UN Chief appoints new judge for STL for Lebanon

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has appointed a new judge to the Appeals Chamber of the Special Tribunal (STL) for Lebanon to replace a retiring judge, the international court said Friday. "The United Nations secretary-general appointed Judge Ivana Hrdlikova to the Appeals Chamber of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon," the Hague-based court said in a statement . It added that Hrdliskova, who hails from the Czech Republic, will replace as of mid-January Judge Kjell Erik Bjornberg, who is retiring. Hrdliskova will be one of three international judges and two Lebanese ones in the Appeals Chamber. The UN-backed tribunal accused last year four members of Hezbollah of involvement in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in Beirut. STL President Baragwanath welcomed the appointment of Judge Hrdliskova to the court. "Her experience as a Judge in her own domestic system, as an expert on the rule of law, and the perspective she will bring to us will greatly enhance our Appeals Chamber," the statement quoted Baragwanath as saying. Hrdliskova began her legal career in 1990 and has been presiding over both civil and criminal cases. Since 2008, she has acted as a legal expert of the Council of Europe in matters related to human rights, money laundering and the financing of terrorism. She participated in a number of international legal and judicial projects, such as the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership efforts to increase judicial cooperation between the Mediterranean-European Development Agreement countries.