Friday, January 09, 2004

Above the law

How have the Coalition Forces in Iraq been getting away with killing Iraqi civilians, religious leaders, demonstrators, and foreign journalists with impunity? It's almost as if they are above the law.

CPA Order Number 17, which deals with the legal status of coalition personnel, states they are exactly that - above the law.

According to section 2 of this document, subheading number four, "All Coalition personnel shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of their Parent States and, they shall be immune from local criminal, civil, and administrative jurisdiction and from any form of arrest or detention…"

Just in case Coalition personnel commit an act for which there are no criminal sanctions in their Parent State, subheading five states, "…the CPA may request from the Parent State waiver of jurisdiction to try such act or acts under Iraqi law. In such cases, no Legal Process shall be commenced without the written permission of the Administrator of the CPA [currently L. Paul Bremer]."

How convenient.

  article

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

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