Highlander

I see this newspaper still thinks it is funny. Springfield Heights Institute of Technology is a university from the tv show the Simpsons and is not a real university.

Here is the link to the constitutional articles that this law was based on. First: Higher Juridical Council Article 90: The Higher Juridical Council shall oversee the affairs of the judicial committees. The law shall specify the method of its establishment, its authorities, and the rules of its operation. Article 91: The Higher Juridical Council shall exercise the following authorities: First: To manage the affairs of the judiciary and supervise the federal judiciary. Second: To nominate the Chief Justice and members of the Federal Court of Cassation, the Chief Public Prosecutor, and the Chief Justice of the Judiciary Oversight Commission, and to present those nominations to the Council of Representatives to approve their appointment. Third: To propose the draft of the annual budget of the federal judicial authority, and to present it to the Council of Representatives for approval. http://www.uniraq.org/documents/iraqi_constitution.pdf Here is the text to the law that was passed which still has to be signed off on by Talabani and then published in the gazzette by the minister of justice of the coucil of ministers to become legal: The Supreme Council of the Judiciary Act Saturday, December 15, 2012 In the name of the people The Presidency of the Republic Based on what was passed by the House and endorsed by the President of the Republic and in accordance with the provisions of item (I) of article (16) and articles 90 and 91, item (iii) of article 73 of the Constitution Act as follows:- No. () for the year 2012 Law The Supreme Council of the judiciary Article – 1. I. the Supreme Judicial Council is the highest administrative body which Department of the judicial system, to be based in Baghdad. II. of the moral and personal financial and administrative autonomy and is represented by the President or his Deputy Board members Article 2-the Supreme Judicial Council consists of:- I. the President of the Court of federal discrimination – Chairman II. the Vice-Presidents of the Court of Cassation – members III. the Chief Prosecutor – Member IV. the President of the entity judicial supervision – Member V. Presidents of courts of appeal-members VI. directors of judges on the Board-members Article 3- the following tasks: First:-supervision of the judiciary and the administration of justice. II. draft annual budget for the Federal judiciary, management and supervision of its implementation after the House of representatives for approval. III. the nomination of President and Vice-Presidents, the Chairman and members of the Federal Court and the Federal Chief Prosecutor and Deputy Chief of the Federal judicial oversight body. IV. the qualified candidate for appointment to the post of President of the Federal Court of appeal. V. nominate qualified for appointment as judges and members of the public prosecution in accordance with the laws in force. VI. upgrade and promotion, transfer, assignment and secondment services, judges and members of the public prosecution in federal courts and administration functionality all in accordance with the law. VII. extension of service of judges and members of the Attorney-General and retired in accordance with the law because of complete legal age or proven inability to perform the service of the report issued by the official competent medical Committee acquired a peremptory order. VIII. formation of judicial committees and commissions in the federal courts. IX. appointment and administration of staff in the Presidency of the Council and in the federal courts and the federal prosecution service and the Federal judicial supervision body, and retirement in accordance with the law. X. create and own and manage the buildings the federal courts and federal prosecution services and federal judicial oversight body. XI. proposal of laws on the judiciary and judicial follow-up of the implementation of the conventions. Article-4 – the Council authorize the President some of the functions set forth in article (3) of this Act. Article-5. the Council shall meet at the invitation of the President at least once every month, and complete a quorum to convene the presence of a majority of the members and decisions shall be taken by a majority of the votes of those present, and if the votes are equally divided the casting vote with the President of the Council. Article 6 – i. the Council shall at the beginning of each year a tripartite Committee from among its members to consider the following matters:- A. proceedings of judges and public prosecutors of their career. B. functional irregularities attributed to judges and members of the public prosecution in the federal courts and the imposition of penalties in the OJ No. (160) of 1979 and the prosecution Act No. 159 of 1979 or any laws solved them. II. the Tripartite Committee's decision is subject to appeal before the civil organisation in Federal Court within thirty days from the date of its decision is seized, however. Article 7- the Secretary General of the Council of the second class at least the administrative functions of the Board and supported by a sufficient number of staff. Article-8. identify Board configurations and functions rules promulgated by the Board. Article 9- replace the Supreme Judicial Council formed under the provisions of the present law the Judicial Council established under the now defunct Coalition Provisional Authority order No. 35 of 2003 and the Supreme Judicial Council established under article (forty-fifth) of the law of Administration for the State of Iraq for the transitional period and passed his rights and obligations under his aualet. Article 10 – President of the Supreme Council of the judiciary to issue instructions to facilitate the implementation of the provisions of this law. Article 11- eliminates the dissolved Coalition Provisional Authority order No. 35 of 2003 Article 12- this law from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette. Rationale Pursuant to the provisions of articles (90, 91) of the Constitution for the purpose of forming a higher Council of the judiciary to suit developments in constitutional and legal and judicial system in Iraq to enable the Higher Council of the judiciary from the administration of Justice, supervision and ensure its independence. This Act launched http://www.microsofttranslator.com/bv.aspx?from=&to=en&a=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.parliament.iq%2FIraqi_Council_of_Representatives.php%3Fname%3Darticles_ajsdyawqwqdjasdba46s7a98das6dasda7das4da6sd8asdsawewqeqw465e4qweq4wq6e4qw8eqwe4qw6eqwe4sadkj%26file%3Dshowdetails%26sid%3D8696 The following article states why the state of law walked out on the meeting. It had nothing to do with the vote on the supreme judicial council. Their objection was to the other law that was on the agenda for a vote that day which was the Federal Court Act. I think you may find the statements to what they disagreed with interesting being this is Malikis party. "The MP Mahmoud Hassan was the first retreating from the chamber opposed the draft law of the Federal Court as it stands, followed by a number of deputies coalition of state law that inhibits quorum he needs a bill of the Federal Court which 217 deputies out of 325 the total number of MPs." He continued, saying that "he went ahead after the withdrawal of state law, deputies on the draft law of the Supreme Judicial Council were to vote on the law that needs a quorum of 163 deputies is half plus one", noting that the Federal Court Act requires a two-thirds quorum. " Justifying the State of Law coalition deputies withdrew from the meeting that the law as it stands gives the legislative and executive branches the right to nominate members of the Federal Court and the judges, which is negatively right and independence of the Federal Court as a top federal authority as well as open interference in their work. http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ar&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.almasalah.com As you can see they are objecting to the legislative or executive branch being able to pick the judges for these positions. They believe that it will affect the independence of the courts and somebody else should pick them. Maybe the members of the Judicial Council once it is made legal and is up and running would be a good choice accept that now it would take another law to give them that authority as it was not listed in the law that parliament voted on which is why the state of law wanted the laws to be voted on together as they pertain to each other in a big way.

