A special court investigating the 2005 assassination of Rafik Hariri, the former Lebanese prime minister, has met to discuss the possibility of beginning the trials of four defendants despite the fact that the men remain at large.

The defence head asked judges on Friday to lift or suspend the arrest warrants against the accused.

"The Defence office respectfully submits the Chamber should initiate proceedings aimed at lifting or suspending the arrest warrants against the accused," