Artículos Destacados

Enero 22, 2008

ICTJ Issues Report on Iraq's New "Accountability and Justice" Law

On January 12, 2008, the Iraqi parliament passed the "Law of the Supreme National Commission for Accountability and Justice." The new law replaces the earlier framework governing Iraq's controversial De-Ba'athification policies, and is the culmination of an epic struggle between De-Ba'athification opponents and supporters lasting more than eighteen months.

The ICTJ is one of few international organizations to have monitored De-Ba'athification issues closely since 2003. The Center has drafted a document, Briefing Paper: Iraq's New "Accountability and Justice" Law, which analyzes key aspects of the new law as well as its potential problems.

Issues highlighted in the paper include:

1. The new law is not the major change that reformers had pushed for. Instead, the law preserves the previous De-Ba'athification system and simply renames Iraq's controversial De-Ba'athification Commission. This is a major change from the draft law that went to parliament in December;
2. Reinstatement rights, pension rights, and the appeals system have been strengthened for many thousands of people, at least on paper. These are welcome improvements - but do not change the fact that the system is still based on guilt by association, not on individual deeds;
3. The new Commission has stronger powers than previously and its reach will now extend across different organizations, including the President's Office, Prime Minister's Office, and the Supreme Judicial Council. Exemptions will be harder to come by. These changes will likely cause political backlash and also severely violates the independence of Iraq's judiciary. These provisions are in addition to the new language that forces all former employees of Ba'ath era security forces to retire, which is already complicating the law's political reception;
4. The new Commission will now have the power to investigate complaints of corruption or criminal activity by former Ba'athists and gather evidence for judicial action. This could be a welcome move towards greater accountability-or a new mechanism to conduct public and high profile witch hunts. Much depends on the Commission's new leadership and the new rules they must establish for the Commission's work.
   

"Accountability and Justice" Law (English) | ICTJ's Iraq page

For comment and press briefings about the new law, contact Kasia Reterska at kreterska@ictj.org or +1 917 637 3847.