Human rights: judges prepare to deal with intense scrutiny

A group of judges from the Iraqi Competent Tribunal (ICT) received training from the International Bar Association (IBA) in London earlier this month in preparation for the trials of former Baathist officials, including Saddam Hussein.


A panel of six judges and prosecutors with practical experience of trials in the former Yugoslavia, Sierra Leone and East Timor discussed best practice procedures for trials of gross human rights violations with the 19 Iraqi jurists.


The training covered international criminal offences, the applicability of international criminal law in a civil law jurisdiction, the rights of the accused, and witness protection.


The televising of proceedings, and how the judges would deal with intense national and international scrutiny, were also addressed.


But the project was overshadowed by the news that an investigating judge who had been on an earlier course, Barwez Marwan, had been assassinated in Baghdad during the week-long training.


The 19 Iraqi judges will form two trial courts, each with a panel of five judges, and one appeal court comprising nine jurists.


A total of 50 trial judges, investigating magistrates, prosecutors and appeal court judges constitute the ICT, which was established in 2003 by the Iraqi Governing Council to bring to trial those accused of crimes against humanity, genocide and other serious crimes in Iraq. IBA executive director Mark Ellis said: 'By supporting the judges through this training, the international community is recognising their personal courage, our responsibility to provide expertise and assistance, and also the uncertainty over whether these trials will be truly free and fair.'