The Forensic Handbook (Guide to Forensic Medicine

Abstract

The Forensic Handbook (Guide to Forensic Medicine) is a specialized legal and medical reference created to clarify and standardize forensic and medico-legal terminology for healthcare providers, judicial authorities, and law enforcement personnel. Developed under the project "Legal services for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq," the handbook was co-authored by retired judge Rahim Hassan Al-Ugaili and consultant forensic physician Dr. Barzan M. Ali Dartash. It was implemented by the Investigator Organization for the Rule of Law (IOL) in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS). The handbook provides operational guidelines on forensic examinations of living persons and deceased individuals, classifications of physical trauma and asphyxia, standardized protocols for managing sexual violence cases, and governing penal principles and criminal procedure rules in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region. It also includes standardized judicial investigation forms and a forensic medical dictionary.