"All that I can tell you is that ... it [the transfer request] will be done," Daniel Bellemare, a Canadian who has been leading the investigation into al-Hariri's death, said.

"I have no reason to believe that the Lebanese authorities won't cooperate with us fully," he said.

"They will not be held indefinitely and they will get their day in court."

'Syrian link'

The four generals were commanders of Lebanon's pro-Syrian security apparatus when al-Hariri was killed on a seaside street in Beirut, the Lebanese capital, on February 14, 2005.

A number of Lebanese politicians, including Saad al-Hariri, Rafiq's son, have accused Syria of being behind the bombing.

Al-Hariri broke with Syria and openly opposed Damascus' military involvement in Lebanon months before his assassination.

Syria denies any link to the deaths and has ended its 29-year military presence in Lebanon following international outcry at the bombing.

Trials could further antagonise current relations between pro- and anti-Syrian political entities in Lebanon.

Conviction doubts

The opening of the court does not mean that legal proceedings will be initiated immediately and investigations will continue.

A mixed Lebanese-international special tribunal had to be established by the UN Security Council after Lebanon's parliament was too divided to approve a hearing.

Administrators have said that the tribunal will take up to five years to be completed.

However, many people in Lebanon do not believe that any convictions will be made, despite reassurances from Bellemare.

"We will not be deterred by the obstacles or the size of the challenges,'' Bellemare said.

"We will go wherever the evidence leads us. We will leave no stone unturned."

Al-Hariri, a billionaire businessman, helped to rebuild downtown Beirut after the country's civil war from 1975-90.

Since his death Lebanon has suffered continuous political turmoil, with a Western-backed government at loggerheads with pro-Syrian opposition groups.

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