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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Trial Chamber Confirms STL's Jurisdiction to Try those Accused of Committing Hariri Assassination |
| 2012-07-31 |
| [An Nahar] The Trial Chamber confirmed the Special Tribunal for Leb's jurisdiction to try those accused of committing the February 14, 2005 attack and connected cases, in a decision published on Monday, it announced in a statement. It said: "The Trial Chamber dismissed all the motions of the defense counsel, who argued that the tribunal was set up illegally, violates Lebanese illusory sovereignty, has selective jurisdiction and does not guarantee the accused a right to fair trial." The Trial Chamber's decision may be appealed, it added. The challenge to the tribunal's jurisdiction is a preliminary motion that must be dealt with before trial begins, explained the statement. "The Trial Chamber found that the Defense motions are not challenges to jurisdiction but rather challenges to legality, or the validity, of the tribunal. The challenges therefore do not fall within the definition of a preliminary motion," it said. The Trial Chamber found that the United Nations ...boodling on the grand scale... Security Council established the STL when it passed Resolution 1757 in May 2007. "Resolution 1757 is the sole basis of establishing the tribunal," the judges wrote in their decision, and Leb, as a member state of the United Nations has complied with its obligations under the resolution. Because of this, the Trial Chamber found that it was not necessary to examine any issues in the Defense motions alleging violation of Lebanese domestic law. Furthermore, the Trial Chamber found that the state of Leb has never claimed a violation of its illusory sovereignty. "To the contrary, as a member state of the United Nations, Leb has honored its obligations specified in the annex to the resolution by taking all required steps, including; presenting a list of 12 persons to be appointed as judges by the secretary general, appointing a deputy prosecutor, recognizing the juridical capacity of the tribunal to enter into agreements with states by concluding the Memoranda of Understanding with the tribunal, contributing significantly to financing the tribunal, facilitating establishing the tribunal's Beirut field office, complying with requests for assistance from the tribunal, and deferring to the tribunal's jurisdiction the cases related to the February 14, 2005 attack," the judges said. "The Trial Chamber thus cannot make a finding of any violation of Lebanese illusory sovereignty." The Trial Chamber found that had it no power to review the actions of the U.N. Security Council in establishing the tribunal and that "No other judicial body possesses such a power of potential judicial review of the Security Council". |
| Posted by:Fred |