Military court appeals in Iraq

Following is the abstract for Methods of appealing judgments and decisions issued by military courts, by Dr. Baraa Munther Kamal and Yasser Raad Abdullah, both of Tikrit University, Iraq. The article appears in the Tikrit University Journal for Rights.

The conclusion of the pleading and the pronouncement  of  the  ruling  in  the  criminal  case  is  not  the  last stage that the case goes through, as this represents the end of the role  of  the  court  competent  to  hear  the  case  from  a  procedural standpoint,  and  the  beginning  of  a  new  stage  represented  by  the post-trial  stage,  in  which  the  appeal  against  the  ruling  issued  is one  of  the  important  matters  from  those  who  authorized  it.  The law  provides  the  right  to  appeal  before  a  higher  court  than  the court  that  issued  the  ruling,  and  the  wisdom  seems  clear  in opening the door to appeal against rulings in order to avoid errors that may mar the ruling, whether procedural or substantive errors. Appeal   is   also   an   important   guarantee   that   provides   higher judicial  oversight  over  the  courts  that  have  jurisdiction.  When considering  lawsuits,  the  appeal  represents  the  legal  treatment  of errors that may occur in the criminal judgment and cause harm to the  parties  in  the  relationship,  which  could  be  the  result  of  the court’s  error  in  following  the  proper  procedures,  or  failure  to estimate the value of the evidence on which the court relied.There  are  two  types  of  appeal  methods:  ordinary  methods  and extraordinary ones. The ordinary methods are represented in Iraqi law by one type, which is the objection to the absentia judgment, according   to   which   the   case   is   reconsidered   again,   and testimonies,  statements  or  experts  are  heard  and  the  procedures related  to  the  parties  to  the  criminal  case.  As  for  the  methods Extraordinary ones are the ones that cannot be used and appealed against criminal rulings and decisions except in special cases that are  mentioned  exclusively,  and  what  should  be  raised  regarding matters  related  to  the  law  and  its  application  only.  Also,  this method  should  not  be  resorted  to  if  there  is  room  for  reviewing rulings  through  ordinary  methods.  These  methods  are  cassation, correcting  the  discriminatory  decision,  and  retrial.  Penal  laws often  combine  ordinary  and  extraordinary  methods  of  appeal, including  the  Code  of  Criminal  Procedure  No.  (23)  of  1971 (amended).  As  for  the  Military  Code  of  Criminal  Procedure,  it stipulates  the  methods  of  appeal  in  Chapter  Six  of  it,  which  are cassation,  correcting  the  discriminatory  decision,  and  retrial.  It does not stipulate objection to the ruling in absentia as one of the methods  of  appeal,  but  rather  stipulates  it  in  Chapter  Five  under the name of trial in absentia.