[JURIST] UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [official website] has nominated former Canadian Deputy Attorney General Daniel Bellemare [Ya Libnan profile] to serve as the commissioner of the UN International Independent Investigation Commission (IIIC) [authorizing resolution; UN materials], a UN spokesperson said Tuesday. If approved, Bellemare will head the UN investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri [JURIST news archive]. He will replace Serge Brammertz [official profile], whom Ban nominated Tuesday to replace Carla Del Ponte [official profile] as the next chief prosecutor [JURIST report] for the International Criminal Tribunal of the former Yugoslavia. Reuters has more. The UN News Centre has additional coverage.

The UN Security Council unilaterally established a tribunal [JURIST report] in May to investigate and try suspects in the Hariri case as well as in 17 other attempted and successful political assassinations in Lebanon. The tribunal will eventually take over the commission's work.