NAME OF MECHANISM

Iraq Special Tribunal, since 2005 the Iraqi Higher Criminal Court (IHCC)

YEARS OF OPERATION

Launched in December 2003

MANDATE AND OPERATIONS

Mandate: Established by Iraqi Governing Council, with the assistance of the United States Government, to investigate crimes, such as genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, committed since July 17, 1968.

Staff: 20 investigative judges and up to 20 prosecutors, 35 judges and 400 staff, who all must be Iraqi nationals. [The Nation, March 12, 2005]

Structure: 1 or more Trial Chambers each with 5 judges; 1 Appeals Chamber; Prosecutions Department; Administration Department.

LATEST UPDATE

January 2008: In one of the most highly publicised trials of recent years, the IHCC tried and convicted Saddam Hussein for the deaths of 148 men and boys in the Shia town of Dujail. Saddam Hussein was executed on 30 December 2006.

Also sentenced to death were Saddam's half-brother and former intelligence chief, Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, former vice-president Taha Tassin Ramadan and former chief judge Awad Hamed al-Bandar.

Controversy surrounded the proceedings criticised by Human Rights Watch for its lower threshold for conviction than the "beyond reasonable doubt" required by international standards, its lack of experienced judges and its conduction of trials in absentia.

The work of the court was also plagued by violence, and two defense lawyers and six court officials, including one judge, have been killed.