Decisions and recommendations of the meeting number (40) Thursday 13/Dec/2012 Saturday, December 15, 2012 1. a vote was taken with the approval of the draft law of the Republic of Iraq to the Convention on the marking of plastic explosives for the purpose of detection (1991). II. a vote was taken to approve the proposed Act fourth amendment law of the provincial and District Councils elections, no. (36) of 2008. III. a vote was taken on the draft law of the Republic of Iraq to the Convention on the physical protection of nuclear material. IV: the presidential body, decided to postpone the vote on the draft law of the Federal Court and the Supreme Judicial Council to act on Saturday (15/12/2012) deadline and gentlemen deputies comments to the Commission. 5. a vote was taken with the approval of the draft law of the Republic of Iraq to the International Convention for the Suppression of terrorist bombings. VI. a vote was taken with the approval of the draft law on ratification of the Convention on economic and technical cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Iraq and the Government of the United States. 7. a vote was taken with the approval of the draft law on ratification of the Convention on investment incentives between the Government of the Republic of Iraq and the Government of the United States. 8. a vote was taken with the approval of the draft law on ratification of the Convention to identify areas of trade investment between the Government of the Republic of Iraq and the Government of the United States. 9. a vote was taken with the approval of the draft law of the memorandum of understanding in support of reform (agricultural sector capacity building) between the Government of the Republic of Iraq and the Government of the United States. X.: the presidential body, decided to postpone the vote on the draft law of treaties, as requested by the competent Committee. XI: the presidential body, decided to postpone the second reading of the draft law on ratification of the Treaty of friendship, partnership and cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Iraq and the Government of the Italian Republic, as requested by the competent Committee. XII: the presidential body, decided to be always on 17/12/2012 on 18/12/2012 to day 22/12 work of the provincial House and gentlemen from 23/12 to 26/12 hours in the Council and on 27/12 to 8/1/2013 holiday Board. Legislative proceedings. • Was the second reading of the proposed Act first amendment law of the Ministry of industry and minerals. • Was the second reading of the Bill on first amendment law of Antiquities and heritage (No. 55) (2002). • Was the second reading of the draft law on ratification of the agreement establishing the international anti-corruption Academy as an international organization. • Continue to discuss the draft law on the federal budget of the Republic of Iraq for the fiscal year 2013. http://www.microsofttranslator.com/bv.aspx?from=&to=en&a=http%3A%2F%2Fparliament.iq%2FIraqi_Council_of_Representatives.php%3Fname%3Darticles_ajsdyawqwqdjasdba46s7a98das6dasda7das4da6sd8asdsawewqeqw465e4qweq4wq6e4qw8eqwe4qw6eqwe4sadkj%26file%3Dshowdetails%26sid%3D8685 It is not a vote on an original law but rather an amendment to an existing law and for good measure here is a link to the original law as it stands today. http://www.cemml.colostate.edu/cultural/09476/pdf/iraq-antiquities-law-2002.pdf Also for good measure it had a second reading and not a vote! This took me 3 whole minutes to come up with these links and disprove this garbage. Man they should try harder! I mean really parliament didn't even meet on Wednesday for this to be brought forward!

