MGLE01: MINISTRY OF JUSTICE "FULL STEAM AHEAD" ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIRUT 002092 SIPDIS SIPDIS NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/WERNER/SINGH LONDON FOR TSOU PARIS FOR ZEYA E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/22/2016 TAGS: PREL PTER KDEM KCRM MARR EAID KMPI LE SUBJECT: MGLE01: MINISTRY OF JUSTICE "FULL STEAM AHEAD" ON UNIIIC TRIBUNAL AND JUDICIAL REFORM Classified By: Ambassador Jeffrey D. Feltman. Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) In a 6/22 meeting, Minister of Justice Rizk confirmed that senior Lebanese judges Choucri Sader and Ralph Riachy will travel to The Hague on July 4 to make progress on a draft agreement with the UN on establishing a special tribunal with international character for the Hariri assassination. Rizk claimed that UNIIIC Commissioner Serge Brammertz may have enough evidence to initiate formal prosecution proceedings within six months, and that Brammertz may assume the role of prosecutor himself. Rizk eagerly received the text of a draft Article 98 (non-surrender) agreement from the Ambassador, and said he would push for its ratification in Lebanon by portraying an Article 98 agreement as an essential step in achieving full implementation of the Treaty of Rome. Finally, Rizk agreed with the Ambassador and USAID Mission Director to aggressively move ahead on the implementation of a USG-sponsored program to promote judicial reform and rule of law in Lebanon. Rizk stressed that recent appointments to the Higher Judicial Council, which finally restored the Council to its full compliment of 10 justices after months of political deadlock, have opened the door to reform wide open, and presented him with opportunities for judicial and political reform that he intends to exploit to their fullest. Rizk said that he wants to start by reforming the Judicial Training Center and centralizing the MOJ's records. End summary. PROGRESS ON THE SPECIAL TRIBUNAL -------------- ¶2. (C) On 6/22, the Ambassador, USAID Mission Director, and emboff called on Minister of Justice Charles Rizk in his office at the Palace of Justice. Senior justice and recent appointee to the Higher Judicial Council, Choucri Sader, was also present. Rizk said that the visit of Sader and fellow justice Ralph Riachy to discuss the international tribunal with UN Legal Advisor Nicholas Michel in New York last month was very productive. He gave the Ambassador a copy of the MOJ brief covering these meetings. (NOTE: Post is currently translating these documents. End note.) ¶3. (C) Rizk told the Ambassador that, on July 4, Sader and Riachy will travel to The Hague in order to meet again with representatives from the office of the UN Legal Advisor. The purpose of this meeting, according to Rizk, will be for Sader and Riachy to prepare with the New York officials (to include Mark Quarterman, Sader said) a draft agreement for the establishment of an "special tribunal of international character" in consultation with legal experts from "The Hague" (comment: presumably he meant the International Criminal Court) and the UN. The UN will actually draft the agreement, Rizk explained, in consultation with Lebanese and international legal experts, after which Sader and Riachy will bring the agreement back to Lebanon for review. Rizk described the GOL's cooperation with the UN on this issue as "groundbreaking," explaining that the special tribunal could serve as a model for prosecuting other cases involving international terrorism. ¶4. (C) Rizk explained that the process for drafting the agreement at The Hague, with the assistance of Lebanese and international legal experts, would allow them to tailor-craft an agreement specifically suited for Lebanon's needs in the tribunal. For example, the Lebanese would install a prosecutor general, a position usually found in Anglo-Saxon legal codes, while maintaining the ability to try suspects in absentia, a common feature in Napoleonic legal systems. As such, the tribunal's composition would be based on what Rizk referred to as the "Sierra Leone," model, although he said that in this case, they would be sure to "Lebanize" the agreement to make sure it was not only legally solid, but also politically feasible. This, according to Rizk, would be the only way to ensure that the agreement on the tribunal would pass ratification in Lebanon's Council of Ministers and Parliament. ¶5. (C) Rizk did mention, however, that UNIIIC Commissioner Serge Brammertz is opposed to the idea of trying suspects in absentia, as he believes that doing so would lessen the weight of any convictions in the eyes of the international BEIRUT 00002092 002 OF 003 community. The Ambassador suggested that merely indicting suspects in absentia, if necessary, could actually benefit the prosecution by alerting national and international law enforcement agencies to a suspect's profile, raising