STL Defense Office Publishes Names on Defense Counsel List

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon Defense Office published on Wednesday the List of Counsel, it announced in a statement.

“Currently, 120 have been admitted to the List, out of a total of 145 applicants. One hundred and eighteen names have been made public, along with information about the primary jurisdiction in which they are admitted,” it revealed.

The List of Counsel is established pursuant to Rule 59 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence.

“The List of Defense Counsel will be provided to an accused who has requested legal aid. The accused may choose Lead Counsel freely from the List to represent him,” it continued.

“If ordered by the Trial Chamber, the Head of Defense Office will also use this list to choose counsel for in absentia proceedings,” said the statement.

Lawyers from all countries may apply for the List.

All lawyers who meet the minimum criteria set out in Rules 58 and 59 are interviewed by an Admission Panel, composed of the Head of Defense Office, and two external counsel, currently Elizabeth Sioufi from Lebanon and Bénoît Henry from Canada, it stated.

The Head of Defense Office Francois Roux said: “The List contains a wide variety of very competent criminal defense lawyers who have experience in the defense of the most serious crimes at the national and international level.”

“It is the first time in international tribunals that the Defense Office is an independent organ of the court,” added the statement.

“The fact that there is an Admission Panel, mandatory training for counsel and the duty for the Defense Office to oversee their effectiveness are all significant improvements for the protection of the rights of the accused,” it noted.

The Defense Office welcomes more applications to the List of Counsel. Any new additions to the List of Counsel will automatically be added to the website, it concluded.

Among those admitted to the list are six Lebanese lawyers: Emile Aoun, Wehbe Ayache, Elias Bou-Eid, Carlos Daoud and Joseph Roukoz Saaiby, who are members of the Beirut Bar Association, and Liliane Saad, who is a judge at the Lebanese Court of Cassation.

Other lawyers hail from 24 countries – the U.S., Nigeria, France, Britain, DR Congo, Kuwait, Cameron, Italy, Hungary, New Zealand, Germany, Senegal, Algeria, Kenya, Ireland, Belgium, Egypt, Switzerland, Canada, Denmark, Holland, Serbia, Morocco and Australia.

Below is the link to the complete List of Counsel published on STL’s website:

http://www.stl-tsl.org/en/about-the-stl/structure-of-the-stl/defence/defence-counsel/list-of-counsel