On a side note no country truly free floats it currency. The central banks intervene in the forex market all the time whether it be an actual monetary intervention, such as the swiss and the australians having been doing quite heavily along with many of the smaller markets such as Brazil and Turkey, or through verbal intervention such as the US and Japan have been prone to right now. And lets not forget the quantitive easing that all your major developed countries have been doing which is in fact driving the value of their currencies down.

Here are a few links to IMF documents and a couple of quotes from those links to try and help people understand what it takes to move to a float from a fixed rate. So why can't Iraq just float their currency? You decide. Operating a flexible exchange rate regime works well only when there is a sufficiently liquid and efficient FX market for price discovery. A well-functioning FX market allows the exchange rate to respond to market forces, helps minimize disruptive day-to-day fluctuations in the exchange rate, and facilitates exchange rate 1Appendix I provides a more detailed summary, drawing on IMF (2004a and 2004b). The fixed-to-float framework was endorsed by the IMF’s Executive Board in 2004, which reiterated that no single exchange rate regime is appropriate for all countries at all times (also see Eichengreen and others, 1998; and Mussa and others, 2000, on exchange rate issues). 2These are in addition to the role of sound macroeconomic and structural policies—including fiscal discipline, monetary policy credibility, and a sound financial sector—which are essential to maintaining any type of regime, fixed or floating. risk management. Developing (spot and forward) FX markets requires eliminating market-inhibiting regulations, improving the market microstructure (for example, by allowing risk-hedging instruments, simplifying FX legislation, or putting in place adequate payment and settlement systems), and increasing information flows in the market, while reducing the central bank’s marketmaker role. Allowing some exchange rate flexibility is a key step in limiting what is, to some extent, an unavoidable chicken-and-egg problem: Exchange rate flexibility requires a deep market and better risk management, but a deep market and prudent risk management require flexibility. Providing for a two-way risk is also important, in fostering better management of risks and minimizing destabilizing trading strategies (and, thereby, the risk of disorderly exits) http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/op/256/op256.pdf 9. Other steps that can be taken to deepen the market and enhance price discovery include: • Reducing the central bank’s market-making role, including its quotation of buying and selling rates, which undercut other market makers. The central bank can foster market development by reducing its trades with banks (and generally not trade with non-financial customers at all), limiting the frequency of its interventions to daily or weekly interventions. By requiring market makers to provide two-way price quotations and acting as a price-taker (within boundaries) when it enters the market, it can further limit its role. • Increasing market information on the sources and uses of foreign exchange and detailed balance of payments data. It is also essential to develop and divulge information on a coherent policy framework as a basis for market participants to develop accurate views on monetary and exchange rate policy, and efficiently price foreign exchange. Information systems and trading platforms that are capable of providing real-time bid and offer quotations in the interbank market can also help market transparency. • Eliminating (or phasing out) regulations that stifle market activity. Some important measures would be: (i) abolishing requirements to surrender foreign exchange receipts to the central bank; (ii) taxes and surcharges on foreign exchange transactions; (iii) restrictions on interbank trading;8 (iv) limits on price ranges quoted by dealers; (v) unifying segmented foreign exchange markets (that is linking the official, interbank, and parallel markets); and (vi) relaxing current and, to some extent, capital account restrictions to bolster the sources and uses of foreign exchange in the market.9 http://www.imf.org/external/np/mfd/2004/eng/111904.pdf What is the capital account? The capital account in a country’s balance of payments covers a variety of financial flows—mainly foreign direct investment (FDI), portfolio flows (including investment in equities), and bank borrowing—which have in common the acquisition of assets in one country by residents of another. It is possible, in principle, to control these flows by placing restrictions on those flows going through official channels. Capital account liberalization, in broad terms, refers to easing restrictions on capital flows across a country’s borders. This presumably results in a higher degree of financial integration with the global economy through higher volumes of capital inflows and outflows. http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2004/09/pdf/basics.pdf So what does all this mean? Basically that a float will only work if the country can successfully lift its currency restrictions and attract investors into the country and allow residents to invest outside the country. This leads us right back to Chapter 7 with the UN and Article 14 Status with the IMF. Iraq is finding it difficult to find investors with the black eye of chapter 7 still over their heads and with the current set of restrictions they have in place on capital flow. They could attempt to remove those restrictions, as some are suggesting, prior to getting released from Chapter 7 or moving to article 8 compliance with the IMF but the consequences could very realistically cause a heavy outflow of their FX reserves as the money would pour into outside investment and not investment opportunities inside the country. Some countries took as long as 10-20 years to successfully convert to a float and that was without chapter 7 over their heads and without currency restrictions still in place. Of course others have done it in as little as 6 months to a year but again without the burden of chapter 7 or currency restrictions in place and with several years of preparation (which we saw an article from Shabibi last week where he stated that a move to a float takes studies and preparation and the timing was not correct in Iraq at present). So basically we all need the same thing to happen whether you are looking for a float, an RV, or a redenomination with a favorable exchange rate on the notes. And the first 2 steps to our hopes of making money on this thing called the dinar is Chapter 7 release from the UN and Iraq to remove its currency restrictions and controls and become article 8 compliant with the IMF. This is just my 2 cents on the current debate between a LOP, Float or RV.

