Report Launching by Admin Admin: STL judges re-elect Baragwanath as president, Riashi as VP

BEIRUT: Judge Sir David Baragwanath has been re-elected as president of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, the court announced Friday. The judges of the Appeals Chamber unanimously voted for Baragwanath to retain the STL presidency.
First elected president in October 2011, Baragwanath, who hails from New Zealand, will commence his second 18-month term at the helm Sept. 1.
The STL president is tasked with overseeing the work of the tribunal as well as representing the court in interactions with states, the United Nations and other entities.
Educated at the universities of Auckland and Oxford immediately prior to joining the STL, Baragwanath was the presiding judge at the Court of Appeal of Samoa.
The judges of the Appeals Chamber, who met Friday, also re-elected Lebanese Judge Ralph Riashi as the STL’s vice president for the same period. The vice president fulfills the duties of the president in the event of his absence. Riashi has been vice president of the STL since 2009.
The STL is investigating the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Last year the court ruled to try in-absentia four Lebanese men, all known members of Hezbollah, indicted in the case. However, the original tentative start date for trial, March 25, was postponed in February. A new start date has yet to be set.
Baragwanath assumed his position as president of the court with a realistic but optimistic attitude toward its ability to end impunity in Lebanon.
In an interview with The Daily Star in April 2012, he said of the tribunal: “We cannot create a cosmic shift, but to say that we cannot do everything is not to say that we can do nothing. I devoutly hope ... that the message gets through to killers or prospective killers that it’s just not worth it. They’re going to get chased with all the effort that can be marshaled ... within the rule of law.”

Copyrights 2011, The Daily Star - All Rights Reserved
13/07/2013
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2013/Jul-13/223518-stl-judges-re-elect-baragwanath-as-president-riashi-as-vp.ashx#axzz2YuPViZGZ