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Punishing Assassins: The UN Security Council’s Criminal Tribunal for Lebanon

Punishing Assassins: The UN Security Council’s Criminal Tribunal for Lebanon. Sarah Williams Durham University. Overview. Background Establishment of the STL Key features Legal Basis Legal Issues: immunity, cooperation, primacy. Background (1). Political tension during 2004/05

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Punishing Assassins: The UN Security Council’s Criminal Tribunal for Lebanon

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  1. Punishing Assassins: The UN Security Council’s Criminal Tribunal for Lebanon Sarah Williams Durham University

  2. Overview • Background • Establishment of the STL • Key features • Legal Basis • Legal Issues: immunity, cooperation, primacy

  3. Background (1) • Political tension during 2004/05 • Assassination of Hariri in Feb 2005 • Establishment of the UNIIIC • Resolution 1595 • Resolution 1636 • Further assassinations and bombings in 2005

  4. Background (2) • Request from Lebanon in December 2005 • Resolution 1644 • Council endorses report attaching draft agreement and statute • Agreement signed by UN and GoL in early 2007 • Lebanon requests unilateral establishment

  5. Background (3) • Resolution 1757, 30 May 2007 • Assassination = threat to international peace and security • Chapter VII resolution • Agreement to enter into force on 10 June 2007, unless GoL notifies Council that agreement has been ratified • Provisions re headquarters agreement and funding • Agreement not ratified, entered into force on 10 June 2007

  6. Key features (1): Structure • Pre-trial judge, Trial Chamber, Appeals Chamber, with international judges • International prosecutor, national deputy • International registrar • Defence office

  7. Key features (2): Funding and location • Funding • 51% from voluntary contributions and 49% from GoL • Phased introduction • Location • To sit outside Lebanon due to security concerns • Agreement concluded with the Netherlands to host the STL in The Hague • Office in Lebanon • Management Committee

  8. Key features (3): Jurisdiction • Temporal • Personal • Territorial • Subject matter • Domestic crimes only

  9. Key features (5): Procedural aspects • Draws on civil law traditions • Designed to use the material gathered by the UNIIIC, practical and legal issues • Trials in absentia • Provisions on rights of victims • No death penalty

  10. Legal basis (1) • Originally intended to be a treaty-based court, like the SCSL • What is the effect of Resolution 1757? • Two possibilities

  11. Legal basis (2) • Option One: STL remains a treaty-based tribunal • BUT: • Article 2(7) limitation • Implications for the law of treaties • Implications for the powers / validity of the Security Council

  12. Legal basis (3) • Option Two: STL established by Chapter VII as a ‘Chapter VII’ tribunal • Language of Resolution 1757 • Finding as to TIPS • BUT: • First hybrid to be established by Chapter VII • Valid exercise of Council’s powers? • Different to ICTY/R? • Preferable to option 1?

  13. Legal Issues (1) • Cooperation • Agreement contains binding obligations for Lebanon • Resolution 1757 silent as to obligations for other states • Existing Council resolutions (1373; 1566) • Terrorism conventions; other cooperation / MLA agreements • Future Council resolutions

  14. Legal Issues (2) • Immunity • No provision in statute • Does international law recognise immunity for terrorism crimes? • Can terrorism be an official act? • International tribunal – legal basis relevant to immunity? • Is a specific Council resolution removing immunity required?

  15. Legal Issues (3) • Primacy • Agreement confers primacy in respect of courts in Lebanon • No provision regards courts of other states • Possibility of trials in Syria – terrorism conventions only oblige to extradite or prosecute

  16. Future • Role of STL as part of overall strategy in the region • Risk of destabilising Syria? • Political will to enable STL to perform its mandate? • Future tribunals for political assassinations • ICC • Pakistan and East Timor?

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