") (born 13 August 1963, in Baghdad) is an Iraq-born, British- and American-educated lawyer. He was appointed as the first General Director of the Iraqi Special Tribunal, set up in 2003 to try Saddam Hussein and othe ...
a former exile and relative of
Ahmed Chalabi
Ahmed Abdel Hadi Chalabi ( ar, أحمد عبد الهادي الجلبي; 30 October 1945 – 3 November 2015) was an Iraqi politician, a founder of the Iraqi National Congress (INC) who served as the President of the Governing Council of ...
. Critics pointed to Salem's lack of experience and close ties to Iraqi dissidents, questioning US motives in his appointment. However, as his uncle Ahmed Chalabi fell from US favour in August 2004, warrants were issued for their arrest while they were both out of Iraq. Some saw this as an attempt to remove them from Iraqi politics. On 19 September 2004, ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' quoted Iraqi interim Prime Minister
Iyad Allawi
Ayad Allawi ( ar, إيَاد عَلَّاوِي ; born 31 May 1944) is an Iraqi politician. He served as the vice president of Iraq from 2014 to 2015 and 2016 to 2018. Previously he was interim prime minister of Iraq from 2004 to 2005 and the ...
as saying that he had received Salem's resignation.
Speculation immediately started on who would replace Salem; names mentioned include Taleb al-Zubaidi and Naim al-Oukaili. On 4 October 2004, the Iraqi National Council approved the nomination of Judge
Ammar al-Bakri Ammar al-Bakri is an Iraqi judge who was the administrator of the Iraqi Special Tribunal to rule over the trial of Saddam Hussein. Al-Bakri was approved by the Iraqi National Council on October 4, 2004.
Critics claimed that al-Bakri is too close t ...
, who became the new Administrator of the Special Tribunal – but was ousted in turn. The nine Appellate Judges have selected an eminent Iraqi jurist as president, who is the Tribunal's leader. Tribunal procedures are governed by the Rules of Procedure and Evidence and the Iraqi Criminal Procedural Code of 1971.
Controversy
Some international lawyers have criticized the United States for playing too great a role in the foundation, financing, and operation of the Tribunal.
International legal experts argued for Saddam to be tried outside the country as it was believed that he would not receive a fair trial under inexperienced judges who had been long standing enemies of him and his regime. Following the re-introduction of capital punishment in August 2004, the Iraqi interim PM Iyad Allawi gave assurances that he would not interfere with the trial and would accept any court decisions, although some of his comments are open to mis-interpretation: "As for the execution, that is for the court to decide — so long as a decision is reached impartially and fairly."
One of the judges, Ra’id Juhi, had indicted
Moqtada al-Sadr
Muqtada al-Sadr ( ar, مقتدى الصدر, Muqtadā aṣ-Ṣadr; born 4 August 1974) is an Iraqi politician and militia leader. He is the leader of the Sadrist Movement and the leader of the Peace Companies, a successor to the militia he had p ...
for murder in April 2004,
which British journalist
Robert Fisk
Robert Fisk (12 July 194630 October 2020) was a writer and journalist who held British and Irish citizenship. He was critical of United States foreign policy in the Middle East, and the Israeli government's treatment of Palestinians. His stanc ...
said had precipitated the
Iraq spring fighting of 2004
The 2004 Iraq spring fighting was a series of operational offensives and various major engagements during the Iraq War. It was a turning point in the war: before, the conflict was simply US/Coalition versus insurgents, but the Spring Fighting ma ...
. Fisk said that Juhi, a Shia Muslim then 33, had served as a judge under Saddam for a decade, then worked as a translator, and was appointed to the tribunal by
Paul Bremer
Lewis Paul Bremer III (born September 30, 1941) is an American diplomat. He led the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) following the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the United States, from May 2003 until June 2004.
Early life and education
Born on ...
.
Other legal issues
The Iraqi Special Tribunal also contains an official English translation of the Iraqi Criminal and Civil Code, which
Paul Bremer
Lewis Paul Bremer III (born September 30, 1941) is an American diplomat. He led the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) following the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the United States, from May 2003 until June 2004.
Early life and education
Born on ...
decreed would be the operating legal code of Iraq until it is changed or modified by the Iraqi government.
One emerging, critical issue to the mission of the Iraqi High Tribunal is that of women's human rights. Women occupy a uniquely vulnerable position in conflict, and the Iraqi High Tribunal is charged with prosecuting gender-based crimes within the Hussein regime. Historically, rape has proven a prolific problem in conflict, and in many Mid-East countries, including Iraq, such phenomena as honor crimes (the killing of rape victims by male family members to restore honor to the family name) inhibited gender justice. The Judges of the Iraqi High Tribunal have taken a pioneering interest in gender justice, requesting a training in fall of 2006 on international law tenets that protect women's human rights.
Attorney Janet Benshoof of the
Global Justice Center
The Global Justice Center (GJC) is an international human rights and humanitarian law organization aiming to advance gender equality by helping to implement and enforce human rights laws. Headquartered in New York City and led by Akila Radhakrishn ...
was among the legal authorities stressing the importance of upholding women's rights in future Iraqi High Tribunal decisions. The Judges proved very interested in protecting women's human rights in their future decisions, and have requested an amicus (friend of the court) brief from concerned attorneys and women's civil society organizations regarding future gender jurisprudence.
See also
*
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...
References
External links
Statute of the Iraqi Special Tribunal December 2004Grotian Moment WebblogStatute of the Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal October 2005
{{Iraq topics
Iraq, Criminal Tribunal
Government of Iraq
Law of Iraq
Iraq–United States relations