VZCZCXRO4549
RR RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #1964/01 1611234
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 101234Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4997
INFO RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 001964 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DOJ FOR DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINS KJUS IZ
SUBJECT:  PROBLEMS FACING THE IRAQI JUDICIARY 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY: Improving performance of the 
Iraqi judiciary faces immediate challenges:  too 
few judges, a lack of security, and a 
constitutional mandate that needs to be defined by 
further legislation. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The Mission has already taken measures 
to begin addressing these problems, including 
building new courthouses and providing secure 
housing for judges in the International Zone.  We 
are also looking into ways to find funding to 
build secure housing, to expand the capacity of 
the institute that trains Iraqi judges, and to 
support other capacity and security improvements. 
END SUMMARY 
 
LACK OF CAPACITY 
---------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) At present, the total number of trial 
and investigative judges is 724.  This is far less 
than the estimated minimum of 1,200 needed to 
reduce overcrowding in detention facilities and to 
increase the resolution of criminal and civil 
cases.  A lack of work ethic among some judges 
also impacts upon the capacity of the judiciary. 
 
LACK OF SECURITY 
---------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The Iraqi judiciary also faces a 
critical lack of security. 
 
-- On a routine basis, judges, as well as members 
of their staffs and families, are threatened with 
violence.  Seventeen judges have been assassinated 
since 2003.  The son of the President of the 
Higher Juridical Council was killed on May 12, 
¶2006. 
 
-- The juvenile court in Baghdad's Adhamiyah 
district was burned down in March 2006.  In May, a 
bomb exploded outside the courthouse in Baghdad's 
Rusafa district, killing nine people and wounding 
many more. 
 
-- In Anbar, Diyala and Ninawa provinces, violence 
and threats have been so extreme that the criminal 
courts are functioning little if at all. 
 
-- As a result of poor security, some judges 
decline to report to work; others have tendered 
their resignations.  This has exacerbated problems 
related to already low judicial capacity. 
 
EXISTING PROGRAMS 
----------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The United States has several programs 
designed to improve court security and capacity. 
 
-- The United States Marshals Service is providing 
security support to some high-visibility Iraqi 
judges, including those of the Iraqi High Tribunal 
(which hears cases against Saddam Hussein and his 
associates) and of the Central Criminal Court of 
Iraq (which hears insurgency and terrorism cases, 
among others).  This support includes daily 
courthouse security, courthouse modernization, 
housing, transportation, and threat response. 
 
-- The Mission is supporting the construction of 
five new courthouses in Basrah, Hillah, Mosul, and 
Baghdad (in the Karkh and Rusafa districts). 
Improvements are also being made in the security 
features and operational capacities of other 
courthouses, including the establishment of secure 
facilities for witnesses. 
 
THE WAY FORWARD 
--------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The Mission is examining ways to 
increase the number of judges and to promote their 
safety, both at work and at home. 
 
 
BAGHDAD 00001964  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶7.  (SBU) We are soliciting enhanced financial 
support from other donors for: 
 
-- Increasing the number of judges graduating from 
the Judicial Training Institute (which is 
responsible for training new judges and 
prosecutors) by increasing the size of the faculty 
and the facility; 
 
-- Constructing secure judicial housing; 
 
-- Establishing an Iraqi Marshals Service, 
providing personal security details (PSDs), 
obtaining secure transportation, and other safety 
measures. 
 
¶8. (SBU) We also plan to encourage the direct 
appointment to civil courts of additional judges 
from the ranks of those who previously served as 
judges and to criminal courts of practicing 
attorneys with more than ten years of experience. 
 
CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTIONS 
------------------------ 
 
¶9.  (SBU) The new constitution maintains the 
judiciary's nominal status as an independent 
branch of government, but it vests in the Council 
of Representatives considerable authority to 
define through legislation the role, powers and 
procedures of the Higher Juridical Council and the 
courts. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) If this legislation is influenced by 
extremist agendas, it likely will undermine the 
judiciary's ability to hold the government 
accountable and to adjudicate and interpret the 
constitution equitably and independently.  The 
Mission will cooperate with the Iraqis and will 
attempt to help them draft legislation that 
defines the structure and mandate of the judiciary 
while maintaining its independence. 
 
KHALILZAD