Bangladesh, April 18 -- Since the demise of strongman Saddam Hussein, it is fair to say that Iraqs judicial system has undergone significant changes.

At first, says a new report from the Iraq Watch Group of the Middle East Centre of the London School of Economics (LSE), the reforms appeared to create a more independent judiciary.

However, the truth quickly emerged that it has instead become increasingly centralized and politicized.

The Iraq Watch Group says that judicial power in Iraq has increasingly been concentrated within the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) and the Federal Supreme Court (FSC), with new laws granting unchecked control to SJC president Faiq Zaidan.

Zaidan uses his power to serve personal interests and, often, those o...