Daryl A. Mundis was sworn in today as Registrar for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. He was sworn in by the STL President Sir David Baragwanath in accordance with Rule 45 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence.
Mundis is well acquainted with the overall functioning of international tribunals, having worked closely with the Registry. He was appointed Deputy Registrar on 14 January 2013 and became Acting Registrar on 18 April 2013. He has more than 15 years of experience in international criminal law and has served in the Chambers and Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
Lebanese paper As-Safir digs up a much more shocking image of Mundis with his family:
Oh. My. Allah.
He's a...a..a....Jew! His wife and kids are, too!
Assafir digs deep, finding that Mundis' wife Deborah's maiden name is Leipziger and she had written for the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, has written a book of poetry, is an expert on corporate ethics and is a member of Hadassah. She is, as Assafir notes, "no ordinary woman."
Their daughter Natasha had her Bat Mitzvah at Temple Sinai - which promotes trips to Israel!
The registrar works in financial and administrative issues, as well as protecting witnesses and media relations. The job has nothing to do with actually judging anyone. But Assafir is demanding that Mundis has a conflict of interest because the primary target of STL's prosecution is Hizballah, and it is very, very, very concerned that the objectivity of the proceedings will be compromised by having such a person working for them.
The overall impression I get is that Assafir feels more threatened from Deborah's accomplishments than Daryl's assumed lack of objectivity.
I have to admit, though, the mental picture of an Arab Jew-hating journalist poring over old Temple Sinai bulletins and Hadassah newsletters looking for dirt is hilarious.