Criminal Measures Against Offenders of Environmental Pollution Crimes in Iraq After 2003

A major challenge in the protection of the Iraqi environment from pollution is the difficulty of determining the perpetrator’s criminal responsibility for environmental pollution crimes. As such, there must be a set of legal procedures and punishments to combat environmental pollution crimes. Fixed legal procedures must be followed after a crime is detected and it should include investigations, arrests, court trials and enforcement of the punishment if the perpetrator is found guilty. The Iraqi legislative authority has acknowledged the perils of environmental pollution through the issuance of procedures and laws for the protection and control of the environment. These laws have made the punishments for the offenders more severe in order to serve as a general and private deterrent in order to remove the consequences of violation of the environment and restore the situation. This paper deliberated on the concept of public criminal responsibility in conformity with the Iraqi Penal Code Law No. 111 of 1969, the Iraqi Protection and Improvement of the Environment Act, Law No. 27 of 2009 as well as determined the offender’s criminal responsibility for offenses under the aforementioned laws. Also, there is a statement of the damage the U.S. occupation has inflicted upon Iraq including the pollution of the environment caused by the use of internationally forbidden weapons in 2003. On this matter, the qualitative research method was adopted as this method involves both primary and secondary sources. As such, people from the judiciary and academia who were involved in criminal law were personally interviewed. This study discovered that there are several legal issues and constraints and they are linked to weaknesses of Iraqi laws for the protection of the environment. On top of that, the many sources of environmental protection in Iraq has slowed down the rectification of the constraints and this in turn has significantly affected the determination of the offenders’ responsibilities for environmental pollution crimes.