Saddam faces trial — but by which court?

Now that Saddam Hussein is in U.S. custody, international law experts at home and abroad are unanimous: The deposed dictator should face a public trial — and even the death penalty, says Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch — for his crimes.

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But a trial by whom?

"I hope he eventually will be tried by the new Iraqi government in a public trial that publicly reviews his decades of ruthlessness in power," Hatch said, adding it would "greatly empower the new Iraqi government and help cleanse the residue from decades of dictatorship."

"He ought to stand trial for his life," he added.

Members of the U.S.-backed Iraqi Governing Council, in a televised press conference Sunday, said Saddam will be tried in a recently created war tribunal and that the proceedings will be a model of democracy — open to the press and subject to appeal.

In addition, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, a staunch supporter of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, also said the capture "gives an opportunity for Saddam to be tried in Iraqi courts for his crimes against the Iraqi people."

But that may be easier said than done. Utah State University President Kermit Hall, a former member of the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Review Board and constitutional law scholar, and law professors from Brigham Young University and the University of Utah all agree that the justice system in Iraq, along with that country's government, is unstable at best. They see Iraq as a country without a constitution or a court system capable of handling a case like Saddam's.

To bank on a "fair" trial in Iraq at this point might not be the path for justice, according to U. professor Wayne McCormack, who teaches a course in terrorism and international law. He sees four possibilities for bringing Saddam to justice.

• Iraqi courts, such as the war crimes tribunal the U.S.-appointed interim government recently established.
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• U.S. military tribunal, which would deal with crimes in which its own forces were involved, such as Saddam's invasion of Kuwait in 1990, the catalyst for the Gulf War.
• The International Criminal Court, based in The Hague in the Netherlands. The ICC was established by a U.N. statute in 1998 and "entered into force" by over 60 ratifications on July 1, 2002. Its duties are to try individuals accused of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. Last year, the U.S. withdrew its ratification.
• Courts of other countries, like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran or other Middle Eastern countries that might want Saddam extradited for crimes committed against their citizens.