The conditions, circumstances, and the parties entitled to submit a petition for retrial pursuant to Article 270 of the Iraqi Code of Criminal Procedure.
A petition for retrial is regarded as one of the extraordinary remedies against criminal judgments under Iraqi law. It is an exceptional procedure that may only be invoked once the judgment has acquired finality, and its purpose is to secure justice whenever new facts or evidence emerge that could alter the conviction of the court which rendered the judgment.
Legal basis
The Iraqi legislator has regulated the request for retrial pursuant to Article (270) of the Code of Criminal Procedure No. 23 of 1971.
Firstly: The cases in which a request for retrial may be submitted pursuant to Article (270).
A request for retrial shall be admissible exclusively in respect of final criminal judgments, and only in the following cases:
1- If a person has been convicted of the offence of murder, and it subsequently transpires that the alleged victim is alive, thereby negating the occurrence of the crime altogether.
2- If two final judgments have been issued in contradiction concerning the same incident, and such contradiction would establish the innocence of one of the convicted persons.
3- If the judgment has been based upon the testimony of a witness, and a final judgment is subsequently rendered convicting that witness of the offence of perjury in respect of the same proceedings.
4- If the judgment has been based upon the report of an expert, and a final judgment is subsequently rendered convicting that expert for having submitted a false report in the same case.
5- If the judgment has been based upon documents or papers, and it is subsequently established, after its issuance, that they are forged.
6- If a person has been convicted of an act, and a final judgment is subsequently rendered convicting another person for the same act, such circumstance shall establish that one of the two judgments is incorrect.
7- If, after the judgment has been rendered, new facts or documents emerge, or evidence is disclosed which was not known during the trial, and such matters would establish the acquittal of the convicted person or lead to a reduction of the imposed sentence.
Secondly: The conditions for the admissibility of a request for retrial.
A request for retrial shall not be admissible except upon the fulfilment of the following conditions:
1- The judgment being challenged must be a final judgment that has acquired absolute conclusiveness.
2- The request must be founded upon one of the cases exhaustively specified in Article (270).
3- The facts or evidence must be new and must not have been previously presented before the court.
4- Such facts or evidence must have a material effect on the judgment rendered.
Thirdly: Who has the right to submit a request for retrial?
The right to submit a request for retrial shall be vested in each of the following:
1- The convicted person personally.
2- His legal representative acting under a duly executed power of attorney.
3- The relatives of the convicted person, in the event of his death, where the request is based upon grounds establishing his innocence.
4- The Public Prosecution, whenever it considers that a retrial would serve the interests of justice.
Fourthly: The legal nature of the petition for retrial.
-An application for retrial does not constitute a new tier of litigation; rather, it is an exceptional procedure contingent upon specific grounds prescribed by law.
-The lodging of the application does not entail its automatic acceptance, for its grounds are subject to the scrutiny of the competent court.
-Where the application is admitted and its grounds established, the court may annul the previous judgment in whole or in part and reconsider the action in accordance with the requirements of the law.
In conclusion: Retrial constitutes a fundamental safeguard for the protection of criminal justice, embodying the principle that the finality of judgments does not prevail over the emergence of truth, whenever its legal grounds are established.
