The Role of Legal Representative to Protect Public Assets

judge Kadhem Abid Jassem Alzeidy

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Public assets are sacrosanct that  stipulated in Iraqi Constitution of 2005, Article (27) of it stipulated that "Public assets are sacrosanct and their protection is the duty of each citizen."  The maintaining  of the public assets is very important  since it  prevents the  assault on public assets and wastes the state assets. The judiciary  and prosecutor participate in protection the  public assets. However, the main and the important role of  the legal department in the ministries and bodies not attached to a ministry  can´t be hidden since  the legal representative assume to attend all courts  of various competences such as criminal courts which include  the investigation court and misdemeanors court, and civil courts like courts of first instance and appeal courts, to  present the plea and requests,  to  take legal action , to attend as plaintiff or defendant or third person and to know the date of pleading and date of deferment of the pleading in order to  attend in the court.

Here is appearing the role of legal representative to defend, to obtain and claim the state assets. The importance  of this role also highlights in the pleadings and exercising the challenging of the provisions such as appeal and other ways of appeal according to Civil Procedure Code and Criminal Procedures Code.  It is required that the legal representatives shall be experienced ,  be capable to keep up with the litigants and has an extensive  knowledge of the  acts, foremost among which are law of evidence , code of civil procedure, fining code , penal code ,  code of criminal procedures , execution act , the State Officials Discipline Act , the law of sale and rent of public property and other administrative laws and the codes of the ministry to which belongs . legal representatives must attend  the developmental courses, especially in their competence field  and such courses are recognized by the Union of Iraqi jurists .The jurist shall not be promoted unless he  had entered these courses. It is also important that the legal representative must be keen to protect public property .Many of cases are filed against  the ministries or the governmental departments to claim the compensation , equal pay and a right that result in the state will pay much money and weigh down public budget.

It is necessary for the legal representative to be able to attend proceedings and trials and not to be a single representative required him to attend more than a court and a committee at the same time, which makes it is  difficult to attend or defend the rights of the state because the legal representative must be held accountable in the case of negligence in the follow-up proceedings which regarding the public property that result in the issuance of a judgment or decision against the ministry .it must be a real awareness in defense the public right and public property and  the legal representative shouldn't waive the rights of the state unless confirming the fulfillment of the rights of the state and following up to the excesses over  public property , the legal representative is the safety valve to claim and to defend public property and the rights of the state . However, the legal representative must protect all these rights.