The US Justice Department on 20 May announced that it was sending a team of judicial officials and law enforcement officials to Iraq to help in the rebuilding of the justice system. 'Now all Iraqis can taste liberty in their native land, and we will make that freedom permanent by assisting them to establish an equitable criminal justice system, based on the rule of law and standards of basic human rights,' said US Attorney General John Ashcroft. The team will perform only an advisory role, assessing conditions and making recommendations. The justice system in Iraq made a tentative restart on 8 May, with a small number of minor trials being conducted in Baghdad, using an old legal code (MEED 9:5:03). US National Security Council member Clint Williamson is the leading adviser on judicial reconstruction.