[JURIST] UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Friday that he would appoint [press release] Judge Mohamed Amin El Mahdi, Judge Erik Mose and Nicolas Michel [official profiles] to the selection panel that will recommend the judges and chief prosecutor for the new Special Tribunal for Lebanon [UN materials]. El Mahdi has served on the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Mose is a presiding judge with the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and Michel is currently the UN legal counsel and under-secretary-general for legal affairs. The selection panel will recommend four Lebanese judges, seven international judges and the tribunal's chief prosecutor to Ban, who will make final appointments.

The UN Security Council unilaterally established the tribunal [JURIST report; UN News report] in May after a divided Lebanese government failed to agree on a proposal. The tribunal will investigate [JURIST report] and try suspects in the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri in 2005 as well as in 17 other attempted and successful political assassinations in Lebanon. The UN News Service has more.