UN-Truth

The April issue of Le Monde diplomatique carries an incisive critique of the proposed [it will happen] international tribunal to find and try the killers of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on Valentine’s Day 2005 — and some subsequent victims.

The Le Monde diplomatique article is written by two professors and a lawyer: Geraud de Geouffre de la Pradelle, Antoine Korkmaz [the lawyer] and Rafaelle Maison.

The subtitle of this excellent article, written in French, is: “Who is going to charge the assassins of Prime Minister Rafic [French spelling]“?

The article states: “Il serait vain de masquer le caractère politique du Conseil de sécurite: c’est ainsi que la Charte de l’ONU l’a conçu. Il jouit d’un pouvoir discrétionnaire trés étendue, et son action n’est guère contrôlée juridiquement. En revanche, il est plus embarrassant que le respect apparent du droit masque en fait des atteintes grave aux libertés sans contribuer à l’apaisement de la situation intérieure au Liban. C’est le cas des initiatives prises dans le cadre de l’affaire Hariri. Avant même d’être créé, le tribunal spécial envisagé exaspère les tensions internes dans ce pays.” [UN Truth translation: It would be pointless to try to hide the political character of the UN Security Council -- that's how the UN Charter designed it. The SC enjoys a very large discretionary power [lawyers say this about judges] and there is no juridical oversight of the UN SC. What is of more concern is that the apparent respect for law hides, in fact, a great attack on freedoms without contributing to calming the internal situation in Lebanon. This is the case of the intiatives taken in the case of the Hariri affair. Before even being established, the special tribunal that is envisaged is aggravating the internal tensions in the country.]

The article’s first major argument is that:
“Toutefois, dans le cas libanais, il n’existe pas juridiquement parlant de crime international à réprimer, et l’investigation en cours présente des traits suffisamment inquiétants pour que l’on s’interroge sur une instrumentalisation de la justice internationale. Encore bien fragile, cette dernière n’a guere besoin de telles manipulations.”
[UN Truth translation: "However, in the Lebanese case, there is no international crime, juridically speaking, and the current investigation has enough questionable qualities to wonder about how international justice is being used. Still very fragile, international justice hardly needs such misuse".]

It states that the international independent commission of inquiry that was established by an agreement concluded between Beirut and the UN on 3 June 2005, following the adoption of UN SC Resolution 1595 of 7 April 2005 “accord à la commission internationale une sorte de tutelle sur les autorités locales, qui sont désormais affectées à son service“. [UN Truth translation: this 3 June 2005 UN-Lebanon agreement makes the international commission a sort of oversight body to which local (judicial and investigative) authorities are made subservient".]

Then, on 29 March 2006, the UN SC adopted resolution 1664, which asked the UN SG to “négocier avec le gouvernment libanais un accord visant la création d’un tribunal international fondé dur les normes internationales de justice pénale les plus élevées“. [UN Truth translation: to conclude, with the government of Lebanon, an agreement for the creation of an international tribunal based on the highest standards of international criminal law.]

The subsequent proposed agreement transmitted by the UN to the Lebanese Government on 10 November 2006 states, according to Le Monde diplomatique, that “le tribunal spécial comporterait des juges internationax et une minorité de juges libanais. Le bureau du procureur serait un organe indépendant composé d’un procureur nommé par le secrétaire général et d’un procureur adjoint nommé par Beyrouth“. [UN Truth translation: this special tribunal would be composed of international judges and a minority of Lebanese judges. The prosecutor's office would be an independent body composed of a prosecutor named by the UN SG, and an assistant prosecutor named by Beirut] In addition to dealing with the murderer or murderers of Rafik Hariri, it would also deal with some unspecified others – defined as some of those killed since 1 October 2004.

The article’s second major argument is that: “La compétence très particuliere du tribunal international pose en outre une grave question préliminaire. En vertu de l’article premier du projet de statut, elle porte principalement sur le crime du 14 février 2005, qui est qualifié de ‘terroriste’ dans le préambule, et, accessoirement sur d’autres crimes commis entre le 1 octobre 2004 et le 12 décembre 2005; elle pourrait, même, concerner des crimes commis ultérieurement si le gouvernement libanais et le Conseil de sécurité le permettaient. Or, jusqu’à maintenant, ces assinats relevaient du seul droit pénal libanais.” [UN Truth translation: The very special or particular competence of the international tribunal poses another very serious preliminary question. By the terms of the first article of the proposed statute, the tribunal will concentrate on the crime of 14 February 2005, which is termed a 'terrorist act' in the preambular paragraphs, and secondarily on other crimes committed between 1st October 2004 and 12 December 2005. However, other subsequent crimes could be added, if the Lebanese government and the UN SC permit. Up until now, these murders were considered a matter of Lebanese criminal law only.]

It argues that “La création d’un tribunal pénal par l’ONU répondait, jusqu’à present, au besoin de faire juger les plus graves des crimes internationaux … Le tribunal spécial pour le Liban serait donc la première juridiction international instituée pour traiter exclusivement de crimes qui ne figurent pas parmi les plus graves et ne sont ‘internationaux’ que par décision du Conseil de sécurité”. [UN Truth translation: The creation of a criminal tribunal by the UN has so far been only to respond to the need to judge the most serious international crimes... {in the former Yugoslavia, for example, or in Rwanda, for crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes} ... whereas the special tribunal for Lebanon would be the first international court that would deal exclusively with crimes which are not of this category, and which are only 'international' because the UN SC so decided.]

Filed under: Academic studies and research, Hariri Commission of Inquiry, International Law, International Tribunals, Lebanon, UN Security Council