After the initial U.S. occupation of Baghdad in 2003, Iraqis regularly crowded Green Zone checkpoints holding contracts and leases, looking for an authority to address their claims. They were seeking the most mundane kind of justice, but the lack of a legal framework to address such claims has undermined civil society in Iraq, legal scholars say.

To rectify that situation, the U.S. State Department has awarded the University of Utah's law school a $2.5 million grant to help Iraq build an independent judiciary, one with the legislative and constitutional authority necessary to establish the rule of law in that divided nation.

In the Iraqi Judicial Independence Project, the U.'s own legal scholars - both students and faculty - and outside advisers will consult with Iraqi judicial and political leaders. According to Hiram Chodosh, dean of the U.'s S.J. Quinney College of Law, the goals are to assess and develop a constitutional and legal framework, devise a strategy for enacting laws and amendments to the Iraqi constitution, and develop a means for advancing related legislation, including criminal law and procedure.

"We can't reform the Iraqi system, but we can inform the reformers of the system. We're committed to developing the capacity of the Iraqi judiciary so they won't have to rely on outside advisers. We want to contribute in whatever modest way we can and then withdraw, leaving the society better than when we found it," Chodosh said. "It's a one-year grant, but our commitment is long-term."

Spearheading the Iraqi project with Chodosh are professors Chibli Mallat, an expert in Middle Eastern legal systems and a former presidential candidate in his native Lebanon; and Wayne McCormack, a constitutional and international law scholar.

"This project hopes to help Iraq and the heroic efforts of its judiciary to create a role model for the rule of law in the Middle East," said Mallat, who co-founded an Iraqi liberation committee at the height of Saddam Hussein's rule. "Iraq is presently a unique ground for birth of the terrible and the sublime. We hope that law will help the country embrace more of the latter. There are unique tests for comparative law in Iraq, not least of which is reconciling Islamic law with the most advanced international human rights standards."

Under Chodosh's leadership, the U. law school has broadened its international reach in recent years, particularly in the Middle East. For example, the school brings in Afghan prosecutors for summer training in Salt Lake City under another State Department initiative.

U. legal scholars say establishing independent and uniform judiciaries are crucial to the democratic futures of these nations, where the United States military is struggling to quell Islamic terrorism and factional violence.

"Through the establishment of a well-performing justice system, one sets the foundation for peace in a society and a normative basis for resolving the most profound conflicts, but also some of the most pedestrian conflicts," Chodosh said.

bmaffly@sltrib.com