the likelihood of their apprehension and the very prominence of the case itself. EXPANDING THE INVESTIGATION; SELECTING A PROSECUTOR -------------- ¶6. (C) Sader pointed out that the Lebanese would also draft the agreement to allow for the possibility of trying 14 cases of bombings, assassinations, and assassination attempts -- which may be related to the Hariri assassination, and Lebanese investigations of which the UNIIIC is mandated to assist -- in the special tribunal. Ideally, as long as the prosecution could demonstrate that any or all of these 14 cases are materially related to the Hariri assassination, they could be tried in the tribunal. He said that the cases would first go to a Lebanese prosecutor, who would have the option of referring the case to the international tribunal if he believed the case was linked in any way to the Hariri assassination. ¶7. (C) To this, Rizk referred back to his recent conversation with Brammertz, and said that Brammertz suspected a connection between Hariri's assassination and the collapse of Bank Al Madinah. Brammertz told Rizk that he did not have sufficient resources to fully investigate this link, but Rizk said he thought Brammertz was being coy about the depth or importance of this connection. Rizk also noted that Brammertz said he hoped to have sufficient evidence to start the prosecution phase of the trial by December 2006, and he recommended that the GOL refrain from appointing a prosecutor before this time, as doing so would only slow down the investigation. Rizk also thought that Brammertz was suggesting that he would like to assume the role of prosecutor himself, based on Brammertz's previous statements that he may step down as Commissioner in six months. ARTICLE 98 -------------- ¶8. (C) The Ambassador noted with concern several recent press statements that suggest that Lebanon is reconsidering its previous refusal to join the International Criminal Court. The Ambassador raised the issue of a bilateral U.S.-Lebanese non-surrender agreement under Article 98 of the Treaty of Rome, and told Rizk that a joint agreement would help ensure continued U.S. security assistance. Rizk, looking at the draft, said he would have "no problem" obtaining a GOL signature on the agreement, and said he would push for a Lebanese signature by portraying an Article 98 agreement with the United States as a step towards full implementation of the Treaty of Rome. JUDICIAL REFORM: U.S ASSISTANCE TO PROMOTE RULE OF LAW AND AN INDEPENDENT JUDICIARY -------------- ¶9. (C) When the Ambassador congratulated Minister Rizk for securing his appointments to the Higher Judicial Council, and Judge Sader for his selection for the Council itself, Rizk responded that he had now opened the doors to begin promoting an aggressive program for judicial reform. The political deadlock over Council appointments had made an progress on reform initiatives impossible, but with the Council now in place and functional, Rizk said he wants to move forward on reform efforts. "Our judiciary must be independent from the executive and legislative branches of government," Rizk said, "but it must be answerable to the people of Lebanon." ¶10. (C) Noting that the judicial appointments provides new opportunities for cooperation and assistance, USAID Mission Director told Rizk that USAID has completed a rule of law assessment for Lebanon. The USG now has suggestions on how to proceed with a U.S. program supporting judicial independence, judicial reform and rule of law. Rizk strongly supported the idea, and after some discussion asked to focus U.S. program assistance on enhancing judicial independence through improving court efficiency and transparency, as well as public outreach to improve respect for rule of law and judicial accountability. Rizk specifically asked to focus on BEIRUT 00002092 003 OF 003 improving the curriculum for the Judicial Training Institute, and for help in creating a centralized database to improve access to legal decisions and administrative records. ¶11. (C) USAID Mission Director said that he would begin the process of soliciting proposals to work on these issues, and that he would would push in hopes of starting assistance programs in as little as three months. Rizk was visibly pleased at this news, and said he would provide whatever assistance he could to help move the process along, adding that he hoped this would be the beginning of long-term cooperation between the United States and Lebanon to improve rule of law and judicial independence. The Ambassador and USAID Mission Director confirmed that this is a high-level priority for the Embassy, and that we looked forward to establishing a long term, comprehensive program. Following the meeting, Minister Rizk and the Ambassador made a joint press statement, announcing a commitment to work together to promote an independent judiciary and rule of law in Lebanon. FELTMAN