First Deputy Speaker of Iraqi Parliamentary al-Kaabi: Parliament is drafting a law to establish a special court to handle ISIS crimes

BAGHDAD — On Tuesday, the office of Hassan al-Kaabi, First Deputy Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, issued a statement noting that the parliament is in the process of enacting a new law to form a court exclusively tasked with handling cases relating to crimes committed by members of the Islamic States (ISIS). Al-Kaabi stressed that the parliament’s legal committee is currently working on finalizing the draft law.

Al-Kaabi’s office said that they had received the head of the team investigating ISIS crimes, U.N. adviser Karim Khan, alongside the chairman of the legal committee Rebwar Hadi and Member of Parliament Mohammed Ghazi.

Al-Kaabi also said that the law will send a good message to all partners who helped and contributed to the fight against ISIS and that the special court will be the first whose sole task will be to hold members of ISIS accountable. The law will also be an important step for the parliament to establish a database documenting the group’s crimes, while at the same time creating the opportunity for Iraq to conduct international trials through a national framework. Hopefully, said al-Kaabi, the court will gain the support of other states, “The crimes of ISIS did not affect Iraq alone but extended to most countries of the world.”