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UN:
SECRETARY-GENERAL MOVES TO SET UP JUDGE'S SELECTION PANEL FOR LEBANON
TRIBUNAL: 13/09/2007 (MaximsNews.com, U.N.) |
UNITED NATIONS - / www.MaximsNews.com@
U.N./
- 13 September 2007 –
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he has
begun the process of establishing a selection panel to recommend to him the
names of judges to serve on the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which is being set
up to prosecute those responsible for the assassination of former Lebanese prime
minister Rafiq Hariri.
In his
latest report on the progress of the Tribunal, Mr. Ban says the selection panel
will be formed and take up its work by next month, and he expects to be able to
appoint the judges – after receiving the panel’s recommendations – by the
end of the year.
The
selection panel will comprise two judges, either sitting or retired from an
international tribunal, and a representative of the Secretary-General.
The
Lebanese Government has already forwarded a list of the 12 judges proposed by
the country’s Supreme Council of the Judiciary, and Mr. Ban says the list will
remain sealed until the selection process of all judges starts.
UN Legal
Counsel Nicolas Michel sent a letter to all Member States last month asking them
to submit candidates for Tribunal judges by no later than 24 September.
According
to the Tribunal’s statute, the chambers will consist of one international
pre-trial judge; three judges to serve in the trial chamber (one Lebanese and
two international); five judges to serve in the appeals chamber (two Lebanese
and three international); and two alternate judges (one Lebanese and one
international).
The
judges of the trial chamber and those of the appeals chamber will then each
elect a presiding judge to conduct the proceedings in their chamber, with the
presiding judge of the appeals chamber serving as president of the Tribunal.
Mr. Ban
notes in the report that 51 per cent of the costs of the Tribunal will be met by
voluntary contributions from UN Member States, with the remaining 49 per cent to
be funded by the Lebanese Government. The UN Secretariat has created a trust
fund to receive contributions from the world’s countries.
The
Tribunal is forecast to cost $35 million to run in its first 12 months, followed
by $45 million in its second year and $40 million in its third year. Between 415
and 430 posts are expected to be needed to staff the court.
Mr.
Michel led a delegation to the Netherlands last month to visit possible sites
for the Tribunal and to hold talks with Dutch authorities on the measures
necessary to establish the court’s seat, according to the report.
The
Tribunal is being set up to deal with the assassination of Mr. Hariri, who was
killed along with 22 others in a massive car bombing in downtown Beirut in
February 2005.
Once it
is formally established, it will be up to the court to determine whether other
political killings in Lebanon since October 2004 were connected to Mr.
Hariri’s assassination and could therefore be dealt with by the Tribunal.
Labels: United
Nations, U.N.,
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