It's not yet known exactly where it will be located, but one thing is certain: the Lebanon Tribunal will be established in the Netherlands. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon has officially asked the Netherlands to be the host nation for the tribunal that will try the alleged perpetrators of the attack on Lebanese former prime minister Rafiq Hariri. It would appear safe to assume, however, that the tribunal will be located at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, but the Dutch foreign minister is refusing to confirm whether that will be the case.

As soon as the idea of establishing a special tribunal arose, it was clear that security considerations would make it impossible for it to be located inside Lebanon. Cyprus was mentioned as the closest possible location, but the names of the Netherlands and Italy were also raised.

Although it's not known what finally led to the decision to choose the Netherlands, it would be logical to assume that the reputation already enjoyed by The Hague as the world's judicial capital played a key role. The Netherlands' seat of government is already home to the Yugoslavia Tribunal, the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. 
 
Issues to be resolved
Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende has responded positively to the request from the UN, but a definitive 'yes' from the Netherlands requires that a number of issues have to be resolved first, including arrangements about things such as security, the costs, how and where the accused are to be held, and the protection of witnesses. In the case of the trial of former Liberian president Charles Taylor - now being held in The Hague - it was, for example, agreed in advance that the accused would, in the event of his conviction, not serve his sentence in the Netherlands.
 
The new 'Hariri' tribunal, officially known as the International Independent Investigation Commission (IIIC), will be a mixed court consisting of Lebanese and international judges. It will differ from other international legal tribunals in that those facing trial will not be facing charges of war crimes or crimes against humanity.

The tribunal has been established purely to handle the trials of those responsible for the political assassination of Lebanon's former prime minister Rafiq Hariri, who was killed shortly before the Lebanese elections when an exceptionally powerful bomb exploded as the column of cars in which he was travelling passed along a Beirut street on 14 February 2005. Another 22 people also lost their lives in the attack.  

Major consequences
The death of Hariri left deep scars in Lebanon, and had major political consequences. Hundreds of thousands of people went on the street after the attack to demonstrate against the Syrian presence in Lebanon. Many people were immediately convinced that the Syrian secret service was behind the murder of Hariri. Syria was also seen as the driving force behind a number of other political murders in Lebanon. Meanwhile, Syria has left Lebanon after a 29-year military presence.

The Belgian investigator for the Hariri Tribunal, Serge Brammertz, also suspects that Syria was behind the attack. He has indentified a number of suspects for the murder, but still hasn't made any of the names public. He is still investigating 17 other murders of anti-Syrian politicians in Lebanon that took place afer the death of Hariri. Syria denies any involvement in the attacks, and also refuses to cooperate with the tribunal on the grounds that it would violate the sovereignty of the country.

Fears of regional destabilisation
In May of this year, at the request of Lebanon the UN Security Council decided to set up a tribunal to bring whoever murdered Hariri to justice. Five of the 15 Security Council members abstained from voting as they, like Syria, are afraid of destabilising the region. According to UN officials, it may be still another year before the tribunal can really get started.

For the Dutch government, the request from the UN is a "recognition of the exceptional position of the Netherlands, and of The Hague in particular, in the area of international law". Nevertheless, a spokesperson for the foreign ministry said recently that the Netherlands would not jump at establishing another temporary tribunal. He expressed the view that there must be a more balanced sharing of international tribunals, as the Netherlands is so heavily burdened already.

But that seems to have been a way of getting a better bargaining position, as the Dutch government sees only positives in the fact that The Hague can profile itself as the judicial capital of the world.

* RNW Internet translation (tf/as)