Investigative integration of the code of the higher Iraqi criminal court and the general principles of the Iraqi penal code: basic outcomes.

• Author: al-Saedi, Ra id Juhi
• Position: International Conference in Commemoration of the Sixtieth Anniversary of the Negotiation of the Genocide Convention

INTRODUCTION

At the end of World War I, after the Ottoman Empire was defeated, Iraq was separated from the Ottoman State, allowing a new Iraqi state to appear in its modern shape with Prince Faisal Bin Al-Hussein (who was known as Faisal I) as king. In 1925, under King Faisal I's rule, the first Iraqi constitution, known as the Basic Iraqi Code of the Year 1925, was written.

Monarchy rule continued until 1958, but it was confronted by many revolutions and military coups, such as the revolt of Bakr Sidqi in 1936 and Rashid Aali Al-Kilani and the Free Officers' (Salahuddin As-Sabbagh and Fahmi Saeed) revolt in 1941. After that, on July 14, 1958, monarchy rule was toppled by a military coup led by the late Adbulkarim Kasem. Faisal Bin Ghazi (known as Faisal II) and many other members of the Royal family were killed during this coup.

After Kasem's coup, the Iraqi government changed from a monarchy to a republic based on the 1958 temporary constitution. This period was marked by different violent incidents, including attempts to kill the enemies of the government. In addition, members of the Ba'ath Party, including Saddam Hussein, attempted to assassinate Kasem.

Abdulkarim Kasem and his regime were removed from power in 1963. Interestingly, at that time whenever a group removed the preceding group, it would kill all of its members instantly, through either show trials or quick military executions.

After the removal of Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq, there was a real need to establish the concept of superiority of the law in Iraq, instead of the superiority of killing. It was out of this need that the Iraqi High Tribunal was established.

THE FORMATION OF THE COURT AND THE INVESTIGATIVE PROCESS:

After the issuance of the Code of the Iraqi Special Tribunal in Article 1, and after the formation of the court and the appointment of its judges, the Code discusses the investigative process in Article 7. This section discusses the investigative process in general terms as part of the legal sections pertaining to the investigation of court magistrates, leaving the details to be worked out in the rules of procedure, which should have been prepared by the head of the court according to the regulations of Article 16 of the Code. (1)

After the completion of the rules of procedure for the court, there was also a procedural difficulty in the reality of the investigative work, because the rules of procedure did not state clearly if the investigation should be based on the nature of the defendant or the nature of the committed crime. Because the basic principles of the penal code clearly stated that the investigative work should be based on the nature of the crime, and not on the nature of the defendant, and because there was no specific provision in the Code of the Court, general legal principles were utilized in the investigatory process. Thus, every defendant will be investigated and questioned for every crime that he or she committed, which means that he or she would be tried for crimes where the available evidence is enough to bring a case to the penal court.

This matter...