March 4, 2010 - ILoubnan - Hariri meets with the head of STL Defence Office

BEIRUT - The Head of the Defence Office within the Special Tribunal for Lebanon François Roux late Wednesday with Prime Minister Saad Hariri. During his meeting, he discussed the nature and role of the Defence Office. He underlined that the Defence Office does not represent accused, but shall assist future Defence Counsel by providing legal advice and practical support.

Roux also underlined that his office is fully committed to achieving fairness in the pursuit of justice for the attack on former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and 22 others as well as the related attacks falling within the Tribunal’s jurisdiction. In this regard, Roux emphasized that the Defence plays an important role towards the credibility and legitimacy of an independent and impartial Tribunal.

Roux informed the Prime Minister of the work undertaken by the Defence Office since its creation, amongst others the training seminars on international criminal law which have already been organised with the Bars of Beirut and Tripoli, the logical points of contact for the Defence Office. Roux also discussed with the Prime Minister the responsibilities of the Head of Defence Office under the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, notably concerning the list of Defence Counsel and monitoring the effectiveness of Defence teams