Police College Journal of Security and Community Sciences

This research examines the criminal impact of a police officer's dereliction of duty within Iraqi legislation by elucidating the legal basis of their obligation to perform their duties and the limits of their liability when breaching such duties. Dereliction is considered a passive behavior that may give rise to legal liability whenever a legal duty to intervene exists, the ability to act is present, and the omission is unlawful. The research distinguishes between lawful omission, based on a legal justification, and unlawful omission, which constitutes a breach of professional duties. The study focuses on the dual nature of accountability that may result from this omission: disciplinary responsibility arises from merely breaching a functional duty, whereas criminal responsibility is engaged when the elements of a crime are met, including the offender's status, the existence of a legal obligation, and criminal intent where required. Furthermore, it discusses the adequacy of existing Iraqi legal provisions in addressing this phenomenon.
The research problem lies in the ambiguity of the boundaries between lawful and unlawful omission, the insufficiency of certain legal texts in defining the circumstances giving rise to a police officer's criminal liability for dereliction of duty, in addition to the weakness of some oversight mechanisms in detecting this type of behavior. This may negatively impact the protection of public order and affect public trust in the security institution. The research concludes that dereliction of duty represents a serious form of breach of professional obligations and may rise to the level of a criminal offense if its legal conditions are met. Its consequences are not limited to disciplinary sanctions. The basis of this liability rests on the principle of legality and the administration's subjection to the law, with the police officer's obligation extending to crime prevention whenever they are capable of doing so or legally required to do so. The research also indicates that the criterion for establishing liability requires verifying the existence of a specific legal obligation and actual capacity to act, taking into account the circumstances surrounding the act, and that distinguishing between lawful and unlawful omission is fundamental in determining liability. In light of these findings, the research recommends the necessity of enhancing legislative clarity by amending relevant texts to precisely define criminalized cases, activating administrative and judicial oversight mechanisms to ensure accountability in cases of unlawful omission, and developing training and legal qualification programs for police officers to enhance their awareness of the nature of their obligations. This will strike a balance between enabling them to perform their duties and subjecting them to effective legal oversight, thereby strengthening trust in the security institution within the framework of the rule of law.

This study examines the criminal protection of religious places in armed conflicts by analyzing both the national and international frameworks for such protection and their practical application to the case of the Shrine of the Two Imams al-Askariyyayn (AS) in Samarra, as a glaring example of the violation of the sanctity of religious sites in the context of an armed conflict. The study is built upon a comparative legal approach between relevant Iraqi laws—such as the Constitution, the Penal Code No. 111 of 1969, and the Antiquities and Heritage Law No. 55 of 2002—and the system of international humanitarian law, including the Hague Conventions, the Geneva Protocols, and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The study encompasses the legal definition of religious places, distinguishing them from cultural property and military objects, and elucidates the forms of desecration and destruction and their impact on criminal characterization, along with an analysis of the elements of the crime in terms of the actus reus, mens rea, and individual, national, and international responsibility. It concludes that effective criminal protection can only be achieved through the activation of existing legal provisions, linking them to international accountability mechanisms, and developing a specialized judicial investigative system that ensures perpetrators of attacks on religious sanctuaries do not go unpunished. The study maintains that the protection of religious places represents a humanitarian and spiritual dimension that transcends the boundaries of national sovereignty and constitutes a moral and legal benchmark for the extent to which states adhere to the principles of international justice, the dignity of peoples, and their religious identity

The current research aims to:
• Strategic improvisation among department heads in the universities of the Middle Euphrates.
• Career passion among department heads in the universities of the Middle Euphrates.
• The statistical significance of the correlation between strategic improvisation and career passion among department heads in the universities of the Middle Euphrates.
The researchers achieved the research objectives by selecting a random sample of department heads at the universities of the Middle Euphrates in the academic year (2022/2023). Four universities were selected from the universities of the Middle Euphrates, and the number of scientific and humanities departments reached (318). The sample was distributed randomly, and appropriate research and statistical tools were applied to extract the values of validity and reliability. Based on the results, the two researchers developed several recommendations and proposals.

