(Updates with verdicts)

Nov 5 (Reuters) - Verdicts were delivered on Sunday in the trial of Saddam Hussein and seven co-defendants charged with ordering the killing and torture of Shi'ite villagers after a 1982 assassination attempt in Dujail.

Following are some questions and answers about the legal procedure and what happens now.

THE COURT:

Saddam and his co-defendants were tried by what was originally called the Iraqi Special Tribunal, established in December 2003 by U.S.-led occupation authorities. It became known as the Iraqi High Tribunal in October 2005 and consists of two trial chambers with five judges in each.

THE CHARGES:

Saddam was charged with crimes against humanity for the arrest, torture, killings and deportation of 399 men, women and children. A total of 148 were killed. The charge sheet included wilful killing, deportation or forcible transfer of population, imprisonment, torture, enforced disappearance of persons and other inhumane acts.

THE VERDICT:

Proof was to be shown only to the "satisfaction" of the judges, falling short of the "beyond reasonable doubt" benchmark of the Anglo-Saxon legal system.

Saddam Hussein was found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to hang. The tribunal also handed down death sentences to former revolutionary chief judge Awad Hamed al-Bander and to Saddam's half brother and former intelligence chief Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti.

Former Iraqi vice president Taha Yassin Ramadan was also found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. Three local Baath party officials were found guilty and sentenced to 15 years in prison and a fourth was acquitted.

THE APPEAL:

Defendants can appeal against the verdict to a nine-member appeals chamber. If the verdict is death or life in prison, an appeal is automatic even if defence counsel does not submit one. Any sentence must be carried out within 30 days of all appeals being exhausted. There is no statute of limitation as to how long the appellate court can take on ruling.

The presidential council, made up of Iraq's president and two vice presidents, has to ratify any death sentence before it is carried out. The current president is an ethnic Kurd and the two vice presidents are a Shi'ite and a Sunni Arab.

Iraqi law states that the corpse of the executed person is handed over to relatives if they so request. Otherwise the prison authorities will carry out the burial at government expense, but there will be no funeral ceremony.

OTHER CASES:

Saddam is also facing charges in a separate trial for genocide against ethnic Kurds and, despite Sunday's verdict, proceedings for the Anfal (Spoils of War) military campaign will continue. Only after the death of a defendant are the charges of other cases dropped.

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