Contempt Proceedings Al Amin: Commentary

The four decisions that are subject of this commentary all pertain to the ancillary proceedings for contempt against Ibrahim Mohamed Al Amin and the company Akhbar Beirut S.A.L. Particularly, the cases concern the publication of two articles on 15 and 19 January 2013 by the journal Al Akhbar, owned by Akhbar Beirut S.A.L., and directed by Mr. Ibrahim Mohamed Ali Al Amin in his capacity of Editor-in-Chief and Chairman of the Board of Directors.
According to the indictment, the two articles, published in print and online in both Arabic and English, disclosed information on more than 30 purported confidential witnesses taking part in the Ayyash et al. case. Consequently, Akhbar Beirut S.A.L. and Mr. Al Amin were charged with contempt pursuant to Rule 60bis of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) Rules of Procedure and Evidence (RPE), for “knowingly and willfully interfering with the administration of justice by: publishing information on purported confidential witnesses in the Ayyash et al. case, thereby undermining public confidence in the Tribunal’s ability to protect the confidentiality of information about, or provided by, witness or potential witnesses”.
Notwithstanding the fact that the four decisions fall under a common umbrella (i.e., contempt proceedings), they deal with different focal issues, and therefore require separate analyses. Specifically, the analysis in this commentary is divided as follows: the first part focuses on the two decisions of 5 June 2014 and of 11 February 2016 by the contempt Judge Nicola Lettieri, specifically on the issues of self-representation and in absentia proceedings in the case of a “recalcitrant accused”; the second part focuses on the decision of 31 January 20214 by the contempt Judge David Baragwanath and on the judgment of the contempt Judge Nicola Lettieri of 15 July 2016, specifically on the definition of the offense of contempt and its application to corporations.