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Legal corruption Monday 21 December 2020 17 Dr. Hassan Al-Yasiri By this term I mean corruption induced by law. Before going into its details, I find it necessary to ask the following question: Can the law be a cause of corruption? The answer is with confidence: Yes, the law can be a cause of corruption. Some legislations pave the ground for corruption, as the law can be a cause of corruption from a legislative point of view, and it can also be a cause of corruption from an interpretative point of view, which means that what may be called (legal corruption) arises legislative or interpretative. In fact, there are reasons that cause the emergence of what I might call (legal corruption). I will mention the most important of them, among which I find that prepares the ground for this corruption, namely: 1 - Enacting some legislations through which corruption can infiltrate. In an overview of the legislation enacted by Parliament in its various sessions, you will find some of these legislations, which included some corruption, hidden or declared. 2 - Failure to enact some legislations to curb corruption, such as an anti-corruption law Corruption. 3 - Bad drafting of laws and loopholes in them: Parliament's speedy enactment of laws and their poor formulation lead to the existence of some legal loopholes in them, enabling the corrupt to influence them to achieve their despicable goals, as well as the existence of such loopholes in some of the court's laws. Examples in this section are many, including what we have previously warned about on the issue of operational advances, as well as instructions for implementing government contracts. 4 - The ambiguity of some legal texts, and their contradiction with others, and their interpretation varied between several sides: These matters give the management and its employees the opportunity to interpret them according to their will, which may prompt them to interpret them in line with their own interest, and the illicit financial returns that it brings to them, in addition to the delay and complexity that citizens will face in completing their transactions. 5- Corrupt practice of law: The most dangerous aspect and legal reason for corruption is the corrupt practice of the law, as some heads of authority sometimes practice corruption through legislation enacted by Parliament, as happened, for example, in the law on abolishing the offices of public inspectors, or the salary law that violates social justice among employees, or some laws of a specialized technical nature. Which are issued without taking the opinion of the sectoral technical authority, as happens in some laws related to education, in which the opinion of the Ministries of Education is not taken into account. Rather, some of these laws were rejected by these two ministries; Because it contradicts their work context and procedures, which achieves what can be called (institutionalization of corruption). 6- The weakness of some penal texts against corruption, and the ineffectiveness of some others: With the passage of time and the evolution of the crime, these texts have become ineffective and non-deterrent, in addition to the fact that some of them do not cover all crimes. Our experience in this field demonstrated the lack of cooperation from other concerned parties regarding our proposals to amend these texts, which in turn contributed to the spread of corruption. 7 - Granting the administration the right to enter government contracts: Granting the administration the right to government contracts contributed to an increase in the rate of corruption, which we previously addressed in the anti-corruption vision that we presented in 2016, in which we called for the creation of a central committee for government contracting at the state level, and so that corruption does not seep into the work of this committee, we have set Some of the conditions and restrictions required for its members, including that they be completely independent and not affiliated with any political party, and that they be among the best experts in Iraq in their field of specialization, and those who do not differ in their experience and integrity. 8 - Poor performance of the judiciary in some countries of the world: The weak performance of the judiciary in some countries of the world, especially the third world, and its adoption of some old methods that are no longer feasible with the development and spread of corruption, and the lengthy investigation and trial procedures in corruption cases. All contributed to the growth of corruption and the failure to reduce it, in addition to the delay in the trial procedures, causing the public and public opinion to lose confidence in the judiciary and regulatory agencies, accusing them of lying, and so on. 9 - Weak internal control: The weakness of internal control and its often subordination to the management of influential people in the ministry or institution, due to the lack of protection for it, has contributed to the spread of corruption within the ministry or institution, and I do not think that anyone observing or following-up has not diagnosed this weakness and imbalance. 10 - Poor performance of legal departments in state ministries and institutions: This weakness - clearly visible - has led to wrongful legal advice by these departments in some important cases, which has caused the ministry or institution to commit accumulated legal violations, some of which are included in corruption crimes. The denominator of a reference to an existing phenomenon, which no one can deny. 11 - Fall of the prestige of law: All the foregoing reasons lead to the eventual loss of the prestige of the law in the circles of society, and a new and dangerous cause or factor for corruption arises, which is (the fall of the prestige of the law), as this fall creates a feeling in society among its members of the violation of the law and its lack of respect, which widens the area Corruption and tightening the screws on workers in the anti-corruption agencies, who remain waging war alone, and they are exposed without protection.