The Head of Defense Office of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, François Roux, has concluded a five-day visit to Lebanon, the STL said on Friday.
During his visit, he met President Michel Aoun in order to congratulate him on his election and to brief him about the work of the Defense Office and the support it provides to the Defense teams in order to ensure a fair and expeditious trial, the STL said in a statement.
Roux was also received by the Prime Minister Saad Hariri, Justice Minister Salim Jreissati, Progressive Socialist Party chief MP Walid Jumblatt, Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Basbous, and members of the diplomatic community based in Lebanon.
And as part of the outreach activities organized by the STL, Roux also addressed students taking part in the Inter-University Program at the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik. He also met the President of the Islamic University, Dr. Dina El Maoula.
Roux also addressed a conference entitled “Ethics and the investigations of lawyers practicing before the international criminal jurisdictions: what contribution can Lebanon make?” organized under the patronage of the President of the Beirut Bar Association, Antonio El Hachem, at the Human Rights Institute at the Maison de l’Avocat.
This event was preceded by a workshop chaired jointly by Bar Association President El Hachem and a representative of the President of the Tripoli Bar Association. This meeting is a Lebanese offshoot of the working group set up by the International Meetings of Defense Offices with a view to drafting a Joint Code of Ethics for all lawyers practicing before the international criminal jurisdictions.
Roux pointed out to all those he met that “although the trial is taking time, the Tribunal could not be reproached for not taking the time to conduct a meticulous examination and analysis of the evidence of the case file,” the STL statement said.
