Laptops Assist Iraqi Code Implementation
Baghdad
The system of justice in Iraq suffered under the regime of Saddam Hussein for decades. It was the victim of abuse, neglect and stagnation for nearly thirty years. But this has been changing, and things are looking up.
Under an initiative by the United Nations, the United States State Department, Coalition Forces, and the efforts of other friendly nations the court system in Iraq is being revamped and drawn back into modern times.
Training of Iraqi personnel on legal issues, using such modern items as laptops and CD ROMS has started to make a huge difference. The backlog of criminal cases is slowly being erased, and the criminal codes of Iraq from 1917 to the year 2006 are now available on CD ROM and electronically. This makes enforcing the law a great deal easier.
New Technology gives members of the Iraqi legal society abilities to access their laws, and makes enforcement and prosecution efforts consistent. The same software is now available to courts across Iraq and gives some semblance of consistency as the courts try to get a grip in the aftermath of the years under Saddam.
The legal efforts on the part of Coalition soldiers have really paid off. The new legal software has been loaded onto 250 different laptop computers, and distributed to 250 different judges and law professionals across Iraq.
Legal representatives from the Coalition have met with Judges in each of the 250 areas, and given instruction to them on how to access the information, and the benefits of the legal system on the laptops. For many of these judges it was their first exposure to using a computer.
