Police Station or Investigating Judge
The first question from someone who has been threatened, extorted or defrauded is whether to go to the police station or the court. Under Criminal Procedure Code No. 23 of 1971 both routes are open, but each plays a different role. The office of Ali Barakat in al-Yarmouk, Baghdad, explains the difference.
Who receives a complaint
Article 1 has criminal proceedings start with an oral or written complaint to the investigating judge, an investigator, any officer at a police station or any member of the judicial police. Article 39 lists judicial police members, starting with police officers, station chiefs and warrant officers. Article 41 requires them to accept reports and complaints, record their steps in signed records and send them to the competent authority.
The police station's role
Article 49 requires the officer at a police station, on receiving a report of a felony or misdemeanour, to record the informant's statement at once, take his signature and send a report to the investigating judge or investigator. The station is in principle a point of intake and recording, and matters most in urgent situations that cannot wait, such as a fresh death threat or an extorter who has named a meeting place. Article 50 lets it investigate if ordered by the judge or investigator, or if referring the informant to the judge would delay matters so that traces of the offence are lost or the accused escapes, provided the papers go to the judge as soon as it is done.
The investigating judge's role
Article 51 assigns preliminary investigation to investigating judges, with investigators working under their supervision. Article 52 lets the investigating judge investigate any offence himself or through investigators, and delegate a specific step to a judicial police member. Key decisions, such as appointing an expert under article 69, ordering production under article 74 and searches under article 75, come from the judge.
Which suits online cases
Online cases usually turn on decisions only a judge can make: examining a phone, requesting data, identifying an account holder. Many complaints therefore go straight to the competent investigating judge with the preserved evidence. Where the danger is urgent, such as a death threat or an extorter waiting at a known place, the police station is closer, and article 50 lets it act at once.
Which area
Article 53 gives jurisdiction to the place where all or part of the offence or any result occurred, and to where the victim was. A threat reaching a phone in al-Yarmouk can be complained of before the local investigating judge even if sent from another province.
Arrest and detention
Article 92 forbids arresting or detaining anyone except on a judge's or court's order or where the law permits, as with an offence caught in the act. Article 109 lets the judge detain someone accused of an offence punishable by more than three years for up to fifteen days at a time, or release him on bail. A police station does not detain the accused on its own initiative outside these cases.
Following up
Article 8 treats a complainant as having withdrawn if he leaves a complaint unattended for three months without legitimate excuse, for complaint-based offences, and the judge then dismisses it and closes the case for good. Keep the complaint number and court name and follow up regularly. Article 58 opens the investigation with the complainant's statement, then the victim and witnesses, so bring witnesses' names and addresses, and printed screenshots alongside the phone itself, so that what is needed can be attached to the record from the first session. See Electronic evidence before the investigating court.
Legal basis and sources
Frequently asked questions
Is a complaint accepted at a police station?
Yes. Article 1 allows it to any police station officer, who records it and sends it to the investigating judge under article 49.
Can the police station arrest the accused?
Arrest needs a judge's order or a case the law permits, under article 92.
What if I do not follow up my complaint?
For complaint-based offences, you are treated as having withdrawn after three months without excuse, under article 8.
Related topics and articles
- 01Electronic Evidence before the Investigating CourtHow screenshots, chats and recordings are presented to an investigating judge in Iraq: the court's conviction, technical expertise, production orders, electronic document conditions and preserving evidence.
- 02Online Threats and ExtortionHow the Iraqi Penal Code handles threats and extortion by phone and social media: articles 430, 431, 432 and 452, the complaint and its deadline, preserving evidence, and reconciliation.
- 03Reporter Liability and Publication during InvestigationThe limits on someone who files a complaint or posts about a case under investigation in Iraq: false reporting under article 243, protection for good-faith reporters, and banned publication under articles 235 and 236.
- 04Online Defamation and InsultDefamation, insult and smearing on Facebook, TikTok and WhatsApp under articles 433 to 436 of the Iraqi Penal Code: the difference, publicity, proving truth, the three-month complaint and compensation.
- 05Publishing Private Photos and ChatsPublishing private photos and chats without consent under article 438 of the Iraqi Penal Code: private life, disclosing messages and calls, professional secrets, the complaint and compensation.