"The governor of the central bank of Iraq was given the power to cut the sell price of USD by the board of directors of central bank. This will increase the value of IQD in the market." It is possible that they are talking about ways to bring the market value of the dinar in line with the set exchange rate of the CBI. We will just have to wait and see as all week they have been talking about adjusting of the auctions in these articles and who can participate as well which would bring more competition to the market which will lower the spreads and effectively move the street value while the exchange rate set at the CBI stays right where it is.

Exodus From North Signals Iraqi Christians’ Slow Decline By JACK HEALY Published: March 10, 2012 TENNA, Iraq — Iraq’s dwindling Christians, driven from their homes by attacks and intimidation, are beginning to abandon the havens they had found in the country’s north, discouraged by unemployment and a creeping fear that the violence they had fled was catching up to them. Multimedia Adam Ferguson for The New York Times Iraqi Christians at a preschool in Qosh. Few schools teach in Arabic, a hurdle for many families. More Photos » Their quiet exodus to Turkey, Jordan, Europe and the United States is the latest chapter of a seemingly inexorable decline that many religious leaders say tolls the twilight of Christianity in a land where city skylines have long been marked by both minarets and church steeples. Recent assessments say that Iraq’s Christian population has now fallen by more than half since the 2003 American invasion, and with the military’s departure, some Christians say they lost a protector of last resort. Their flight is felt in places like the wind-scoured village of Tenna, which has sheltered dozens of Christian migrants over the past nine years. The families fleeing Baghdad’s death squads and bombings found safety here beneath the hulking mountains, but little else besides poverty, boredom and cold. Villagers estimate that half of the 50 or so Christian homes are now empty, their families abroad. Walid Shamoon, 42, wants to be the next to leave. He said he left Iraq’s capital in January 2011 after a confrontation with Shiite militia members set off a nightmare of escalating death threats and an attempt on his life. A brother had already been killed in a mortar attack six years earlier, so he said he quit his contract job with the Australian Embassy, giving up a $1,500 monthly salary, and came here. These days, all he can think about is his application to emigrate to Arizona. “This is not a life,” he said one recent afternoon, as a blizzard raced down from the mountains. “There is no improvement. There is no work.” Many of the people now struggling in Iraq’s Kurdish north came in the wake of a suicide attack in Baghdad at Our Lady of Salvation Church in October 2010. It was the single worst assault on Iraq’s Christians since the war began, one that left 50 worshipers and 2 priests dead and that turned the church into a charnel house of scorched pews and shattered stained glass. Christian families in Baghdad grabbed clothing, cash and a few other provisions and headed north for the Christian communities along the Nineveh plain and Kurdistan’s three provinces. They joined tens of thousands of other Christians from the capital, Mosul and other cities who traced similar arcs after earlier attacks and assassination campaigns. “They traded everything for security,” said the Rev. Gabriel Tooma, who leads the Monastery of the Virgin Mary in the Christian town of Qosh, which took in dozens of families. The Christians in northern Iraq make up a tiny fraction of Iraq’s legions of displaced people. In all, there are 1.3 million of them across the country, according to the most recent United Nations estimates. Many live in garbage dumps, shanty towns and squalor far worse than anything facing the Christian families in Kurdistan. Still, Christians and other minorities were singled out in the years of sectarian cleansing that bifurcated a once-diverse Baghdad into pockets of Sunnis and Shiites. Estimates by the United States and international organizations say that Iraq’s prewar Christian population of 800,000 to 1.4 million now stands at less than 500,000. “The consequence of this flight may be the end of Christianity in Iraq,” the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom wrote in its most recent annual report, summarizing the concerns