Ban pleased with progress on Hariri court

Daily Star - Ban pleased with progress on Hariri court, October 19, 2007

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed relief earlier this week over the establishment of an international tribunal to try suspects in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. "The preparations needed to create the court that will try those responsible for the terrorist crime against Hariri are going on very well," Ban said late on Tuesday. "I have appointed three members of the committee charged with choosing the prosecutor and judges." Ban sent a letter to the president of the Security Council earlier this month, informing the council of his intention to appoint judges Mohammad Amin al-Mehdi, Erik Mese and Nicolas Michel as members of the selection panel for the judges and prosecutor of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon covering Hariri's assassination, a UN statement said Thursday. Pursuant to a document annexed to Security Council Resolution 1757, the judges and the prosecutor are to be appointed by the secretary general upon the recommendation of a selection panel he has established, after indicating his intentions to the Security Council. The selection panel will be composed of two judges, currently sitting on or retired from an international tribunal, and the representative of the secretary general. Mehdi and Mese are distinguished jurists. Mehdi, an Egyptian, formerly served on the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Mese, a Norwegian, currently serves on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. Michel is the United Nations undersecretary general for legal affairs. "The secretary general remains committed to establishing the tribunal in a timely manner, in keeping with Resolution 1757, and continues to believe that the tribunal will contribute to ending impunity in Lebanon for the crimes under its jurisdiction," the statement added. Ban also said discussions were under way with the countries that would host suspects in the crime. "When the verdict is issued discussions will be needed to determine where and who will execute the verdict," he said.