The legitimacy of using a secret informant
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64184/ajlps.V2.I3.Y2025.P302-330.132Keywords:
legitimacy, undercover informant, reporting, criminal evidence, protection of witnesses and informantsAbstract
Information constitutes an important means used to detect crimes. In addition to being a legal obligation under certain conditions, it also constitutes a moral and ethical duty due to its role in protecting individuals and society from crime. The Iraqi legislature has given the confidential informant complete freedom to choose the method of reporting, not requiring them to follow a specific method. The law also grants the informant the right to request anonymity and not to be considered a witness in crimes that threaten internal or external state security, economic sabotage, and other crimes punishable by death, life imprisonment, or temporary imprisonment. In this case, the judge may record this, along with a summary of the information, in a special register prepared for this purpose. The judge will conduct the necessary investigations without revealing the informant's identity or revealing his or her identity. As a result, widespread controversy has arisen over the legality of the work of the undercover informant, particularly regarding the confidentiality of the informant's identity or his or her status as a witness. Some believe this constitutes a violation of the right to defense, protected by the constitution and the law.
References
Books
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Constitutions and Laws
1. The Iraqi Constitution of 2005
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3. The Iraqi Penal Code, No. 111 of 1969.
4. The Law Regulating the Work of Secret Informants, No. 119 of 1988, published in the Iraqi Gazette, No. 3222, dated October 3, 1988.
5. Law No. 6 of 2000, the Law of Progression of Medical and Health Professionals, published in the Iraqi Gazette, No. 4571, dated January 13, 2020.
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8. Jordanian Penal Code No. 16 of 1960, published in the Official Gazette, No. 1487, dated January 1, 1960, and amended by Law No. 8 of 2011, published in the Official Gazette, No. 5090, dated May 2, 2011.
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1. Thousands of Iraqi Detainees, Victims of the "Secret Informant" Article published on the website: www.aljazeera.net
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7. Ammar Abbas al-Husseini and Zain al-Abidin Awad Kazim, "The Alternative Legal System for the Secret Informant," Al-Muthanna Journal of Administrative and Economic Sciences, Vol. Fourth, Issue Ten, 2014.