of church leaders. In January, the International Organization for Migration found that 850 of 1,350 displaced Christian families it was tracking in northern Iraq had left in the past year. Many cited fears about security as well as the strains of finding work, housing and schools in an unfamiliar place where they had few connections and spoke only Arabic, and not Kurdish. “No one has done anything for us,” said Salim Yono Auffee, a member of the Chaldean/Assyrian Popular Council, a Christian group in northern Iraq. “These people are trying to figure out how to build their futures, to find homes, to get married. And they are leaving Iraq.” Even in the relative safety of Kurdistan, some Christians say they still live in apprehension. A kidnapping of a Christian businessman in Erbil, the Kurdish capital, and a recent outbreak of riots and arson attacks against Christian-owned liquor stores in Dohuk Province — the northernmost in Iraq, along the Turkish border — have deeply unsettled Christian migrants to the area. Seven years ago, after retrieving his son from kidnappers, Salam Meti Abdul Karim moved his family from Mosul to the small Christian community of Shioz, a half-hour’s drive from the center of Dohuk Province. The years passed quietly, until one night in December, when a pickup truck full of men pulled up at the edge of town and set fire to a liquor warehouse. “I felt like history was repeating itself,” Mr. Abdul Karim said. “We worry the situation is just going to devolve into violence. I was thinking to just take my family and go up to the mountains.” The village hired armed guards after the attack, Mr. Abdul Karim said. No Christians were killed in the riots against Christian store owners. Local officials say they were not specifically targeted because of their religion, but because the mobs who burned their stores — and the conservative clerics who had incited them — viewed the alcohol sales as un-Islamic. Still, Kurdish officials, who have welcomed Christians to the region, rushed to defuse fears conjured by the clash. Massoud Barzani, the Kurdish president, visited Christians in Zakho, the city where the riots were centered, and a parade of government officials and religious leaders emphasized Kurdistan’s historical tolerance, and its deep ties to Assyrians, Chaldeans and other branches of Christianity. “They are part of us,” said Fadil Omar, the head of the provincial council in Dohuk. The Kurdish government has offered land, free fuel and other assistance to Christians as they have arrived from Baghdad, and it has opened its universities to students from Mosul, officials say. And Christians do not lack a political voice. They sit on local and provincial councils throughout the north, and hold seats in Parliament in Kurdistan and Baghdad. Despite the help, many families say they are straining to stay afloat. Those close to cities have found jobs, but those in villages are largely unemployed, and they subsist on government pensions or relief payments of about $200 per month. They skip meals and share heating fuel. They are often miles from schools that teach in Arabic, and some parents say their children have dropped out. The mountain village of Dawudiyah is a study in trade-offs, a place whose residents share similar stories of fear and flight from their homes in Baghdad. One man was threatened with death if he did not hand over his daughter to militants. A couple’s son was killed on his way home from work. Another family’s son was gunned down with three friends. They gave little thought to the consequences of leaving. They just had to get out. “It was unbearable,” said Berkho Odeesho, the village’s mayor. “We found safety in Kurdistan, but things are getting unstable. We don’t know where to go.” But like others here, Mr. Odeesho has a plan. He has applied for an immigration visa, and he is now busy preparing for his consular interview. Uprooting his family from Iraq may be difficult, he said, but it would be in service of a new future, away from Iraq, in a distant place called Illinois. Omar al-Jawoshy contributed reporting. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/11/world/middleeast/exodus-from-north-signals-iraqi-christians-decline.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 As one can see it is not all roses for christians in Kurdistan either despite the front the Kurdistan government trys to portray. There is always two sides to a story!

