STL Bulletin October 2012

www.stl-tsl.org

twitter.com/stlebanon

Judicial developments
Ayyash et al. case

in the

This case relates to the attack of 14

February 2005 in Beirut.
Jurisdiction and legality:
On 30 July, the Trial Chamber dismissed
Defence motions challenging the Tribunals
jurisdiction and legality, noting that the
Tribunal was created by Security Council
Resolution 1757 and the Trial Chamber did
not have the authority to review this
Resolution.
Defence counsel for three of the four
accused challenged the legality of the
Tribunal, arguing that it violates Lebanese
sovereignty, that the Tribunal has selective
jurisdiction and no authority to try the
accused.

Indictment:
The Pre-Trial Judge accepted on 24 October
a request by the Prosecution to amend the
indictment. The Prosecution will now have
to update the indictment with the
modifications requested by the Pre Trial
Judge. The new indictment does not include
new names or charges. It clarifies existing
allegations.
Important dates:
1 October 2012 Appeals Chamber holds
hearing on jurisdiction.
24 October 2012 - Appeals Chamber upheld the
Tribunals legality.
15 November 2012 The Office of the
Prosecutor must submit the pre-trial brief,
which is their case theory, to the Pre-Trial
Judge.
25 March 2013 - The tentative date for the
start of trial.

The Appeals Chamber held its hearing on

legality on 1 October.

Trial preparation:

On 24 October, the Appeals Chamber

unanimously dismissed Defence challenges
to the Tribunals legality. Four of the five
Appeals Chamber judges agreed in their
decision that they lacked authority to review
a Security Council Resolution. A transcript of
the hearing, which was published on 1
October, and a more extensive press release
regarding the 24 October decision, are
available on the STL website.

The disclosure process of evidence and

testimony to the Defence by the
Prosecution continued. The Defence
requested specific documents from the
Prosecution, specifically relating to the
alleged false claim of responsibility of the 14
February 2005 attack by Abu Adass, as well
as
other
information
related
to
telecommunications data. The Prosecution
also provided a projected timeframe for the
completion of its disclosure obligations.

Dokter van der Stamstraat 1 2265 BC Leidschendam The Netherlands

PO Box 115 2260 AC Leidschendam The Netherlands
For more information please contact the Press Office:
stl-pressoffice@un.org +31 (0)70 800 3560 +31 (0)70 800 3828
www.stl-tsl.org twitter.com/stlebanon

twitter.com/stlebanon

Matter of El Sayyed:

Cooperation:

The Pre-Trial Judge ordered on 8 October

the Prosecution to deliver a number of
documents to Mr Jamil El Sayyed by 25
October. The order relates to a series of
documents that Mr El Sayyed says led to his
detention in connection with the 14
February 2005 attack. The Pre-Trial Judge
ordered that Mr El Sayyed, along with three
other Lebanese generals, be released due to
a lack of evidence, as one of the first acts of
the Tribunal after its establishment.

The Prosecution filed a response on 8

October to the Defence teams motion of
September seeking the cooperation of
Lebanon.
The Prosecution argued in its filing that the
Defence is asking the Government of
Lebanon to conduct legal research, which it
claims is improper. In addition, the
Prosecution stated that documents related
to the investigation that the Defence is
seeking are in the custody of the Tribunal,
not the Government of Lebanon.

Please refer to http://www.stl-tsl.org/en/the-cases/stl-11-01/main, to access all filings in

relation to the Ayyash et al. case.

Events and visits

Video Q&As with Tribunal officials
The STL will release over the next few months a series of video questions and answers
addressing relevant issues about the Tribunal. In the first video released on the Tribunal's
Youtube channel, on 29 October, Judge Daniel Fransen gave an overview of the steps
required before the Trial Chamber can be seized of the Ayyash et al. case. All videos will be
available on the STL website in Arabic, English and French.
Head of Defence Office meets Lebanese bar associations
The Head of Defence Office, Mr Franois Roux, visited Lebanon from 2 to 6 October. He took
part in two roundtable discussions, one in collaboration with the Institute for Human Rights
of the Beirut Bar Association and the other with the Tripoli Bar.

www.stl-tsl.org

Visits
This month, students from VU University Amsterdam, Santo Toms University (Colombia)
and European Law Students' Association Leiden visited the Tribunal.
Please fill in our online booking form to request a group visit.
STL links:
To access all STL filings, please refer to http://www.stl-tsl.org/en/filings-all-cases
For job vacancies, please refer to http://www.stl-tsl.org/en/jobs