This research analyzes the role of the Federal Police Forces Command in Iraq's liberation operations, as a key security actor that undertook complex tasks combining combat operations, internal security management, civilian protection, and post-liberation stabilization. The research adopts a descriptive-analytical approach, supported by a case study of the Mosul liberation operation (2016–2017), aiming to analyze leadership patterns, decision-making mechanisms, and the level of institutional coordination in complex security environments. The findings show that the security leadership of the Federal Police Forces constituted a critical factor in the success of the operations, through employing a mix of directive leadership, adaptive leadership, and crisis leadership, which contributed to reducing casualties and preventing security vacuums. The research also highlights the importance of the post-liberation phase as an essential extension of the security operation. The research recommends strengthening security leadership development programs and improving institutional coordination mechanisms in joint operations

This research aims to evaluate the impact of unifying emergency numbers under 911 in Iraq on security and community awareness, citizens' communication behavior, their satisfaction, and response speed, from the perspective of both the community and operational center workers. The study adopted a descriptive-analytical methodology, covering the population of Iraqi provinces as well as workers in command and control centers. Data were collected through 532 questionnaires and 13 in-depth interviews. The results showed that levels of security awareness, communication behavior, satisfaction, and perceived response speed were within a moderate positive level. The qualitative interviews also revealed key challenges such as call pressure, a high number of non-emergency reports, difficulties in location identification, and staff shortages during peak times, in addition to coordination discrepancies among responding entities. The research recommends enhancing public awareness regarding proper reporting, developing location identification systems, increasing operational staff, improving inter-agency coordination, and providing specialized training programs. The research emphasizes that the success of the unified emergency number depends on the integration of the operational, technical, and human systems.

This research aims to analyze the international and national legal mechanisms for implementing international humanitarian law in Iraq, with a focus on the protection of minorities during the armed conflicts that followed the 2014 conflict. The research examines the role of international organizations, UN missions, and national committees, as well as the role of international criminal justice in addressing crimes committed against civilians, particularly minorities. The research also discusses preventive and supervisory mechanisms, such as the dissemination of international humanitarian law, the harmonization of national legislation, and the role of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), in addition to the role of the UN Investigative Team (UNITAD) in documenting crimes and gathering evidence. The research concludes that the application of international humanitarian law in Iraq has faced multiple challenges; however, international cooperation and national efforts have contributed to reducing violations and enhancing the protection of civilians, especially minorities, while the need remains to develop legal and institutional mechanisms to ensure greater effectiveness in the future.

The topic of the international legislative framework for combating cyberterrorism is one of the most important subjects in which the international community falls victim to terrorist acts, particularly in the context of conflicts that societies experience under international terrorism, with the intention of curbing this phenomenon and eliminating it definitively. Cyberterrorism is a global phenomenon and an international crime with cross-border effects, as it targets human and economic resources regardless of religious, sectarian, or national considerations, given that the international community is passing through this dangerous phase in the face of the challenges of terrorism, which are considered the most dangerous because they target international peace and security, and target a larger number of people and economic resources that the international community is keen to protect and defend by all possible means and methods. The relative characteristic of these cyberattacks lies in their low cost and ease of recourse to them, as they do not require masses of fighters, thousands of weapons, or numerous means as in traditional conflicts. They can be carried out by a single person or a group of those with experience and skill in using computers and knowledge of software and system vulnerabilities, enabling them to use them against a particular state. Thus, the characteristic turns into a source of concern, along with the effects and consequences of these attacks on populations, for instance if they were carried out against a nuclear facility or energy sources. The same applies to electronic journalism, which is considered a new form of electronic terrorism if use improperly given the important role it plays in the political dynamics of countries. Despite its recent emergence, it has become a reality that cannot be ignored.