Iraq Declared ‘EITI Compliant’ Friday, 14 December, 2012 The Board of EITI (Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative) has declared Iraq to be ‘Compliant’ with the EITI Standard. There are now 18 countries that are ‘EITI Compliant’. EITI compliance means that the country has an effective process for annual disclosure and reconciliation of all revenues from its extractive sector. This allows citizens to see how much their country receives from oil, gas and mining companies. With approximately 10% of the world’s proven oil reserves and 2% of the natural gas reserves, Iraq becomes the largest EITI compliant country by oil and gas reserves in the world. It now produces around 3 million barrels every day with production expected to expand rapidly. The industry in Iraq is completely state-owned with the state-owned companies selling crude to accredited international companies. There are also eleven international Technical Service Contracts (TSCs). The semi-autonomous Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) has a number of production sharing agreements. The 2009 Iraq EITI report showed that the government had received $41billion in revenue for oil and gas exports. The 2010 Iraq report is due out by the end of the year. EITI Chair Clare Short commended Iraq for its achievement saying “The Iraqi people have not had the benefits that should have flowed to them from their rich oil resources. Compliance with the EITI is a step towards helping to ensure ensuring that the resources will be better managed in the future. I congratulate Iraq on this excellent achievement.“ The decision of the Board on the EITI status of Iraq is given below in full: Text of Board decision: Iraq The EITI Board designates Iraq as EITI Compliant as of 12 December 2012. In recognition of the issues emerging from the 2009 EITI report and validation process, the Board will write to the Iraq MSG to congratulate the government of Iraq and the Iraq EITI Council for their sustained commitment and leadership of the EITI process, and to remind them that: 1. In accordance with the EITI Rules, Iraq is required to include all material revenue payments in their EITI reporting (requirement 9). To this end, the Board requires the inclusion of oil and gas production in the Kurdistan Region and sales revenue to the Kurdish Regional Government to be addressed in the 2010 EITI report. 2. The Board noted the importance of setting a reasonable materiality threshold to ensure that the EITI reports are comprehensive. To this end, the Board called on the MSG to work toward reducing the materiality threshold for the 2011 and subsequent reports. 3. The EITI Rules also require that civil society is fully, independently, actively and effectively engaged in the EITI progress (Requirement 6). Significant concerns have been expressed in the validation report and from some stakeholders about the engagement of civil society. With this in mind and mindful of the challenges in Iraq, the Board will take a close interest in the proposed process for selection of the new IEITI MSG and onward engagement of civil society. Furthermore, the International Secretariat will conduct a thorough analysis of the forthcoming2010 EITI Report, with a particular focus on the above issues and report to the Board through the Implementation Progress Report. In accordance with the EITI Rules: • Iraq must be revalidated within 5 years (i.e. 12 December 2017). The MSG is advised that the Board is currently reviewing the validation procedures, including proposals relating to timing for revalidation of compliant countries. Accordingly this deadline may be modified; • Stakeholders in the process may call for a new validation at any time within that period if they think the process needs reviewing; • Where valid concerns exist that a country has become EITI Compliant, but its implementation of the EITI has subsequently fallen below the standard required for Compliance, then the Board reserves the right to require the country to undergo a new validation or face delisting from the EITI; • In accordance with the 2011 edition of the EITI Rules, Iraq is required to produce EITI reports annually. EITI Reports should cover data no older than the second to last complete accounting period (i.e., Compliant countries must publish an EITI report by 31 December 2012 to meet the requirement for timely reporting); and •In accordance with requirement 21©, Iraq is required to publish a public report annually on the previous year’s activities, detailing progress in implementing the EITI and any recommendations from the validator. http://www.iraq-businessnews.com/2012/12/14/iraq-declared-eiti-compliant/

thank you for keeping an eye on that and pointing that out!

