International Tribunal Spotlight
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Special Tribunal for Lebanon
By: Christine E. White, Copy Editor and Reporter, International Judicial Monitor
"We are dealing with an extremely complicated case that has to do with a terrorist crime, one that is a precedent of its kind in the field of international justice."
-- Hon. Antonio Cassese, President, Special Tribunal for Lebanon
Introduction
On February 14, 2005 former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq
Hariri and 22 others were killed in a truck bomb attack. Opposition to nearly
three decades of Syrian military presence in Lebanon, combined with accusations
of Syrian involvement in the assassinations and questions concerning “the credibility of the Lebanese
authorities conducting the investigation,”[i] created a precarious political situation in Lebanon in the aftermath of the
attack. As a result, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) undertook its
own investigation. On April 7, 2005, with approval from the Lebanese
government, the UNSC adopted Res. 1595, which established the UN
International Independent Investigation Commission (UNIIIC). In December,
2005, following a series of terrorist attacks against journalists and political
leaders during the previous summer and fall, the Lebanese government asked the UN
to establish a “tribunal of an international character” to try those
responsible for the February 14 attack.
During the next year and a half, the UN Secretary-General negotiated agreements with the Lebanese government regarding the structure, logistics, and establishment of an international tribunal. On May 30, 2007, acting on a request from the Prime Minister of Lebanon, the UNSC, with 10 votes in favor and abstentions from China, Indonesia, Qatar, the Russian Federation, and South Africa, adopted Res. 1757, which provided for the automatic entry into force of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon on June 10 of that year. The Special Tribunal for Lebanon officially commenced its functions on March 1, 2009.
Mandate & Logistics
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) will be the first
international tribunal to try a terrorist crime. Its mandate is twofold.
Firstly, it will prosecute those responsible for the assassination attack of
February 14, 2005. The STL is also authorized to prosecute any attacks committed
in Lebanon between October 1, 2004 and December 12, 2005 that are “connected in
accordance with the principles of criminal justice and are of a nature and
gravity similar to the attack of 14 February 2005” (STL Statute, Article 1).
Crimes committed after December 12, 2005 may also fall within the STL’s
jurisdiction, provided that the UN and the Lebanese government decide
accordingly and the UNSC consents. Within its mandate, the STL has precedence
over the national courts of Lebanon.
Out of considerations for security, justice, and efficiency, the STL is located outside of Lebanon in the former Dutch intelligence headquarters in Leidschendam, a suburb of The Hague. Unlike other international tribunals located in and around The Hague, the STL is actually a “hybrid international court,” akin to the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia and the War Crimes and Organized Crime Sections of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The applicable law for the STL is not international law, but rather national law. It will “apply provisions of the Lebanese Criminal Code relating to the prosecution and punishment of acts of terrorism and crimes and offences against life and personal integrity, among others.”[ii] However, the STL’s standards of justice are based on the international standards of criminal justice applied in other international tribunals. As a result, the STL may not apply certain sentences, such as the death penalty and forced labor, both of which are applicable under Lebanese law. The STL may impose sentences leading up to and including life imprisonment.
A September, 2007 report from the UN Secretary-General indicated that the cost of operating the STL for three years would be roughly $120 million. Fifty-one percent of those operating costs are borne by voluntary contributions from UN Member States; the other forty-nine percent comes from the Lebanese government. The STL manages its own budget and finances, unlike the ICTR and ICTY, which are administered through UN trust funds.
Structure & Organization
The four organs of the STL are: the Office of the Prosecutor
(OTP); the Chambers; the Registry; and the Defense Office. The OTP is
responsible for investigating and prosecuting the crimes that fall within the
jurisdiction of the STL. It operates independently; no government may order it
to or keep it from filing indictments or appeals. The divisions of the OTP
include: Prosecutor’s Office; Legal Advisory Section; Investigations Division
in The Hague; Investigations Division in Beirut; and Prosecution Division. The
OTP superseded the UN International Independent Investigation Commission when
the UNIIC’s mission ended on February 28, 2009 and will continue its
investigation. Mr. Daniel Bellemare (Canada) is the Prosecutor of the STL. He
is assisted in his duties by a Lebanese Deputy Prosecutor who is appointed by
the Lebanese government.
Eleven international and Lebanese judges, of which the majority is international, comprise the Chambers of the STL. There are one pre-trial judge, five trial judges, and five appeals judges. Judges are appointed by the UN Secretary-General after consultations with the Lebanese government and a three-member Selection Panel. The Hon. Daniel Fransen (Belgium) of the Pre-Trial Chamber and the Hon. Antonio Cassese (Italy) of the Appeals Chamber are the only two judges who serve on a full-time basis. Judge Cassese is both the Presiding Judge of the Appeals Chambers and the President of the STL.
The Registry is responsible for all non-judicial aspects of the administration and function of the STL; it is essentially “the ‘engine room’ of any criminal justice institution.”[iii] The Registry’s responsibilities range from coordinating human resources, to procurement, to security. It provides for interpretation and translation into English, Arabic, and French, the official languages of the STL. As part of its outreach function, the Registry communicates with international tribunals and courts, NGOs, and other organizations, and maintains the STL’s relationship with the Netherlands.
The STL is unique in that its statute makes specific reference to the rights of the accused (STL Statute, Articles 15 & 16) and calls for the establishment of a Defense Office (STL Statute, Article 7). No staff member of the Defense Office is permitted to represent an accused individual before the STL. Instead, the Defense Office promotes the rights of suspects, the accused, and their counsel. It maintains a list of counsel, assigns counsel to those suspects who are unable to pay, provides assistance to the defense teams, and monitors the effectiveness of counsels’ representation.
Activity & Future Prospects
Four suspects were arrested by Lebanese authorities in
September, 2005, but no charges were ever filed against them. In April, 2009,
Mr. Bellemare, the STL Prosecutor, ordered the suspects be released “for
complete absence of reliable proof against them.” As of February, 2010, no
other suspects have been detained.
The arrival of 2010 brought growing concerns that the STL is making little, if any, notable progress. There is no indication of who will be charged in the case, although several media outlets have reported that the STL will issue an indictment in the first half of 2010. Judge Cassese, the President of the STL, traveled to Lebanon in January, 2010 to reassure the Lebanese that “the tribunal has in place all the legal and administrative instruments necessary for its work, and is fully operational” and ready for trials to begin, as soon as charges are issued.
The international community, and Lebanon in particular, are awaiting the first indictments and trials at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, actions that will set a precedent for prosecuting terrorism on the international stage. In the meantime, the staff at the STL is working to make sure, as Judge Cassese noted, “that justice may be dispensed with complete independence and impartiality.”
[i] United Nations Security Council, Report of The International Independent Investigation Commission Established Pursuant to Security Council Resolution 1595 (2005) (Beirut, 19 October 2005), 11.
[ii] UN News Centre – News Focus – Lebanon - Special Tribunal for Lebanon – Factsheet: Special Tribunal for Lebanon. http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocus/lebanon/tribunal/factsheet.shtml
[iii] Special Tribunal for Lebanon – Registry. http://www.stl-tsl.org/sid/30.
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