Appeals are a fundamental guarantee for the accused, as the law grants them the right to appeal judgments and decisions issued by criminal courts before the Courts of Cassation. The law empowers these courts to review appeals against judicial rulings whenever a judgment is found to be flawed by a violation of the law or a procedural error. This necessitates that the accused know the court competent to hear the appeal and the legal timeframe for filing it to avoid dismissal on procedural grounds. The general principle is that appeals against judicial rulings are filed with the Federal Court of Cassation. An exception to this general principle is that appeals are filed with the Federal Court of Appeal in its capacity as a court of cassation, based on Resolution 104 of 1988. This resolution granted the Federal Court of Appeal the powers of the Court of Cassation when reviewing appeals against judgments issued by misdemeanor and juvenile courts in misdemeanor cases. This aims to alleviate the burden on the Court of Cassation and to facilitate the resolution of misdemeanor cases before misdemeanor and juvenile courts when appealed to the Federal Courts of Appeal, as they are geographically closest to the courts under their jurisdiction.

This study focuses on analyzing the crisis of sovereignty from the perspective of Iraqi law. It also addresses the fundamental concepts of sovereignty and its practical and theoretical dimensions.
The research begins by examining the nature of sovereignty as a cornerstone of the state, reviewing the challenges facing its implementation in contemporary Iraqi reality. The study is based on establishing the legal basis of sovereignty in the Constitution of the Republic of Iraq of 2005, analyzing the constitutional texts and the extent of their applicability on the ground.
Furthermore, the study investigates the manifestations of the sovereignty crisis within Iraqi positive laws, and the resulting challenges that affect national sovereignty. The research aims to discuss these challenges and present the mechanisms of Iraqi law in confronting them, while proposing practical solutions to protect and enhance the state's sovereignty

Constitutions typically stipulate that the parliament is vested with the function of overseeing the government's actions, alongside its primary function of legislation. The parliament exercises its right to monitor the government through the means granted by the constitutional legislator, by which the parliament can investigate and ascertain the facts regarding any political, economic, financial, or administrative suspicion, violation, or breach of laws, thereby protecting the constitution and the state's system from any transgression or infringement upon its provisions. Among the means that enable the legislative authority to directly exercise its oversight competence are fact‑finding committees. This is done by gathering information concerning any particular incident or measure taken by the executive authority contrary to the law, which has had negative consequences for citizens or the public interest, or if a serious public event occurs—such as a dysfunction in any state institution, suspicion of political, financial, or administrative corruption, a mysterious incident, or the like. In such cases, the parliament collects information and verifies the accuracy of any data by forming fact‑finding committees."

Our study aimed to shed light on a serious problem facing societies in general, and Iraqi society in particular, which highlights the importance of our investigation into this alarming issue: the prevalence of human trafficking crimes and their multiple forms and manifestations, especially given the unstable security, political, and economic conditions that society is experiencing. This poses a challenge to the administration in combating these crimes. In this study, we sought to examine the authority of the administration to address these crimes, aiming to strengthen this authority and provide it with appropriate legal provisions, particularly in light of the prevailing digital environment and the facilities it offers for committing such crimes. All of this is to answer the central problematic of this study: demonstrating the effectiveness of the Iraqi administration's authority in combating human trafficking crimes, based on an analysis of the legal framework of this authority and revealing the shortcomings in the administration's actions in this regard, in order to propose a set of legislative and supervisory reforms.
In this study, we employed the descriptive analytical method to analyze the legal texts in Iraqi legislation and relevant international treaties concerning the legal basis of the administration's authority and the role of competent administrative bodies in combating these crimes in Iraq.
Our study concluded that the primary legal basis for the administration's authority to combat human trafficking crimes is the prevailing Combating Human Trafficking Law No. (28) of 2012. However, practical reality shows that it is in continuous need of amendment to keep pace with the evolving methods of committing the crime and the magnitude of the risks it represents, which would expand the scope of protection provided by the law. Therefore, we proposed to the legislature to undertake legislative reforms by amending this law, adding other acts to fulfill the material element of the crime while expanding the scope of protection for victims, witnesses, and collaborators with the authorities. This is to grant the administration broader powers enabling it to confront these crimes more effectively.