14 February 2008
U.S. Attorney General Visits Iraq To Support Legal System
Justice Department programs help establish rule of law in Iraq
Washington -- Establishing a functioning national legal system based on the rule of law is a critical element for the Iraqi government as it struggles to provide good governance. U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey acknowledges that building such a system based substantially on different cultures and customs is a serious challenge.
"The United States is at a critical juncture in Iraq, and the Justice Department is working to ensure sustainability of the freedom and security," Mukasey says. "Our civilian volunteers are working with the Iraqi people to build a legal system fashioned by cultures and customs very different from our own, but founded upon the same bedrock principles: due process and the rule of law."
Mukasey said February 13 in Baghdad that efforts by Justice Department staff stationed at the U.S. Embassy already have resulted in significant progress. In Iraq, he met with Chief Judge Medhat al Mahoud, the head of Iraq's Higher Judicial Council, and two other members of the Iraqi judiciary, the department said. The attorney general also held meetings with General David Petraeus, the senior U.S. military commander in Iraq, and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker.
"We will continue to pursue ways to help the Iraqi people achieve a stable and transparent government," Mukasey said.
Initially, the Justice Department's mission, beginning in 2003, was to assist and advise in the reconstitution of the Iraqi judicial and law enforcement systems. However, these efforts have been expanded.
The State Department reorganized its civilian and law enforcement efforts in March 2007, creating a single authority, a senior Justice Department official known as the rule of law coordinator at the U.S. Embassy. The coordinator works with Iraqis to support the establishment of the rule of law in Iraq. The coordinator oversees the work of more than 300 personnel and coordinates closely with the U.S. ambassador and Multi-National Force - Iraq, according to the Justice Department.
The Justice Department has taken a number of steps to assist the Iraqi government:
• The Major Crimes Task Force, a joint Iraqi-U.S. organization, was formed in 2006 to address a rash of high-profile murders, assassinations and acts of sectarian violence and to provide training, support and mentoring for Iraqi law enforcement and task force members. The task force receives support from the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Marshals Service.
• The FBI's legal attaché, a senior FBI special agent, serves as the law enforcement liaison to the embassy, the Multi-National Force - Iraq and the international community.
• The Justice Department attaché is a senior department official who serves as the primary liaison to the Iraqi judiciary.
• A Law and Order Task Force was formed in February 2007 to build essential Iraqi capacity for independent, evidence-based, transparent and evenhanded investigations and trials of major crimes before the Central Criminal Court of Iraq.
• The Justice Department Criminal Division's Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development Assistance and Training assists the Iraqi justice sector in enhancing sustainable courts.
• The Criminal Division's International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program is a major police training program that works with coalition partners to assist in training the Iraqi police.
• The Justice Department established the Office of Regime Crimes Liaison to assist Iraqi efforts to prosecute members of the former Iraqi regime.
• The Iraq Commission on Integrity was established as an independent, autonomous governmental body to prevent and investigate corruption and promote transparency.
• The Iraq Corrections Service Development Program has led U.S. government efforts to reconstitute, develop and train personnel who are essential to a modern Iraqi corrections system.
Additional information on Justice Department programs in Iraq is available on the department’s Web site.
