The United States lacks standing under UNSCR 1441 and its anticeedents, to make a claim on the person of Mr. Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti.
Order Number 48 of December 10, 2003, enacted by the Iraqi Governing Council, consisting of persons appointed by the United States, and issued by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), an agency of the United States, authorizing an Iraqi Special Tribunal (IST) by statute, does not cure this substantive defect of law.
Law Number 10 of October 9, 2005, enacted by a legislature "elected" without the names of the candidates being made known to the electorate, under an elections code created by the United States, revoking Order Number 48, abolishing the Iraqi Special Tribunal, and establishing the Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal (Tribunal or SICT), does not cure this substantive defect of law.
The Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal does not observe the norms of due process customarily afforded to defendants charged with war crimes under international law, or capital crimes under US domestic law.
The United States had physical custody of the person of Mr. Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti, and during the night of December 29th, abandoned the prisoner to persons known to the United States to seek to cause the prisoner harm.
The killing of Mr. Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was not lawful.
Independent of all other considerations, and there are many that should have given Americans directly involved in the management of the physical and legal chains of custody pause, and many more that should have given pause to Americans directly involved in legislation concerning the Iraq War, none of which should have escaped the notice of an able and responsible war-time executive, this illegal act harms the interests of the United States.
"The implementation of Saddam's execution during Eid al-adha is illegal according to chapter 9 of the tribunal law. Article 27 states that nobody, even the president (Jalal Talabani), may change rulings by the tribunal and the implementation of the sentence should not happen until 30 days after publication that the appeals court has upheld the tribunal verdict. The hanging during the Eid al-Adha period (also) contradicts Iraqi and Islamic custom. "Article 290 of the criminal code of 1971 (which was largely used in the Saddam trial) states that no verdict should implemented during the official holidays or religious festivals."