Members of Saddam Hussein's ousted regime are considering suing the Bush administration in the World Court for alleged war crimes in Iraq, the chief of the fallen dictator's legal team said today. Ziad said the legal team could not initiate legal action on its own against the US government in the International Court of Justice because the tribunal refuses to hear any individual cases. "Since the World Court doesn't accept cases from individuals, the lawsuit could be filed on behalf of members of President Saddam's government," al-Khasawneh said.
He declined to identify any former Iraqi officials who might bring such a suit, or say if they were in Iraq or abroad. It was not immediately clear if the action — if it were filed — would create a legal precedent or whether the World Court in The Hague has heard cases previously from toppled governments. "We are toying with the idea of filing the lawsuit," said al-Khasawneh, who heads the legal team appointed by Saddam's wife, Sajida. He said the latest American incursion into the troubled city of Fallujah, including the killing of an apparently unarmed and wounded Iraqi by a Marine at a mosque, was "one of scores of examples of American atrocities". Al-Khasawneh said the legal team was also encouraged by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's statements describing Iraq's invasion as "illegal". The legal team has enlisted an unspecified number of lawyers from the US, Britain and France to assist in the possible lawsuit, al-Khasawneh said. |