Region | Iraq
Questions and answers about legal procedure
Following are some questions and answers about the legal procedure and what happens after a verdict is announced.
- Reuters
- Published: 00:00 November 4, 2006
Following are some questions and answers about the legal procedure and what happens after a verdict is announced.
The court
Saddam and his co-defendants are being tried before what was originally called the Iraqi Special Tribunal, established in December 2003 by US-led occupation authorities. It became known as the Iraqi High Tribunal in October 2005 and consists of two trial chambers with five judges in each.
The charges
Saddam has been charged with crimes against humanity for the arrest, torture, killings and deportation of 399 men, women and children. A total of 148 were killed. The charge sheet includes wilful killing, deportation or forcible transfer of population, imprisonment, torture, enforced disappearance of persons and other inhumane acts.
Prosecutors have demanded the death penalty against Saddam, his half-brother Barzan Al Tikriti, former vice-president Taha Yassin Ramadan and former Revolutionary Court head Awad Hamed Al Bander.
The verdict
A five-panel judge will issue a majority verdict. Proof must be shown only to the "satisfaction" of the judges, falling short of the "beyond reasonable doubt" benchmark of the Anglo-Saxon legal system. If found guilty, Saddam faces the maximum penalty of death, which is carried out by hanging. Saddam has said he deserves to meet this fate by firing squad because he is a military officer. Judges could also hand down a sentence of life in prison.
The appeal
Defendants can appeal the verdict to a nine-member appeals chamber. If the verdict is death or life in prison, an appeal is automatic even if defence counsel does not submit one. Any sentence must be carried out within 30 days of all appeals being exhausted. There is no statute of limitation as to how long the appellate court can take on ruling.
The presidential council, made up of Iraq's president and two vice-presidents, has to ratify any death sentence before it is carried out. The current president is an ethnic Kurd and the two vice-presidents are a Shiite and a Sunni Arab. Iraq's law states that the corpse of the executed person is handed over to relatives if they so request. Otherwise the prison authorities will carry out the burial at government expense, but there will be no funeral ceremony.
Other cases
Saddam is also facing charges in a separate trial for genocide against ethnic Kurds. Even if the ousted leader receives a death sentence, proceedings for the Anfal (Spoils of War) military campaign will continue. Only after the death of a defendant are the charges of other cases dropped.
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