'Reports of administration for 1918 of divisions and districts of the occupied territories in Mesopotamia. Volume I' [‎56r] (116/470)

The cases which have come up before the Political Officer fall into four classes:
Criminal cases, land cases, civil suits for possession of house property, arrears of
rent, debt, &c., and shaCah cases.
(1) Criminal Cases .—In such the Political Officer is sitting as a magistrate.
Serious crime has been remarkably little and tribal murders nil, or rather none haw
come to light. The tendency undoubtedly will be in the future for the tribes
concerned to wish to have the case tried by the magistrate, instead of appealing to the
tribal majlis for a fasl. There has been a certain amount of petty criminal cases,
which have been tried summarily.
(2) Land Cases .—The policy in these cases, a policy dictated by the pressure
and urgency of other more important work, has only been to hear such as would,
if left unsettled by executive and temporary order, cause political trouble, loss to
revenue, or serious inconvenience and danger to the parties concerned. The parties
are always first asked, in the cases of possession which the shaPah can hear, if they wish
to go before the shar‘ah in Najaf. If willing and the shaPah are willing to hear and
decide the case the matter is ended. Frequently, however, the parties will not
go before the shaPah, or the shaPah will not hear the case. If the shaPah decides
the case the decision is brought before the Political Officer, who confirms that the
case is settled. In cases which are not brought before the shaPah the Political
Officer passes an order on the case which is binding until the opening of a properly
constituted court, when the parties are at liberty to reopen the case if they wish.
A considerable number of disputes have been settled in this way, either
temporarily or permanently, in the case of shaPah decision. The most important of
these was undoubtedly the Zuwaini family land dispute, which has been famous for
40 years and involved immense interests.
The right of appeal from the decision of an A.P.O. to the Political Officer is
occasionally exercised, and very seldom the right of further appeal to Baghdad.
(3) Civil Suits .—For possession of house property, arrears of rent, debt., &c.
The shaPah has again been employed where the parties are willing, and a few
cases of the first type, where urgent action was necessary, have been decided by
the Political Officer exercising his powers as a judge of the peace. Cases for arrears
of rent, debt, and so on, it has however been impossible to touch. The entertainment
of one such plea would have resulted in a flood of petitions which perforce must
have been heard and which would have held up the whole work of the Division for
six months.
(4) ShaCah Cases .—The question of the scope and recognition of the decisions
of the Mujtahids of Najaf requires very careful consideration, both from the point
of possible confusion in the event of the establishment of properly constituted
courts in Najaf, and also in view of the great Mujtahid’s position in the Shi‘ah
world.
This latter needs brief explanation. The great Shkah Mujtahid—there are
only some four and only two of these are of supreme importance—are those who have
the power of giving the Fatwah, which is irrevocable and final. They can and do,
and will cancel the decision of any Shkah shaPah throughout the world if the matter
is brought before them and they see reason for alteration. Every Shkah has the
right to go to them, and the large shaPah cases of Persia and ‘Iraq are always decided
at & Najaf. It would be impossible to interfere with this power, which is ,a right.
In the case of the constitution of a Shkah shaPah at Baghdad or elsewhere it will
be necessary to remember this.
As regards the first point, the possibility of confusion, this is not great or serious.
There are certain cases which are definitely shaPah and which the people themselves
will not think of taking to a civil court. There are others which could be heard by
shaPah or civil. In such cases it would be politic to preserve the present attitude,
to give the parties the right of taking the case before the shaPah should they so wish.
The careful preservation of the policy of non-interference by the civil courts in
any matter which has been decided by the shar ah, and reciprocal non-interference
on the part of the shaPah which, the" writer The lowest of the four classes into which East India Company civil servants were divided. A Writer’s duties originally consisted mostly of copying documents and book-keeping. here can speak with some experience,
is recognised readily, will make the constitution of a civil court in Najaf a matter
of no difficulty and sound policy.
It is hoped shortly to appoint a Mujtahid as Hakim al ShaPah in Najaf, who will
be responsible for the hearing of all cases sent in by the Political Officer. This will
greatly expedite work and justice.