(AKI) - The international tribunal established to try those responsible for political killings in Lebanon will begin its inquiries next week, the United Nations said."All the necessary measures have been taken for the special tribunal for Lebanon to commence functioning this Sunday," UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon said in a report to the Security Council.
The tribunal is designed to try those accused of recent political murders in Lebanon, particularly the February 2005 assassination of Rafiq Hariri, (photo), who was killed in a massive car bombing in downtown Beirut with 22 others.
The probe into the killings is being carried out by the International Independent Investigation Commission, headed by Daniel Bellemare, a Canadian prosecutor.
According to the report, Bellemare will assume office as prosecutor of the special tribunal on 1 March and continue his investigations from The Hague in the Netherlands, where the court is based.
The judges of the trial and appeals chambers will assume their responsibilities on a date to be fixed and court hearings are expected to begin in early 2010.
UN legal counsel Patricia O'Brien will attend a ceremony in the Netherlands on Sunday to mark the start of the Tribunal.
Ban has pledged to ensure that the court is able to achieve its mandate in the most effective manner.
Hariri, a successful business entrepreneur, was prime minister of Lebanon from 1992 to 1998 and again from 2000 until his resignation in October 2004.
Widely credited with reconstructing the capital, Beirut, after the country's civil war, Hariri was assassinated on 14 February 2005 when explosives equal to 1000 kg of TNT were detonated as his motorcade drove past a hotel in the centre of the city.