New Integrity Commission head seeks to mend ties with judiciary
The newly appointed head of the Commission of Integrity, Dr. Muhammad Ali Al-Lami, is expected to prioritize mending relations with the judiciary and adopting a more diplomatic approach than his predecessor, who resigned last week.
Judge Haider Hanun had been facing mounting pressure to step down after a warrant for his arrest was issued for failing to appear in court to address accusations of bribery and provide responses to leaked audio recordings. In September, Hanun held a press conference in Erbil where he sharply criticized Judge Dhia Jafar, a prominent anti-corruption judge, accusing him of concealing files related to the "Heist of the Century" scandal.
One of Lami’s first acts as the head of the Integrity Commission was to meet with Judge Faiq Zaydan, head of the Supreme Judicial Council, with Judge Dhia Jafar also in attendance. A press release from Lami’s office following the meeting read almost like a letter of apology to the judiciary, emphasizing the importance of cooperation and the need to “overcome obstacles and challenges facing joint efforts.”
“The head of the Federal Integrity Commission and the head of the Supreme Judicial Council emphasized the importance of concerted efforts between the judiciary and oversight bodies in combating corruption, safeguarding public funds, recovering embezzled assets, and accelerating the resolution of cases.
Dr. Muhammad Ali Al-Lami, head of the Federal Integrity Commission, during his visit to the Supreme Judicial Council and meeting with its head, Judge Dr. Faiq Zaydan, praised the judiciary’s strong cooperation with oversight bodies, especially the investigators working under the supervision of investigating judges. He expressed hope that the collaboration and coordination between the two sides would help overcome the obstacles and challenges facing their joint efforts.
Al-Lami, in a meeting attended by the Head of the Judicial Supervision Authority in the Supreme Judicial Council, Judge Laith Jabr Hamza, the Judge of the Second Karkh Investigative Court specializing in integrity cases, Judge Dhia Jafar, the Deputy Head of the Baghdad - Rusafa Court of Appeals, Dr. Iyad Mohsen Damad, and the Director General of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Office at the Central Bank of Iraq, Nizar Nasser Hussein, commended the judiciary’s role in delivering justice and fighting corruption. He described it as the legal umbrella under which the Integrity Commission operates and is supervised.
He pointed out that the commission’s achievements in combating corruption were a product of its cooperation with the judiciary, covering actions from issuing judicial summons, seizure, and arrest warrants, to detention, travel bans, and culminating in conviction judgments.
The two parties agreed to increase the pace of cooperation between the commission and the Supreme Judicial Council, expedite the resolution of corruption cases, apprehend suspects in the act, and work diligently to return corruption proceeds to the state treasury, pursue corrupt individuals and those who steal public resources, and bring them to justice to receive fair punishment.”