Rizk says 12 names have been submitted to UN panel that will pick judges, prosecutors for Hariri tribunal

Daily Star - Rizk says 12 names have been submitted to UN panel that will pick judges, prosecutors for Hariri tribunal, October 15, 2007.

Hani M. Bathish

Justice Minister Charles Rizk said UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon had taken a "substantial and advanced step" toward establishing the Special Tribunal for Lebanon to try suspects in the slaying of former Premier Rafik Hariri, after Ban appointed a three-member panel to select judges and a prosecutor for the court. Sources close to the justice minister told The Daily Star on Sunday that head of the Higher Judicial Council, Judge Antoine Kheir, would be dispatched to New York this week to coordinate with the UN legal team. "Kheir will be in New York on Wednesday and Thursday and will meet with [Undersecretary General for Legal Affairs] Nicolas Michel and members of the legal team," the source said. Speaking to the US government's Al-Hura television on Friday, Ban said he is working to establish the tribunal as fast as possible. "There must be no immunity for the culprits. We must send a strong message to the international community," he said. In a statement issued on Saturday, Rizk said a list of 12 Lebanese judges had been sent to Ban in a sealed envelope. He said it was now up to the three-member panel - which consists of Egyptian Judge Mohammad Amin al-Mehdi, Norwegian Judge Erik Mese and Michel - to select four out of the 12. The source said Kheir would coordinate with Michel and the legal team to speed procedures in view of the importance of the selection process. The tribunal will consist of a trial chamber that will include two international judges and one Lebanese judge, and an appeals chamber which will include three international jurists and two Lebanese. An international prosecutor will be appointed by Ban. Lebanon will choose an assistant prosecutor in coordination with Ban. The source said the assistant prosecutor would be Lebanese but no names had been proposed so far. Ban last week announced the composition of a selection panel to recommend to him the names of judges and the chief prosecutor to work on the Special Tribunal. He sent a letter to the UN Security Council president informing him of Ban's intention to appoint Mehdi, Mese and Michel to the selection panel. Mehdi formerly served on the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Mese serves as a presiding judge with the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. The UN statement stressed that the secretary general remained committed to setting up the tribunal in a timely manner and that he continued to believe the court "will contribute to ending impunity in Lebanon for the crimes under its jurisdiction." The statement said that once the court is formally established, it will be up to it to determine whether other political killings in Lebanon since October 2004 are connected to the Hariri assassination. Michel, speaking to journalists in Beirut last month from New York, estimated that the operating cost of the tribunal for the next three years would be about $120 million, with Lebanon shouldering 49 percent of that amount.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who met parliamentary majority leader MP Saad Hariri last Thursday, pledged $6 million of French taxpayers' money toward the formation of the court and affirmed France's full support for Lebanon. Michel said that any states which refuse to hand over individuals on their territories charged in the Hariri assassination must give an explanation for their action or they will be considered "morally responsible" for the crime. Michel said the UN General Secretariat is focusing its efforts on finalizing the location of the seat of the Special Tribunal, the appointment of judges and prosecutors, the court's operating budget and funding. The Netherlands has expressed willingness to host the tribunal. He said the UN would ask for funding from all member states, adding that a management committee set up by the world body will ensure the "rational use" of funds, although the committee will have absolutely no judicial power whatsoever. He said those who paid for the tribunal would have no say in judicial activity.
Michel stressed the need to have a "smooth transition" from the International Investigation Commission under Belgian prosecutor Serge Brammertz to the Special Tribunal international prosecutor. Michel said a prosecutor should be appointed by the end of the year. Michel said the tribunal would be impartial and independent and would strive to meet the highest judicial standards. He said a budget for the court would be difficult to arrive at before more specific information is received on premises and the condition of service of the judges. He said it was also impossible to say now how long the tribunal would operate. He stressed the importance of choosing a prosecutor to follow Brammertz, even though the prosecutor would not start work before the tribunal starts operations. As for the selection criteria of judges and prosecutors, especially since Israel, Syria and Iran would be submitting names as UN member states, Michel said the selection panel worked impartially but could not exclude certain states. "The selection panel will be mindful to select the best judges for this tribunal, mindful that justice must be seen to be done. Among the conditions for this is that a suitable candidate must be impartial," Michel said.