The United Nations has handed Lebanon a draft document outlining the framework of a tribunal to try suspects in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.
The move indicated that major powers on the Security Council had bridged differences that had delayed an agreement on the workings and structure of the court, officials said.
They did not reveal details of the draft but one official source said the tribunal, to be made up of Lebanese and foreign judges, would have no power to try or question heads of states as the killing would not be defined as a "crime against humanity" or a "terrorist attack".
Mr Hariri was assassinated on February 14th, 2005, in a suicide truck bombing that killed 22 other people.
The killing, which sparked large anti-Syrian protests that forced Syria to end three decades of military presence in Lebanon, is under investigation by a UN commission led by Belgian prosecutor Serge Brammertz.
The inquiry has implicated senior Lebanese and Syrian security officials. Syria has denied any role.
The personal representative of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Geir Pederson, handed copies of the draft to Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and other officials in Beirut. He also gave a copy to Mr Hariri's son Saad, parliamentary majority leader.
The next step is for the Lebanese government to approve the draft and ask parliament to pass it into law, officials said.
The draft arrived in Lebanon at a time of heightened political tension with rival leaders debating opposition demands for more say in the Western-backed cabinet.
Some anti-Syrian leaders have expressed fears that the aim of these demands by pro-Syrian Hizbullah and its allies is to secure enough cabinet seats to block formation of the tribunal.