Dr Bushra Al-Aubaidi of Baghdad University College of Law has kindly permitted us to publish her research (in Arabic) on gender discrimination in Iraqi Society and in the Penal Code No. 111 of 1969.
Category: Primary Codes
Proposals for Reform of the Public Prosecution Service
We have translated a paper by Judge Nassir Omran al-Mousawi setting out a history of the Public Prosecution service and making proposals for further reform to enable the service to achieve its potential and fill the roles allotted to it by current Iraqi legislation. Judge Nassir notes that the Public Prosecution is not yet able […]
Level of Fines for Criminal Offences
Inflation has greatly devalued the Iraqi Dinar since the Criminal Laws Promulgated in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. The Penal Code and other laws provides for fines to be levied by the courts at levels which are now too small to have any deterrent effect. The Council of Representatives passed Law No. 6 of 2008 […]
Continuing Supervision and Punishment After Release from Prison
Prior to 1978 the continuing punishment of those released from prison after serving their sentences was regulated by Articles 342 to 351 of the Criminal Procedure Code. RCC Resolution 997 of 1978 deleted these provisions and replaced this regime with some new provisions relocated to amended sections of the Penal Code No. 111 of 1969. […]
Public Prosecutor Law No. 159 of 1979
The Public Prosecutor Law No. 159 of 1979, published in the Official Gazette, issue 2746 of 17 December 1979, was one of a number of laws enacted under the only partly realised law reform project which emerged from the Legal System Reform Law No. 35 of 1977. This was an attempt to use “legislation . […]
kashf al-dalala ‘Discovering the evidence’
‘Discovering the evidence’ (kashf al-dalala) is a procedure whereby an accused who has made a confession is taken to the crime scene in order to explain to the investigative judge, or any other person taking the investigative judge’s place in conducting the investigation, the actions that the accused took in committing the crime. Usually, police […]
When does life really mean life?
The Iraqi Penal Code No. 111 of 1969 in article 87 defines the term ‘life imprisonment’ (sijn mua’abbad) as “the confinement of a convicted person in a penal institution set up by law for that purpose for a period of 20 years”. This form of punishment could apply when a serious crime such as intentional […]
Looking back at the ‘Future of Iraq’
From October 2001 until early 2003 over 200 international experts and exiled Iraqi engineers, lawyers, businesspeople, doctors and others, spearheaded by the US State Department, met to discuss and advise on public health and humanitarian needs, transparency and anti-corruption, oil and energy, defense policy and institutions, transitional justice, democratic principles and procedures, local government, civil […]
Amendments to Criminal Procedure Code No. 23 of 1971 in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq
Amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code in the rest of Iraq are dealt with here. The view of Kurdish lawyers, judges and legislators is that, save for laws relating to the exclusive federal powers as listed in Article 110 of the 2005 Constitution, and following Kurdish Decree No. 11 of 1992 (arabic), new laws and […]
Law Reform 1977 style
In 2009 Baghdad and Erbil are subject to a veritable barrage of law reform proposals. The Council of Representatives is sitting on proposals for constitutional review and bills such as those to give a sure footing to the judiciary; to give a proper structure to the various anti-corruption bodies; for a constitutionally compliant process to […]