Foreword

In this Foreword to a Symposium on the newly established SpecialTribunal for Lebanon (STL), the editor of the Symposium highlightsinnovations the STL offers, and challenges it may face to becomea viable institution. He queries whether the STL was intendedto be a cripple from birth. Acknowledging that the ICTY earlierproved expectations of its impotence wrong, the author nonethelessargues that the STL not only lacks some of the tools the ICTYenjoyed, but also faces two additional constraining social conditions:more highly attuned and wary potential defendants; and the verydoctrine that the ICTY and its peer tribunals have elaborated.The author argues that there is a danger that, in their zealto bring the perpetrators of the Hariri assassination to justice,the STL and its backers in the Security Council may damage thatvery doctrine, and damage the credibility of the enterpriseof international criminal justice. On the other hand, a cautious,professional STL could contribute significantly to that enterprise,by demonstrating the feasibility of a more streamlined criminalprocedure, by extending the technologies of international criminaljustice to crimes of terrorism, and by taking a small step towardsending the culture of impunity and violent dispute resolutionthat prevails in Lebanon.