Many of those who opposed the regime of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and worked to deliver information about his crimes and violations to international human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, never expected that these organizations would someday publish reports about serious human rights violations in Iraq led by Saddam’s opponents. There is, however, a yawning gap between the high expectations for post-Saddam Iraq and today’s reality. This gap is particularly apparent in the Iraqi judicial system.

Amnesty International's “Annual Report: Iraq 2013” points to serious human rights violations and to the failure of the Iraqi judiciary to ensure that justice is carried out according to international standards. The report criticizes the increasing recourse to the death penalty and the prevalence of torture and ill-treatment in detention centers, especially those controlled by the Ministries of Defense and Interior. While the report notes serious violations by armed groups, it also criticizes the government for mass arrests, alleging that many of the convicts, including some who have been executed, did not receive fair trials.

The Supreme Judicial Council issued a statement on Feb. 24 responding to the Amnesty report. It stressed that the death penalty is only handed out for serious crimes that threaten the security of citizens and their lives and that “courts apply the death penalty after making investigations and prosecutions that meet all international standards for fair trials.”

In a speech in February on the occasion of the opening of the headquarters of the Federal Judicial Authority, Medhat al-Mahmoud, the authority's head, acknowledged the difficulties faced by the judiciary because of the sheer number of cases, especially those involving terrorism. He however defended the judicial branch's record for dealing with cases independently and impartially.