Baragwanath, Riachy Re-elected for 18 Months

Special Tribunal for Lebanon President Judge Sir David Baragwanath and Vice-President Judge Ralph Riachy have been re-elected for a period of 18 months, the STL announced on Friday.

The judges of the Appeals Chamber, who met on Thursday, re-elected both Baragwanath of New Zealand and Lebanese judge Riachy, for the same time period starting September 1, said the statement.

Their re-election is pursuant to Article 8(2) of the Tribunal’s Statute and Rule 31 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, it said.

The STL President has a “wide range of tasks, including oversight of the effective functioning of the Tribunal and the good administration of justice, as well as representing the STL in relations with States, the United Nations and other entities,” the statement said.

His duties are fulfilled by the Vice-President if the President is absent, it added.

The Tribunal, which is investigating the Feb. 2005 assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri, has indicted four Hizbullah members in the massive car bomb in Beirut that killed Hariri.

The four men remain at large as the Lebanese authorities failed to apprehend them.

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has deemed the STL an American-Israeli product aimed at destroying the party, vowing that the accused will never be arrested.