ICTJ in the News

October 18, 2005

New law just for Saddam

The Toronto Star

Statutes add a 'new layer of murkiness' to legal proceedings aimed at bringing former dictator to justice and prevent Saddam from speaking in his own defence, reports from BaghdadA day away from standing trial charged with the sins of deadly dictatorship, Saddam Hussein's legal defence team is scrambling to delay the proceedings amid confusion over newly written laws designed to bring the former ruler to justice.

International monitors en route to Baghdad to observe the trial said the new statutes, passed by parliament but not yet published as law, add a "new layer of murkiness" to a controversial process that is expected to set a benchmark for the quality of law in the new Iraq.

The statutes, expected to take effect as early as tomorrow, include a provision allowing the five-judge Iraqi Special Tribunal to prevent Saddam from speaking in his own defence.

Iraqi authorities have yet to indicate whether they will allow the trial to be televised live, or taped for later broadcast.

Either way, Saddam's first encounter with the new Iraqi justice is likely to be short-lived, with many observers expecting an adjournment of several weeks or longer.

"Everyone is expecting an adjournment, either short or long," said Hani Megally, Middle East director of the New York-based International Centre for Transitional Justice, which together with Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch will monitor the trial.

"Things are just too murky. There are too many questions, including the question of Saddam's defence team itself, which may change yet again before anything moves forward."

Tomorrow's trial is expected to begin with the formal reading against Saddam and seven others of charges stemming from the killing of 143 Shiite Muslims in the village of Dujail, north of Baghdad, in the aftermath of a failed 1982 attempt on the former president's life.

The charges are but the first in what ultimately may be more than a dozen separate dossiers relating to atrocities against Iraqis perpetrated during the Saddam era.

The names of more than 1,500 lawyers from the Arab world and other countries have been bandied about in the 22 months since Saddam's capture near the Iraqi city of Tikrit, the former president's tribal seat.

But the team building has been hampered by interference from Saddam's daughter Raghad, who is in exile in the Jordanian capital of Amman, and also by Iraqi tribunal rules barring non-Iraqi lawyers from assuming anything greater than "adviser" status.

Baghdad sources close to Saddam's lead Iraqi lawyer, Khalil Dulaimi, say the defence is expected tomorrow to challenge the legitimacy of the tribunal and also to raise a series of procedural and jurisdictional objections with the intention of buying time to better prepare.

Raghad Hussein dismissed nearly the entire defence team in August, complaining of conflicting advice.

In addition to Dulaimi, British-based Iraqi lawyer Abdel-Haq Alani remains chief defence strategist.

But late last week another noted British legalist, Anthony Scrivener, confirmed he had been invited to join the team.

International observers assigned to the trial remain troubled by what they describe as a closed process.

"Look to Rwanda, to the former Yugoslavia, to Sierra Leone and East Timor and you see a pattern of internationalized tribunals, where the process was transparent and open to comment and refinement before the proceedings began," said Richard Dicker, who will attend Saddam's trial for Human Rights Watch.

"But the model chosen for Iraq goes the other way. What's missing is the steadying hand of international judges to help empower the Iraqis to rise to such a complex and highly charged occasion.

"We're not talking about pushing the Iraqi judges out of the way but simply accepting that the legacy of the past 30 years includes the degradation of what was once a sophisticated legal system in Iraq," he said.

"We've argued the best way forward is to internationalize the process and create a partnership with the Iraqis.

"Unfortunately, the decision was made to approach it this way."

Given the enormous legal implications both for Iraq and for the greater Middle East the monitoring groups en route to Baghdad say they remain hopeful the trial proceedings themselves can exceed all expectations.

"The great fear is that all the missteps up to this point and the sense that political motivations lie behind them is going to leave the impression of a victor's justice - or worse, a return to the Iraq's long legacy of swift trials and speedy executions," said Megally.

"But we believe, despite everything, it is not too late for this trial to be a success. What we hope is that somehow the judges will find it in themselves to rise above everything and move forward in a way that not only is - but also can be seen to be - beyond reproach.

"It is critically important not only for Iraq's future, but also for the entire Middle East, which will be watching closely this first attempt to bring the perpetrators of rights abuses to justice."

With files from Amir Muhsin in Baghdad