I think people may want to check out the CBI law Article 6 Section 30 before they get to excited about the loan to Maliki. In exceptional circumstances the CBI is authorized to provide funding with letters of guarantee for repayment to be provided by the minister of finance if such assistance is necessary to preserve financial stability of the financial system. The terms of repayment would have been determined at the time of the loan. http://www.cbi.iq/documents/CBILAW-EN_f.pdf

dontlop, I don't know if I agree with everything you put out there but kudos to you for laying out all the documentation you did and then giving your opinion on what it could all mean. Plus 1!

Here is a link to the report itself for anybody who is interested! http://www.dni.gov/files/documents/GlobalTrends_2030.pdf

The article is basically saying that the IMF has reviewed some of the documents concerning the case against Shabibi and they are coming around to the fact that corruption existed and that they would support the use of interpol to return Shabibi to Iraq in the event of his conviction.

CHAPTER VI: PACIFIC SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES Article 33 The parties to any dispute, the continuance of which is likely to endanger the maintenance of international peace and security, shall, first of all, seek a solution by negotiation, enquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, resort to regional agencies or arrangements, or other peaceful means of their own choice. The Security Council shall, when it deems necessary, call upon the parties to settle their dispute by such means. Article 34 The Security Council may investigate any dispute, or any situation which might lead to international friction or give rise to a dispute, in order to determine whether the continuance of the dispute or situation is likely to endanger the maintenance of international peace and security. Article 35 Any Member of the United Nations may bring any dispute, or any situation of the nature referred to in Article 34, to the attention of the Security Council or of the General Assembly. A state which is not a Member of the United Nations may bring to the attention of the Security Council or of the General Assembly any dispute to which it is a party if it accepts in advance, for the purposes of the dispute, the obligations of pacific settlement provided in the present Charter. The proceedings of the General Assembly in respect of matters brought to its attention under this Article will be subject to the provisions of Articles 11 and 12. Article 36 The Security Council may, at any stage of a dispute of the nature referred to in Article 33 or of a situation of like nature, recommend appropriate procedures or methods of adjustment. The Security Council should take into consideration any procedures for the settlement of the dispute which have already been adopted by the parties. In making recommendations under this Article the Security Council should also take into consideration that legal disputes should as a general rule be referred by the parties to the International Court of Justice in accordance with the provisions of the Statute of the Court. Article 37 Should the parties to a dispute of the nature referred to in Article 33 fail to settle it by the means indicated in that Article, they shall refer it to the Security Council. If the Security Council deems that the continuance of the dispute is in fact likely to endanger the maintenance of international peace and security, it shall decide whether to take action under Article 36 or to recommend such terms of settlement as it may consider appropriate. Article 38 Without prejudice to the provisions of Articles 33 to 37, the Security Council may, if all the parties to any dispute so request, make recommendations to the parties with a view to a pacific settlement of the dispute. http://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/chapter6.shtml Basically Iraq would not be deemed a threat as they are now under chapter 7. All remaining sanctions would be removed and all remaining issues with Kuwait would be handled in the fashion laid out above which is more civil and with a lot less intervention by the United Nations. The remaining monies owed to Kuwait would be handled by judicial settlement, resort to regional agencies or arrangements, or other peaceful means of their own choice. These agreements on how this would be handled would be something that I would think would have been on the list of item when the prime minister of Kuwait visited Iraq over the weekend. The meeting is on December 17th so we will know next Monday what in fact does or does not happen.

Promised spokeswoman mission Elena Nabah issue of corruption in the Central Bank of Iraq affair Dakhia: "No commission of inquiry into the UN file corruption in the Central Bank, this is an internal affair and the Iraqi authorities adopt legal rules in dealing with this issue and it is not for the United Nations." And now we have our direct answer from the UN that they also will not be interfering in the investigation of the central bank. Now that we have both the world bank and the UN making these statements I hope that this issue can be put to rest and the net as a whole can move on and accept that Iraq has made its decision.