Baghdad -

Despite the existence of a political agreement in Iraq according to which the government of Muhammad Shia al-Sudani was formed, regarding referring the file of the Accountability and Justice Commission, or what is known as the (de-Baathification) Commission, to the judiciary in preparation for its abolition, there are legal and constitutional contexts that prevent its expedited referral or cancellation .

The Commission confirmed that transferring or dissolving its archives is the prerogative of Parliament and not the government that submitted a request in accordance with the ministerial program and the political agreement concluded between the forces of the ruling coalition (the state administration), which includes most of the political forces and components, and with the agreement of which the government was formed.

The head of the Accountability and Justice Commission, Bassem Al-Badri, tells Al-Jazeera Net that the government's request for legal action is within the framework of the political agreement that preceded the formation of the government, but it needs to be in the constitutional path through the enactment of a law in the House of Representatives that ends the work of the commission or regulates its work in another way.

Al-Badri did not give more details, but indicated that what some media outlets published about the numbers of those included in the accountability and justice procedures is inaccurate.

Earlier, media outlets quoted the commission as saying that there are millions of documents still on the way to scrutiny, and they bear the names of a large number of those covered by the de-Baathification procedures.

According to the sources, the delay in checking most of the documents for more than 15 years for reasons that may be deliberate, or because of administrative delay, and that there are at least one million Iraqis covered by the eradication, at least 25% of whom are from the former security services.

The Sunni forces in Iraq, inside and outside the political process, see that de-Baathification is a tool of repression and a card against opponents that appears mostly with the election seasons. There are political and punitive motives behind it.

Hussein Al-Amiri considered that referring the commission's files to the judiciary is one of the powers of Parliament (Al-Jazeera Net)

Parliament's powers

In his response to calls for the dissolution of the Commission or the transfer of its archives to the judiciary as a prelude to its dissolution, a member of the Coordinating Framework Forces, Representative Hussein Al-Amiri, affirmed that referring the Commission’s files to the judiciary is one of the powers of Parliament, through the enactment of a special law for that, after discussion, reading, and then voting on the continuation of the Commission’s work from Or not, pointing out that the commission is constitutional and has been approved in the Iraqi constitution.

Al-Amiri believes, in an interview with Al-Jazeera Net, that the Commission has a role in working on many important and essential matters during the past years, including the removal of Baath Party members who hold high degrees in many important positions in the state.

He added that the Commission achieved positive results and its work was effective, influential and fair at the same time, noting the information available in the political agreements that it will not be canceled but rather restructured in a way that is fair to everyone, especially those who "have not stained their hands with the blood of Iraqis", and these can play their role and their lives. natural away from exclusion while taking their full entitlements.

Article 7 of the Iraqi constitution stipulates that “any entity or approach that adopts racism, terrorism, takfir, or sectarian cleansing, or incites, paves the way, glorifies, promotes, or justifies it, especially the Saddamist Ba’ath in Iraq and its symbols and under whatever name, is prohibited. This is within the framework of political pluralism in Iraq, and this is regulated by law.

Through this article, the Accountability and Justice Commission was able to exclude hundreds of candidates for the elections, and dismiss thousands from their jobs because of their backgrounds of belonging to the banned Baath Party.

The American civil administrator for Iraq, Paul Bremer, had dissolved the Baath Party after the invasion of Iraq in 2003, and formed a committee he called the De-Baathification Committee, and its name was later changed to the Accountability and Justice Commission.

Mishaan al-Jubouri ruled out that delaying the dissolution of the commission would cause a rift in the forces allied to the government (Iraqi press)

The fate of the alliance

Regarding the possibility that delaying the referral of the body to the judiciary or its dissolution would lead to the overthrow of the state administration coalition or a rift between the allied forces, former parliamentarian Mishaan al-Jubouri believes that no one is ready to leave the state coalition and give up his presence in power because of its other privileges, according to his expression.

Al-Jubouri told Al-Jazeera Net that the implementation of the government program means that the body dissolves itself, and that is difficult to accept, because the directors of the body are appointed with special degrees, and it includes hundreds of employees, and therefore its existence is by law, and its dissolution is dependent on a law that the government sends to Parliament for a vote, expected. The government should send the draft law to parliament soon.

transitional law

Regarding resolving the de-Baathification file in accordance with the political agreements, the political analyst Wathiq Al-Jabri believes that this file must be resolved as it is one of the transitional laws, but it remained stuck and was used for political purposes, especially before every election or the formation of a government, noting that exceptions were made to it for political purposes as well, noting. Until resolving the file, identifying the parties involved, and transferring their cases to the judiciary was within the political agreement that preceded the formation of the government.

Al-Jabri tells Al-Jazeera Net that there is certainly a possibility to resolve this file if the political forces are serious about it, and according to what was determined by the political agreement, which is to close this file after settling its belongings judicially, noting that the matter is not related to one component only, and may include other components. Therefore, the possibility of a solution is related to political will, especially after the government pledged to do so.

Yahya Al-Kubaisi: Dissolving the Commission requires real political will (communication sites)

Sheer absurdity

The researcher on Iraqi political affairs, Yahya Al-Kubaisi, shares what Al-Jabri said that dissolving the commission requires real political will, especially since the House of Representatives can terminate its work by an absolute majority, adding that there is no such will, and that everything that is happening is pure futility.

Al-Kubaisi told Al-Jazeera Net that the Accountability and Justice Commission is called in the law a revealing body and not an originating body, meaning that its role is limited to answering the relevant authorities if a person is covered by its law or not.

He pointed out that the government's request was originally an illegal and illogical request at the same time, and merely an attempt to circumvent the political agreement related to the abolition of the commission, in addition to that, the commission does not have a decision in this matter, but the Sunni representatives use this demand to deceive their audience, and therefore it will not affect Absolutely not committing to ending the eradication file against the State Administration Alliance.

Ali Al-Tamimi believes that the House of Representatives has the right to dissolve the commission by an absolute majority (Al-Jazeera Net)

procedures prior to its resolution

Regarding the legal procedures that are supposed to precede the referral of the Commission’s files to the judiciary in preparation for its dissolution, legal expert Ali Al-Tamimi confirms that the House of Representatives has the right to dissolve the Commission after completing its work by an absolute majority, in accordance with Article (135) of the Constitution, and by referring to the Commission’s Law No. (10). ) for the year 2008, as Article (19) of it required that this body submit a quarterly report to the House of Representatives on the actions it took, as it is linked to the House of Representatives and subject to its oversight, so it is obligated to notify the House of Representatives of the end of its work or not.

Al-Tamimi added to Al-Jazeera Net that Article (24) of the Accountability and Justice Commission Law obligated the commission to prepare an archive of those involved and their jobs and refer it to parliament, so that the latter could circulate it to government agencies and organizations.

Al-Tamimi explained that the dissolution of the commission does not require new legislation, because the method of dissolution was drawn by the legislator with all the procedures in the effective commission law, and therefore if the House of Representatives decides to dissolve, then this decision is an extension and complement to the legal procedures that it drew.