Saddam Hussein—Delays, Security, and International Credibility Concerns

Today, the Iraqi judge presiding over the trial of Saddam Hussein granted an additional one-week delay to permit time for new defense counsel to prepare, and to take additional steps to ensure the security of judges, attorneys, and witnesses associated with these proceedings.^[1] The court met briefly on Monday after a five-week recess following the murder of a defense attorney for one of Hussein’s co‑defendants. The former Iraqi dictator has been charged with crimes against humanity for his role in a July 8, 1982, massacre in Dujail, Iraq, in which it is alleged that his Ba’athist regime tortured and killed over 140 people.^[2]

Since the beginning of the trial on October 19, 2005, proceedings have been delayed several times because of security issues—once after the October 20 murder of a defense attorney for one of Hussein’s co-defendants, and again after the November 8 murder of a second defense attorney and injury of a third. An additional four people associated with the Iraqi High Tribunal proceedings have been murdered this year, including a judge and one potential witness.^[3] A boycott by defense attorneys was ended last week when the Tribunal agreed to pay for bodyguards of the attorneys’ choosing.^[4] The court building is located in Baghdad inside the heavily protected U.S. "Green Zone."

To counter attacks from critics on the High Tribunal’s legitimacy, the court approved the additions of former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark and Najib al-Nueimi, a former Qatari justice minister, to replace the murdered defense attorneys as well as to enhance the trial’s international credibility.^[5] In addition, the sitting Iraqi judges have received training from U.S. experts in international law, among them Marc Vlasic, a former prosecution attorney in the trial of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.^[6] The Tribunal has assured its critics that it will adhere to international criminal law standards.

The Iraqi High Tribunal was established in 2003 by the Iraqi Governing Council acting under powers delegated to it by the occupation‑backed Coalition Provisional Authority.^[7] Although it is technically a national court, the Tribunal claims jurisdiction over conduct criminalized under both Iraqi law and international criminal law.^[8]

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[1] American Forces Press Service, Judge Delays Saddam Hussein Trial Again, December 1, 2005, available here.
[2] Id.
[3] Voice of America Press, Security Main Concern in Saddam Hussein Trial, November 30, 2005, available here.
[4] The Journal Gazette, Saddam Berates Judge, U.S., November 29, 2005, available here.
[5] See American Forces Press Service, December 1, 2005, available here.
[6] See Voice of America Press, November 30, 2005, available here.
[7] Guardian Unlimited, Comment: Trying Saddam, November 28, 2005, available here. The legal basis for this tribunal has been controversial from the beginning. The new Iraqi Transitional National Assembly recently amended and integrated the Tribunal’s Statute into the Iraqi judicial system as part of an ongoing process of legitimizing the proceedings against Saddam Hussein and his co-defendants.
[8] Id.