WASHINGTON, Dec 17: The US believes the war crimes tribunal being setup in Iraq to try deposed president Saddam Hussein and other prisoners will also have non-Iraqi members, the State Department said.

“There is a provision in that court that provides for the appointment of non-Iraqi members of the court,” the department’s spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters in Washington on Tuesday.

The court also allows non-Iraqis to participate in its proceedings as advisers and observers, he said.

Although there has been no formal announcement yet, the court is expected to try Saddam Hussein.

It will also try hundreds of other prisoners captured by US and allied forces in Iraq during the war.

The Iraqi Governing Council has already issued 20 pages of “Rules of Procedures” for the proposed court but said it was not a final document. The council continues to work with Iraqi and US legal experts to further define the rules and powers of the tribunal.