Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Middle East: Iran, Iraq call for enhanced legal, judicial cooperation

Source: IRNA

Justice Minister Mostafa Pour Mohammadi and visiting Chairman of Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council, Medhat al-Mahmoud, in a meeting on Monday underlined the need for further expansion of legal and judicial cooperation between Tehran and Baghdad.

Pour Mohammadi referred to his recent visit to Iraq and said agreements reached between the two neighboring countries during his visit were of special importance.

Reports and observations suggest a major breakthrough in Iraqi judicial apparatus’ movement towards independence, Pour Mohammadi said.

He called for measures to be taken by both countries to manage over 3 million bilateral visits a year by Iranian and Iraqi nationals.

In the meantime, the Iraqi official referred to abundant historical and cultural commonalities between Iran and Iraq as a base for promotion of ties.

Medhat al-Mahmoud said that during his meetings with Iranian officials in Tehran he had noticed strong desire for expansion of bilateral ties on the part of Iranian officials.

He called for joint efforts by Iran and Iraq to put into effect four existing legal and judicial agreements between the two governments.

Baghdad is keen to commute prison sentences of those Iranian nationals imprisoned in Iraq for crimes such as illegal border crossing, he said.

Al-Mahmoud also voiced Baghdad’s readiness to cooperate with Tehran in extraditing prisoners.