Lebanese academics hail their STL visits

Deans and professors of a number of Lebanese universities hailed their two-day visit to the Special Tribunal offices.

STL issued today a press release on the visit which was concluded on May 9.

Leidschendam, 9 May 2012 – Deans and professors of a number of Lebanese universities have concluded a visit to the Tribunal.

The visit, which lasted from 7 to 9 May, included discussions with STL President Judge Sir David Baragwanath, as well as other senior Tribunal officials. Officials from the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), as well as professors of law and international legal experts in the Netherlands also met with the Lebanese academics.

The visit is part of the Inter-University Programme on International Criminal Law and Procedure which is aimed at law students in Lebanese Universities, currently at no cost to them. The Programme is organized in cooperation between the STL, the Asser Institute in The Netherlands and eight Universities in Lebanon. The course covers issues such as the history of international law, genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, crimes of terrorism and the role of the STL, the rights of the accused in international criminal proceedings, and the role of victims.

“The visit allowed us to clarify certain points on the functioning of the STL like the major decisions taken, the protective measures in place for witnesses”, said Philomène Nasr, Dean of the Law School at the Lebanese University. Her colleague, Leila Saadé, added: “The substantially informative round-tables gathering such prominent experts should include an additional day combining theory and practice”.

“The visit allowed us to clarify certain points on the functioning of the STL like the major decisions taken, the protective measures in place for witnesses”, said Philomène Nasr, Dean of the Law School at the Lebanese University.

Aida Azar, Vice-dean of the law school at Saint Joseph University, said that the visit allowed the participants to visualise what was for them theoretical so far.

Karim Mufty, Professor at La Sagesse University, believes that the visits to The Hague are very important because they allow an essential interaction with the different actors of international justice.

The universities participating in the programme are Beirut Arab University , Université Libanaise, Saint Joseph, La Sagesse, Notre Dame, Saint-Esprit de Kaslik, American University of Science and Technology and Université Antonine.

STL