The new law is aimed at easing mistrust between Sunnis and Shias [EPA]

Tens of thousands of Baath officials were dismissed from public institutions after Saddam Hussein, the former Iraqi president, was removed from power in the US-led invasion of 2003 and barred from state employment.
 
The new Accountability and Justice bill, passed on Saturday, replaces an existing law that Sunnis have long complained amounted to collective punishment.

It was passed unanimously by the 143 members present in the 275-member parliament.
 
"The law has been passed. We see it as a very good sign of progress and it will greatly benefit Baathists," Rasheed al-Azzawi, a Sunni member of the committee which helped modify some of the language of the law, said.

"It was passed smoothly and opposition was small."

Reconciliation effort

The bill is regarded by the US as vital to reconciliation efforts in Iraq but had been stalled before parliament by hardline Shias who demanded that it also include measures to compensate victims of Saddam's regime.

The new law will allow thousands of former party members to apply for reinstatement in the civil service and military, while pensions will be given to a smaller group of more senior members still banned from public life.

It makes a distinction between two categories of Baath party officials who have been barred from state employment since 2003.

Only senior party leaders who implemented the oppressive policies of Saddam's government would remain subject to the ban.
 
Middle-ranking officials not implicated in any crimes would be able to resume government jobs.

US officials hope the new law will go some way towards easing mistrust between Shias and Sunnis in Iraq.

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