The UK government this week pledged more than 2 million to help rebuild Iraq's judicial system.

The money from the Department for International Development is supporting the initiative announced late last year by the International Legal Assistance Consortium (ILAC), a Stockholm-based organisation formed by the International Bar Association (IBA) and American Bar Association to rebuild legal institutions in post-conflict states (see [2003] Gazette, 19 December, 1).

The governments of Sweden and the US are among the other donors.

The money will fund training for judges, prosecutors and lawyers, study tours and partnerships between institutions.

Training will start next week, and ILAC is working in partnership with the Iraqi minister of justice, chief justice and president of the Iraqi Bar Association.

The Attorney-General, Lord Goldsmith, a former chairman of the IBA's human rights institute, said: 'The Iraqi people need an effective, fair justice system after 30 years of Ba'athism which corroded and undermined the justice system in Iraq.'

The Bar Council of England and Wales is involved in one of the projects, which will see it work with the Iraqi Bar Association to bolster legal education, self-regulation and professional standards.

Another programme, supported by the International Association of Prosecutors, will train 650 judges, prosecutors and lawyers in international human rights law.

The programmes include a component of 'training the trainers'.

ILAC's executive director, Christian hlund, said: 'As Iraq embarks on the long road to rebuilding itself, this training will provide invaluable experience in what will inevitably be the next period of justice system re-building: the conduct of trials for crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide.'

IBA executive director Mark Ellis added: 'What we're engaged in is the reconnection of the Iraqi legal system to the international legal community.'