The United Nations-backed tribunal to try the perpetrators of a massive car bomb blast that killed former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri has appointed its main officials and adopted rules of procedures and evidence, the court announced today.

“The Special Tribunal for Lebanon now has the necessary tools to deal promptly and efficiently with the first files concerning the Hariri case, which the Lebanese authorities are expected to transfer in the next few weeks,” its President, Antonio Cassese of Italy, said in a statement.

In consultation with President Cassese, who was the first president of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed François Roux of France as the head of the defence office.

The Tribunal, an independent body located in The Hague, is designed to try those accused of recent political murders in Lebanon, particularly the February 2005 assassination of Mr. Hariri and 22 others in downtown Beirut.

Daniel Bellemare, a Canadian prosecutor and former head of the International Independent Investigation Commission (IIIC) into the murders, assumed his office as Prosecutor of the Special Tribunal when it began operations earlier this month.

The judges and registrar of the court have already been sworn in as well, and rules governing detention and the directive on assignment of defence counsel have been adopted, the court said.

According to the Tribunal, President Cassese and Daniel Fransen of Belgium, the Pre-Trial Judge, will soon take up their duties on a full-time basis.

The other judges, for the Trial and Appeals Chambers, will take office on a date to be determined by the Secretary-General, in consultation with the President, and their names will be announced once all security measures are in place, the Tribunal said.

The investigation continues under the guidance of Prosecutor Bellemare, and a trial will take place when he has sufficient evidence is in place, according to the court.

Source: www.un.org

1 comments
  1. jean frankel tries to murder me of ideas for action llc September 26, 2009 at 5:01 AM  

    Serbia To Shortly Ascend to the EU Says SPAIN.

    Irrefutable Proof ICTY Is Corrupt Court/Irrefutable Proof the Hague Court Cannot
    Legitimately Prosecute Karadzic Case


    This legal technicality indicates the Hague must dismiss charges against Dr karadzic and
    others awaiting trials in the Hague jail; like it or not.

    Unfortunately for the Signatures Of the Rome Statute United Nations member states
    instituting the ICC & ICTY housed at the Hague, insofar as the, Radovan Karadzic, as
    with the other Hague cases awaiting trial there, I personally witnessed these United
    Nations member states openly speaking about trading judicial appointments and verdicts
    for financial funding when I attended the 2001 ICC Preparatory Meetings at the UN in
    Manhattan making the iCTY and ICC morally incapable trying Radovan Karazdic and
    others.

    I witnessed with my own eyes and ears when attending the 2001 Preparatory Meetings to
    establish an newly emergent International Criminal Court, the exact caliber of criminal
    corruption running so very deeply at the Hague, that it was a perfectly viable topic of
    legitimate conversation in those meetings I attended to debate trading verdicts AND
    judicial appointments, for monetary funding.

    Jilly wrote:*The rep from Spain became distraught and when her country’s proposal was
    not taken to well by the chair of the meeting , then Spain argued in a particularly loud
    and noticably strongly vocal manner, “Spain (my country) strongly believes if we
    contribute most financial support to the Hague’s highest court, that ought to give us and
    other countries feeding it financially MORE direct power over its
    decisions.”

    ((((((((((((((((((((((((( ((((((((((((((((((((((((( Instead of censoring the country representative
    from Spain for even bringing up this unjust, illegal and unfair judicial idea of bribery for
    international judicial verdicts and judicial appointments, all country representatives
    present in the meeting that day all treated the Spain proposition as a ”totally legitimate
    topic” discussed and debated it between each other for some time. I was quite shocked!
    The idea was "let's discuss it." "It's a great topic to discuss."

    Some countries agreed with Spain’s propositions while others did not. The point here is,
    bribery for judicial verdicts and judicial appointments was treated as a totally legitimate
    topic instead of an illegitimate toic which it is in the meeting that I
    attended in 2001 that day to establish the ground work for a newly emergent
    international criminal court.))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

    In particular., since "Spain" was so overtly unafraid in bringing up this topic of trading
    financial funding the ICC for influence over its future judicial appointments and verdicts
    in front of every other UN member state present that day at the UN, "Spain" must have
    already known by previous experience the topic of bribery was "socially acceptable" for
    conversation that day. They must have previously spoke about bribing the ICTY and ICC
    before in meetings; this is my take an international sociological honor student.

    SPAIN's diplomatic gesture of international justice insofar as, Serbia, in all of this is,
    disgusting morally!

    SPAIN HAS TAUGHT THE WORLD THE TRUE DEFINITION OF AN
    "INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT."