They also superintend the general administration of their courts, and sit in the more important civil and criminal cases. That their presence is needed, apart from the rights of foreigners, is abundantly evident both from the manner in which the 'Iraqi judges rely on them for support in any case which occasions public feeling and may lead to intimidation, and from the fact that it is rare to find an 'Iraqi judge who has enough authority among his fellows to enable him to regulate business so as to keep down arrears of work.

The 'Iraqi judges are, on the whole, well spoken of and have a good knowledge of the law which they administer. There are too many of them who suffer from lack of experience, and there appears to be a danger that several of the older ones will leave the service to go into Parliament. There are plenty of lawyers available for judicial posts, but they are, as a general rule, too young to be entrusted with the duties of Single Judges.

10. Advocates.

There are now 130 advocates practising before the courts, of whom 74 are at Baghdad, 29 at Mosul and 21 at Basra. With a few exceptions, all have graduated at the Constantinople or Baghdad Law School. The exceptions are those who, although holding no diploma were in possession of permits to practise issued by the Turkish Ministry of Justice before the Occupation, and were allowed to continue to practise after passing a special examination.

Apart from a few of the leading advocates, the general standard of legal practice is low. This is due, not to ignorance of law, but to the slack and dilatory methods adopted in the preparation of cases and to the complacent manner in which the courts were formerly wont to grant adjournments. Some improvement has now been effected by mulcting dilatory parties in the costs of adjournments occasioned by their negligence.

There has been some movement towards the formation of a Bar Association, but the political activities of a number of young lawyers have rendered that undesirable for the present, though the Ministry has now under consideration the formation of a Committee of Discipline composed of judges and advocates in order to give the advocates a voice in such matters.

11. General.

Statistics of the work of the courts for the period 1st January to 31st December, 1924, show a general increase in all branches of the courts. These increases may be compared generally with the figures for the year 1920.

The most marked increase in business is in the Peace Court. In 1920, the Basra Peace Court dealt with 2,514 cases; in 1924, with 6,657; while the total dealt with throughout the country in 1920 was 10,615 as against 30,422 in 1924.

The Courts of First Instance show a steady increase in business, the number of cases instituted throughout the country being 2,342 in 1924 as against 1,633 in 1920. The court fees have, however, decreased, for the reason that there was, during the earlier years after the Occupation, a large influx of debt cases arising out of the moratorium, but they have now finished and the time of the courts is largely taken up with the more complicated and, from the point of view of the courts' revenue, less lucrative land title cases.

The statistics of the Summary Criminal cases show that in 1924, 14,663 cases were dealt with, 21,126 persons tried, and 11,635 persons convicted. These figures are not satisfactory. The Criminal Magistrate at Baghdad states that the small percentage of persons convicted is due to the large number of petty assault and defamation cases in which complainant receives satisfaction at the last moment.

Of the graver criminal offences the President of the Court of Cassation writes:-" Brutal murders continue, armed robbery is common and extremely callous crimes of killing women for sexual misconduct abound." He also points out that according to the Judicial Blue Book for 1922 in England there were 60 cases of murder, while in 1924 there were tried in 'Iraq 72 cases of murder, in addition to 62 cases of homicide, many of which would be classed in England as murder, but are here classed as homicide without premeditation, owing to the very stringent proof of premeditation required by the 'Iraq courts.

The total revenue for the period from the 1st of January to the 31st of December, 1924, was 14 lakhs and the expenditure 13.57 lakhs. There were, however, a number of judicial appointments (including that of the extra British judge) vacant for part of the year and the surplus is unusual. Making due allowance for the appointment of all necessary judges, there is reason to hope that justice will in the future pay its way. The revenue can be increased in two ways-by a more zealous scrutiny of the valuation of cases, which, especially in land cases, often escape very lightly in court fees, and by the more rigorous collection of fines, which amounted to 2.76 lakhs in the past year. In response to instructions issued by the Ministry, magistrates generally avoid awards of simple imprisonment in small cases and inflict fine instead, but even so the fines are not paid and are expiated by imprisonment in default. A more rigorous application of the distress warrant will have the twofold advantage of increasing the revenue and decreasing the number of idle prisoners.

Court of First Instance, Baghdad, ✅ 1 British President.

There are also Sunni Qadhis at some of the outlying places in Kurdistan, e.g., Shaqlawa, Halabja and Ruwandiz. These are appointed by the administrative authorities. They receive nominal pay, their duties are of the simplest nature and they have, as a rule, no knowledge of judicial methods.

V. MINISTRY OF DEFENCE.

1. General Remarks.

The 'Iraq Army, which has now reached a strength of just under 7,500 men, is organized and trained throughout on British lines, subject to certain modifications designed to meet local conditions. It comprises four regiments of cavalry, four batteries of artillery, and six battalions of infantry, with transport, medical, veterinary and ordnance services. So far no formation higher than regiment or battalion has been made, but for purposes of administration the country is divided into three districts, the headquarters of which are at Baghdad, Mosul and Sulaimaniya respectively.

The discipline of the Army is governed by the 'Iraq Army Proclamation of 1921, and the system of military law in existence, which derives from this Proclamation, is based on the Civil Code of 'Iraq, and on British military law for military offences. The rules of procedure are taken from those in force in the British Army.

The officers have so far been taken entirely from ex-officers of the Turkish Army, but no officer is taken who is not of 'Iraqi nationality, with the exception of a few Syrian officers who took part in the operations in the Hejaz against the Turks between 1916 and 1918. There are at present, however, under training, 57 cadets, who at the end of their training will be commissioned as officers.