Canadian tapped to take over from Brammertz

Daily Star - Canadian tapped to take over from Brammertz, November 13, 2007

Canada's Daniel Bellemare is expected to be appointed as successor to Serge Brammertz to head the international commission of inquiry into the assassination of former Lebanese Premier Rafik Hariri and others, according to a report published in London-based Al-Hayat newspaper Monday. "Bellemare, an international expert in criminal cases, will also be appointed as the prosecutor before the international tribunal which will prosecute those involved in the Lebanon assassinations," the daily said. This will be the first time that a commissioner assigned to investigate a criminal case will also be appointed as a prosecutor. The United Nations is expected to announce the appointment of Bellemare later this week. "This will allow him a period of five to six weeks to receive the investigation files from Brammertz, who will leave his post at the end of the year," Al-Hayat said. Brammertz will be submitting his last report to the Security Council in December. Brammertz arrived in Beirut late in October to try to complete elements of prosecution before quitting his post. On Friday, Brammertz met with State Prosecutor Saeed Mirza and newly appointed magistrate into the Hariri case Judge Saqr Saqr to discuss the latest developments concerning the investigations. The special court for Lebanon is expected to 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 assistant prosecutor is expected to be Lebanese but no names had been proposed so far. Media reports last week said the selection panel to appoint judges for the tribunal is expected to complete its mission by the end of November. Reports added that UN chief Ban Ki-Moon told head of the Higher Judicial Council Judge Antoine Kheir, currently in a visit to New York to supervise preparations for the establishment of the tribunal, that the UN was determined to have court established "for strictly human reasons rather than political ones." The selection panel for the court is composed of two judges, currently sitting on or retired from an international tribunal, and the representative of the secretary general, Nicholas Michel, and is tasked with recommending to Ban the names of the four Lebanese judges and seven international judges who should serve on the court, as well as its chief prosecutor.