The special Tribunal For Lebanon STL issued a statement on Friday in which it said that its Judges met from November 8-11 to consider, among other issues, proposed amendments to the Rules of Procedure and Evidence (RPE).
The Judges have reportedly adopted a number of rule changes that will enhance the efficiency, effectiveness and integrity of the Tribunal’s proceedings after hearing the arguments of the Office of the Prosecutor, the Office of the Defense and the Registry.
Amongst the most important were changes to the rules governing the service of an indictment by detailing the practical steps that must be taken after the confirmation of an indictment, in particular regarding the start of in absentia proceedings.
The STL amendments come after Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah called on all Lebanese to boycott the STL and to end cooperation with its investigators.
Nasrallah also said in his speech last Thursday that Hezbollah will not allow the arrest of any of its members if indicted by STL : “Any hand that will touch any of them will be cut off, ” he said.
Tension escalated in Lebanon following reports that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon will soon issue its indictment into the 2005 assassination of Lebanon’s former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Last July, the Hezbollah chief said that the tribunal is “an Israeli project” that will indict Hezbollah members. Nasrallah accused Israel of being behind Hariri’s assassination.
Another FPM member MP Alain Aoun said on Saturday that the Lebanese must “have reservations about any decision issued by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL).”
The MP told Sawt al-Mada radio station that the tribunal was not established in accordance with the Lebanese constitution.
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