Among the events of RCD Forum 2019 – Baghdad, was holding the eighth session regarding the judicial authority, which entitled “Iraq’s Judiciary: Vision and Challenges”, in which the head of judiciary, Judge Mr. Faik Zidane in Iraq has been hosted there.
 
Mr. Zidane talked about the role of judicial authority in building modern states, saying that the first step, after 2003, was to reestablish the High Judicial Council, after decades of its cancellation under the former regime, in order to strengthen its independence from it, which is the most important thing that was achieved after that time. Moreover, the head of judicial authority has stressed that the authority practices its work in a complete impartiality way without being subject to pressure. In addition, he has pointed out the most important challenges facing the judicial authority, including a proposal to review the constitution, solely regarding its power, and that we did not establish any provision outside this framework, hoping that the legislators would consider our views in this regard.
 
Furthermore, Mr. Zidane has found that the approval of the appointment of judges in the senior positions of the judicial institution in the parliament council it is a violation to the independence of judiciary. He also added that “many of those who are holding the logo of respecting justice and not to interfere with it, violate this logo the most, and it is unfortunate that the media does not focus on the positive aspects of what the judiciary do to fight corruption.”
 
Finally, the head of judicial authority has stressed the necessity to new laws and the importance of reviewing all laws and prepare alternative provisions that keep up with these circumstances, saying that the formulations should not be of political backgrounds, rather they should be substantive formulations dealt with by judiciary. Furthermore, and in the same regard, he emphasized the necessity to accelerate the legislation of penal law and the need to financial resources to qualify and support judges, and provide them with protection and adequate housing. Moreover, the judge “Zidane” stressed that he is not in favor of increasing the number of judges under the pressure of need, which leads to an unbalanced judicial environment.