[JURIST] UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [official website] formally requested [press release] Monday that the government of the Netherlands consider hosting the ad hoc tribunal that will investigate and try suspects involved in the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri [JURIST news archive]. In a letter to the Dutch government, Ban stressed that The Hague has valuable experience in hosting international tribunals as it is the site of other courts and tribunals including the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia [official websites].

The UN International Independent Investigation Commission (IIIC) [authorizing resolution; UN materials] is set to turn its investigation over to the tribunal after the IIIC's mandate expires in December. The tribunal, which was unilaterally established [JURIST report] by the UN Security Council in May, will be known as the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. It will also investigate [JURIST report] and possibly try suspects in 17 other attempted or successful political assassinations in Lebanon. The UN News Centre has more.