Erbil, Kurdistan – Iraq (KRG.org) – Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani yesterday met with US officials, the Judicial Council, judges, civil society organisations, and other stakeholders to discuss a ten-year capacity building plan designed to strengthen the rule of law.

Modernising the judicial system and creating an independent judicial branch has been among the Prime Minister's most important domestic aims, and he spoke passionately about the importance of such steps for the future of the Region.

“One of the most important duties of the Kurdistan Regional Government is to strengthen our judiciary and law enforcement mechanisms. We know that, more than almost any other challenge, failure to address these matters will hold back progress across a broad range of issues.”

Prime Minister Barzani outlined six concrete steps upon which he wishes to focus: judicial training, simplification of the judicial process, developing investigative skills and technology, improvements to the prison system, public education curricula, and benefiting from international initiatives conducted in the Middle East.

Ms Lucy Tamlyn, US Regional Reconstruction Team Leader, said, “The United States is pleased to provide the funding for the Rule of Law survey and strategy - also called road-map - for the Kurdistan Region.” She continued, “I am confident that this project will make a very important contribution to the Region.”

Wilson Myers, US Regional Reconstruction Rule of Law Adviser, briefed the participants on a variety of efforts underway so far.

In the spirit of the roundtable discussion, the Prime Minister spoke openly about the necessity for an independent judicial system, non-interference by political entities, and creating public trust in the judicial system as the third pillar of government.

The Chief of the Kurdistan Regional Government Judicial Council, the Deputy Speaker of the Kurdistan Parliament, and the Minister of Justice all expressed their dedication to this project, and emphasised the importance of recent legislation to enhance judicial independence.

See also Prime Minister Barzani's speech at the round table