(Current as of July 5, 2003)

• Mission: institute rule of law in Iraq and restore non-judicial Ministry functions
• Ministry has responsibility for:
• Courts
• Prosecutors
• Judicial and prosecutorial training
• Publishing Legal Gazette (all laws and CPA proclamations)
• Notaries Public
• Deeds & Records
• Prisons (since June 5)
• Est. 12,000 employees
• Est. 130 courthouses (est. 48 in operation)
• Est. 400 courts (est. 100 in operation)
• Organizational charts attached
• CPA Senior Advisor: Judge Donald F. Campbell

• The justice system was idle
• almost total devastation
• most Ministry buildings had suffered extensive damage from looting, were non-functional
• of 18 courthouses in Baghdad, 12 were gutted
• approximately 75% of the remaining estimated 110 courthouses in Iraq (outside Kurdish regions) were destroyed as well
• neither courts nor other central ministry functions were operating
• many Ministry employees continued to report for work, but could do nothing.
• Business-as-usual in Kurdish region
• Many complaints of prevalent Ba'athism, corruption
• corruption ubiquitous, according to all sources
• but less Ba'athist taint than other Ministries
• judiciary was not viewed as fast track to success
• Saddam diverted all cases of interest to regime to special security, military, police, and other courts
• Only 35 of 12,000 employees were in top four Ba'ath party levels
• Detention centers were responsibility of Ministry of Interior; prisons were responsibility of Ministry of Labor & Social Affairs. Both types of holding facility were in deplorable condition

• Consolidated all Baghdad criminal court functions into the two operational Baghdad courthouses May 8, 2003
• $20 emergency payments disbursed in Baghdad on May 10; additional $30 emergency payments and salaries in Baghdad and some governorates on June 1; regular payments now underway
• Assumed responsibility for prisons pursuant to CPA Order No. 10
• prisons standards set by CPA Memorandum No. 2
• est. 8 prison facilities operating nationwide
• maximum-security prison needed
• Extensive facilities repairs underway
• total $480,000 secured for emergency repairs; over $2M for repairs generally
• Ministry building now partially operable and work is ongoing
• Iraqi Judicial College (formerly Judicial Training Institute), which had been completely gutted, was repaired with USAID assistance and re-opened on June 17, the first major reconstruction projected completed since Saddam's fall
• Many courts and courthouses up and running
• est. 400 courts (est. 100 now operating)
• est. 130 courthouses (est. 48 now operating)
• De-Ba'athification: interviewed and screened all top officials including Directors General.
• Minister had fled
• five directors general were removed for party affiliation
• exceptions requested for two still pending
• Applicable law and legal reforms
• 1969 Penal Code, subject to CPA Order No. 7 repealing odious provisions inconsistent with fundamental human rights
• 1971 Penal Procedure Code, subject to CPA Memorandum No. 3 establishing new rights such as
• right to counsel
• new public defender program being developed
• right against self-incrimination
• right to be informed of these rights
• absolute exclusion of evidence obtained by torture
• Comprehensive National Judicial Assessment was conducted May - June
• Judicial Review Committee
• established to vet every judge and prosecutor for Ba'athist links, corruption, complicity in human rights abuses, other malfeasance
• has begun reviewing judges and prosecutors, starting with personnel for Central Criminal Court of Iraq
• Central Criminal Court of Iraq
• best judges and prosecutors from around country
• formed to try cases of national importance
• will be model for Iraqi judiciary of substantive and procedural fairness
• aims to begin operations in July
• Legal Gazette resumed publishing
• contains all Coalition orders, regulations, etc.
• has been published since 1920's
• postwar publication resumed on June 17
• Pro bono program
• lawyers perform legal services to needy clients and receive $2 per hour, up to 125 hours
• $100,000 in funding
• Approx. $80,000 disbursed so far
• Comprehensive National Policy Guidance disseminated on June 27
• Kurdish region
• business-as-usual
• Clint Williamson visited with KDP and PDK Ministers of Justice in late May
• said Coalition did not wish to inaugurate immediate, sharp changes
• also that we wished to open dialogue
• reintegration plan needed
• Medhat Mahmood will be appointed acting officer-in-charge of the Ministry of Justice
• Mr. Medhat is President of the State Judicial Advisory Council
• was never a Ba'athist
• attended Donor Conference in New York in June

• Continue reconstruction efforts
• Build criminal defense counsel program
• Implement and inculcate new criminal justice rights
• Judicial Review Committee work underway
• Central Criminal Court of Iraq to begin proceedings in July
• Judicial Inspection Unit as follow-on to Judicial Review Committee to maintain standards
• Continue de-Ba'athification

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