Thursday, March 03, 2011

BEIRUT: The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) announced Wednesday that its president, Antonio Cassese, had delivered the court’s annual progress report to relevant individuals in The Hague and Beirut.

“The report explains the progress that has been made over the past year, as well as the challenges that the tribunal has faced. It will be publicly available in the coming days,” the U.N.-backed tribunal said in a statement.
In addition, the court also publicly released its Code of Professional Conduct with which legal representatives of the prosecution, defense or victims must comply.

Among other stipulations, the code of conduct provides that: “Counsel shall not knowingly permit the giving of false evidence before the tribunal.”
The STL is the first court to be granted jurisdiction over crimes of international terrorism and has the ability to try suspects in absentia.

The code of conduct reveals some concerns in The Hague relating to preferential treatment and dealing with the media. In an operation which has been regularly accused of being politicized, as well as being subject to a leaks to the media, the document seeks to prevent a repeat of such blows once the trial process is under way.

The document states that lawyers and judges who know each other must not “exhibit a level of informality which could give rise to an appearance of special consideration.”

Regarding communication with the media, legal representatives are advised: “Counsel shall not make, publish or assist in the publication or dissemination of any public statement incorporating information or material concerning tribunal proceedings which: a. is false; b. misrepresent the situation or another Counsel, party to the proceedings, organ of the Special Tribunal, or any other person affiliated with it; c. does not respect the presumption of innocence; or d. discloses any confidential information.” – The Daily Star