STL re-elects president Baragwanath and vice-president Riachy

                       
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon declared on Friday that Judge Sir David Baragwanath of New Zeeland has been unanimously reelected as President of the Tribunal, for a period of 18 month, starting from 1 September 2013.                              

During the meeting held on Thursday by the judges of the Appeals Chamber, Lebanese Judge Ralph Riachy was also re-elected as Vice-President, for the same time period.

The re-election of the President and the Vice-President came in accordance with Article 8(2) of the Tribunal's Statute and Rule 31 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence. 

The President of the Tribunal 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 Special Tribunal for Lebanon was set up by the United Nations at the Lebanese government's request to try the alleged perpetrators of the 2005 bombing in which former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 21 others were killed.

The suspects - Mustafa Amine Badreddine, a senior Hezbollah figure and brother-in-law of slain Hezbollah commander Imad Moughniyeh, Salim Jamil Ayyash, Hussein Hassan Oneissi and Assad Hassan Sabra - remain at large