BEIRUT: The head of the United Nations-backed court probing the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri issued a robust defense of his institution Monday, following his first trip to Lebanon last week.

Special Tribunal for Lebanon President Sir David Baragwanath said he received strong verbal support from senior Lebanese officials.

“The main purpose of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon is to bring the killers of Lebanese citizens to justice. This week’s visit to Beirut has given me great confidence that our mandate of challenging impunity will be fulfilled,” Baragwanath said in a statement.

“I’m convinced that the strength of the Lebanese legal and academic communities will allow the administration of justice to attain new heights.”

Baragwanath’s visit, during which he met with President Michel Sleiman, Prime Minister Najib Mikati and General Prosecutor Saeed Mirza, came as the debate over Lebanon’s financial contribution to the STL threatens to split the government.

Mikati has said he will resign if the Cabinet fails to stump up more than $30 million for the court on Nov. 30 and the Free Patriotic Movement has warned its ministers will quit if the funding passes.

Baragwanath, who in October replaced the former STL president, the late Antonio Cassese, was moved to push the merits of the court, which has been subjected to accusations of politicization since its inception in 2009.

“The tribunal, comprising professional judges selected internationally and including senior members of the Lebanese judiciary, is a transitional institution,” he said.

Hezbollah has accused the court of being an Israeli-U.S. conspiracy designed to discredit the resistance. Other court opponents have been critical of what they maintain is the tribunal’s inordinately slow progress.

“We are determined to conclude our job as swiftly as fairness allows,” Baragwanath said.

Lebanon is obliged under U.N. Security Council Resolution 1757 to provide 49 percent of the STL’s annual running costs, something it has failed to do in 2011. The court, the U.S. and the European Union have hinted that international sanctions could be placed on Lebanon should its government refuse to come up with the cash.

A court source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that the STL president met with Beirut-based staff during his visit. Contrary to some reports, the source said Baragwanath’s discussions with senior officials didn’t tackle the possibility of Security Council intervention in the event Lebanon failed to meet its funding obligation.

“The general mood is very positive and [Baragwanath] came back thinking he’d had a very productive time,” the source told The Daily Star. “The issue [of funding] is really more for the [STL] registrar[Herman von Hebel], not the president. Lebanon is already 11 months late.

“Raising any non-cooperation issue from Lebanon, on the other hand, would be for the president. I’m not saying this is the case and to my knowledge this didn’t come up during the visit. The visit really was more of a meet and greet with relevant figures,” the source added.

STL Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare in June accused four Hezbollah members of killing Hariri. In spite of the issuance of arrest warrants, the suspects remain at large. The prospect of in absentia trials has been raised by the court, although its Trial Chamber last week ruled that such action was premature.

Baragwanath said he was counting on continued cooperation from Lebanon in order to bring Hariri’s assassins to justice.

“The support we are receiving will allow the STL to contribute to securing the stability that everybody, the killers aside, so earnestly desires, which will open new opportunities for Lebanon,” the STL president added.