The trial of deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein began on Wednesday after a delay of three hours with a closed session between defendants and the judge to discuss "procedural matters", said a court source.

Judge Rauf Rasheed Abdel Rahman, whose no-nonsense court style resulted in the ejection of half the defendants on Sunday, called for the closed session with the defendants to discuss procedural matters.

It is not clear if the session included all the defendants or just the four minor accused who remained on Sunday.

The defense lawyers, most of whom are out of the country, issued a statement boycotting the trial and calling for the removal of the presiding judge.

The court official said the closed session would only last half an hour and the ensuing open session would relate the events of the closed session.

Earlier procedural wrangling again delayed the resumption of Saddam Hussein's trial, amid increasing enmity between the nononsense new judge and an indignant defence team.

Judge Rauf Rasheed Abdel Rahman made his mark in the first session of the trial under his control Sunday, forcing the former Iraqi president out of the court and ordering guards to eject his half-brother Barzan al-Tikriti.

Neither a clearly irate Saddam, his defence team, nor any of the high profile defendants were expected to attend Wednesday's hearing amid continued questioning of the credibility of the tribunal.