In Iraq, the concept of “transitional justice” was always defined as a tool to settle pre-2003 scores. The Iraqi government’s decision to terminate the Criminal Court, which specialized in trying members of the former regime, may have been an indication that this transitional justice phase had run its course, and of a shift towards a “state of law.” In fact, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki made the latter term the title of his electoral bloc so as to indicate this shift.

But the reality on the ground differs, not only in regards to the purging of former regime members, but in regards to the need for transitional justice in order to counteract the legacy of violence and political, social and institutional turmoil that followed in the regime’s wake.

The duplicitous and selective application of the term “violence” is no less misleading. This duplicity feeds into ever more political unrest and lapses in security that have placed Iraq right on the edge of the abyss.

In 2012, Iraq witnessed deepening divisions against a backdrop of numerous indictments handed out to senior Sunni leaders such as Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi and Minister of Finance Rafi al-Issawi. Other Sunni Arab leaders have already faced similar charges, making the list of fugitives who have fled to Iraq's neighboring countries in order to escape charges of terrorism quite long.