BEIRUT -- Commissioner of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon Daniel Bellemare has on Tuesday briefed Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Al-Siniora on the progress made by his commission so far in the investigations of the assassination of former premier Rafik Al-Hariri.

Bellemare has conducted several preliminary contacts ahead of commencing his official duties as prosecutor of the tribunal on March 1, according to a press release issued by the Lebanese Cabinet here.

The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Bellemare, of Canada, as commissioner of the tribunal, also known as the International Independent Investigation Commission, in September, 2007, pursuant to the UN Security Council Resolution 1757.

Established in the Netherlands on May 30, 2007, under the UNSC resolution, the tribunal probes the criminal acts that took place in Lebanon since early October, 2004, and the assassination of Al-Hariri on February 14, 2005.