The Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development Assistance and Training (OPDAT) is managed by the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division and primarily funded by the State Department. The focus is assistance to the Iraqi justice sector in enhancing sustainable institutions built upon rule of law principles. Its many accomplishments and activities to date include the following:

• The OPDAT Iraq Program currently has seven Resident Legal Advisors (RLAs) working in support of the rule of law mission. Eight RLAs are deployed to Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) in Iraq provinces, with two RLAs assigned to the Law and Order Task Force (LAOTF) and one assigned to the office of the Rule of Law Coordinator. The RLAs work with the Embassy, the Higher Judicial Council, the Central Criminal Court of Iraq, provincial courts, and other justice sector institutions on a variety of issues related to criminal justice, rule of law, and other matters involving the delivery of justice to the citizens of Iraq.
• OPDAT personnel have facilitated the creation of Central Criminal Court panels for Mosul, Tikrit, and Kirkuk. These panels, referred to as Major Crimes Courts, consist of both local and sometimes traveling judges from Baghdad who handle major felony cases that the traditional provincial courts have been unable to prosecute for security reasons. These Major Crimes Courts have been cited repeatedly by Iraqi provincial leaders for their positive impact on public perception of the criminal justice system.
• More than 600 Iraqi judicial officials have been trained in courses developed and/or delivered by RLAs in Iraq, including topics such as human rights, scientific evidence, and special challenges presented by the prosecution of insurgency and terrorist cases. RLAs have coordinated and designed curriculum for courses presented to 622 Iraqi police investigators and police trainers relating to Iraqi criminal law and the gathering and preservation of evidence.