The fact that tribunal defendants may get the death penalty has caused major concern for international human rights groups and governments that dont support capital punishment. Per Iraqi law, it is likely that former regime leaders will be hanged if convicted of egregious crimes. For this reason, among others, the United Nations has refused to lend the tribunal moral, technical or financial support.
Is the death penalty legal under international law?
The death penalty is not outlawed under international law. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights allows states to impose the death penalty for the most serious crimes in accordance with the law in force at the time of the commission of the crime. In the Nuremburg Trials, 12 defendants were executed. Today, a majority of countries still impose the death penalty, and some that have abolished it can make exceptions for egregious violations of human rights. Iraq is a Muslim country, and the death penalty is allowed under sharia, or Islamic law. In October 2003, the CPAs chief administrator, Paul Bremer, suspended the death penalty in Iraq, but it was reinstated under protests from the United Nations and the United Kingdom in August 2004. On May 26, 2005, three men alleged to belong to the insurgent group Ansar alSunna Army were sentenced to death for murder, rape and kidnapping.
Why is the death penalty in play for the tribunal?
Scharf says that during the training of the Iraqi tribunal judges, they insisted the court should have a death penalty. The judges pointed out that Iraq has always had a death penalty, dating back to the 2,700yearold Code of Hammurabi, the worlds first criminal code. They felt they needed it as insurance that former Baath leaders could never return to power. A lesson in history comes from 1815, when Napoleon escaped from exile in Elba and sparked the terrible Napoleonic Wars. In Iraq, there is widespread support for the death penalty. Leaders of the Shiiah Muslimled United Iraqi Alliance, with the notable exception of President Jalal Talabani, who is against the death penalty, have insisted Saddam must be executed for his crimes.
Are there concerns with how the death penalty may be applied in Iraq?
Iraqi law forbids the execution of anyone over 70 years old. Saddam is 68, and some critics worry that a desire to execute him before he reaches 70 could lead to a hasty trial. Theres also concern that if Saddam is convicted of war crimes in one of the first trials, he could hang before being tried for his other crimes. Tribunal law doesnt allow the death sentence of any Iraqi official, including the president, to be commuted and says the execution of the defendant must happen within 30 days of a final judgment. Such haste to execute, critics say, would deny the Iraqi people of a thorough accounting of the crimes committed under the dictators rule. Several Iraqi politicians, including Vice President Adel Abdul Mahdi and Defense Minister Hazem Shaalan, have publicly called for Saddams execution as soon as possible. During their training, Scharf says, the judges generally agreed that enforcing the death penalty at the end of the first case would undercut one of the main purposes of the [tribunal], which is to create a historic record of the worst atrocities of the Saddam Hussein regime. Scharf is confident that the tribunal judges will stay execution until the defendants have stood trial in the major cases against them.Back to top Next: Whose Justice?