Lebanon to propose judges for Hariri court

Daily Star - Lebanon to propose judges for Hariri court, June 11, 2007

By Hani M. Bathish

BEIRUT: The Special Tribunal for Lebanon to try suspects in the slaying of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri entered into force on Sunday in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1757. Much work remains before the tribunal begins to function, including finding a country to host the tribunal and another nation willing to incarcerate those convicted by the tribunal, necessitating individual agreements between the UN and each of these countries.
Lebanon also has to nominate 12 judges, four of whom UN chief Ban Ki-Moon will select to serve on the court. The Supreme Judicial Council is scheduled to meet Monday to start considering candidates, said the Justice Ministry. Justice Minister Charles Rizk asked the judicial council in a letter Saturday to decide on the nominees.
One Lebanese judge will serve in the tribunal's trial chamber, along with two international judges, while two Lebanese judges will serve in the appeals chamber with three international judges. One Lebanese judge will be an alternate. The names proposed by the council are binding and cannot be changed or added to by the government.
Rizk, speaking before a gathering of university professors last week, said he wished the Lebanese would overcome their political differences following the tribunal's establishment. He said the political positions of senior opposition leaders have become more moderate and showed understanding, as Rizk praised the stances of and former Minister Suleiman Franjieh, who accepted the tribunal.
Rizk said he welcomed the different diplomatic initiatives aimed at bridging the gap between the majority and the opposition, especially the Saudi and French initiative, in order to bring about a national unity government. He said that when one of the major sects is not represented in the government, making major decisions becomes difficult, if not impossible.
Parliamentary majority leader MP Saad Hariri said in a statement released Saturday that, had the tribunal not been established, Lebanon would continue to suffer regular political assassinations, "used by the Syrian regime as a means to assert control over Lebanon." http://www.dailystar.com.lb

"We have done our utmost to make sure the tribunal is established through Lebanese constitutional institutions and for observations on the tribunal to be submitted and discussed objectively and openly, but all attempts on our part have been met with the opposition's total refusal," Hariri said.
Hariri said the international tribunal to bring his father's killers to justice would not have seen the light of day had it not been for the support of major Arab countries, who withstood pressures to scuttle the tribunal, and friendly countries which realized that establishing the tribunal had become a necessity to halt the string of attacks and protect Lebanon.
Former President Amin Gemayel, addressing Phalange party members and supporters at a gathering at his home in Bikfaya on Sunday, said June 10 is the beginning of the road toward justice and not the end of the road. He said this is the first time in the history of the Mideast that such an international court has been established, and he added that its purpose is three-fold: to try suspects in the assassinations and bombings whether they are individuals, organizations or regimes; to deter anyone else from committing such crimes in the future; and to protect Lebanese independence, stability and its democratic system.
"Lebanon today is under an international judicial umbrella," Gemayel said. "Wrong are those who underestimate [the tribunal] and believe time will allow them to escape it or believe they can circumvent it through political bartering."
Meanwhile, Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt, speaking Sunday after paying his respects in the village of Katermaya to the family of a fallen soldier, said every nation that ever desired freedom and dignity had had to pay a heavy price. He connected the eruption of clashes at the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp to the imminent ratification of the tribunal at the UN, adding that those who fail to support the Army "in words and action" will regret it.