March 14, 2009 - Daily Star - Swearing in ceremony of tribunal judges to remain secret

Identities of judicial appointments, induction date withheld over Security concerns

By Michael Bluhm
BEIRUT: The 11 judges of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon will be sworn in this month, although the court is keeping the judges' identities and the date of the ceremony secret for security reasons, a number of tribunal officials said on Friday. The Lebanese Cabinet on Thursday approved security arrangements for the tribunal's four Lebanese judges, while local media continue to speculate on the judges' identities and stir controversy over Lebanese appointments to the court.
The tribunal, which officially commenced operations on March 1, long figured as one of the issues polarizing Lebanon's feuding political camps. The US-backed March 14 alliance has fingered Syria as the culprit in the February 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, which led to the court's formation and the exit of Syrian troops from Lebanon after a 29-year presence. Damascus has denied any involvement with the killing, and the Syrian-backed March 8 coalition has voiced fears that the tribunal could be manipulated for political ends.
The tribunal will release information later this month about the judges' induction, but security worries preclude announcing the dates the judges take their oaths or have their initial, important meeting to set procedural rules for the tribunal, said the tribunal officials.
"The [UN chief] has made it very clear that he wants all matters relating to the judges confidential," said tribunal registrar Robin Vincent. "We're seeing an awful lot of press about who the Lebanese judges are."
The judges, like tribunal Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare, were interviewed and selected by a three-person panel, consisting of two international-law figures and former UN Undersecretary for Legal Affairs Nicolas Michel. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon then appointed the judges, four of whom are Lebanese. Lebanon's Higher Judicial Council had submitted 12 candidates for the four posts.
The UN also screened Lebanese candidates for the post of Bellemare's deputy prosecutor, but the government has yet to act on the UN recommendation to fill the post.
Unlike the judges' appointments, the final decision to choose a deputy prosecutor lies with the Lebanese state.
"We are waiting for the government of Lebanon to give us the decision," said Radhia Achouri, spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office. "The recommendation was handed to the Lebanese government."
Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar told The Daily Star he had not received the UN proposal
"I have not received anything in this regard, not formally," Najjar said, adding that he saw no obstacles to naming the official. "Personally, I am willing and able."
Najjar added that he could not estimate how long it would take to appoint the deputy prosecutor. Reports surfaced in Lebanese daily Al-Mustaqbal on Friday that the UN had suggested a Lebanese woman for the position, and Bellemare's spokeswoman Achouri said she would not deny the rumor.
However, Bellemare's office remains at this stage primarily occupied with collecting evidence on the approximately 20 incidents of political violence falling within its investigative mandate, Achouri added. The tribunal's mandate includes assassinations and attempted assassinations from the failed bid to kill former Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamadeh in October 2004 through the killing of Internal Security Forces Major Wissam Eid in January 2008.
Despite the fanfare surrounding the tribunal's March 1 inauguration, a number of insiders in the international justice community have said that any potential verdicts remain years away. Anyone indicted by the tribunal, regardless of nationality, will certainly raise legal challenges to the tribunal's legitimacy in advance of any potential trials, lawyers have said. Defendants will question the circumstances of the tribunal's founding, the Security Council's authority and the Lebanese failure to approve the bilateral treaty, the legal insiders added.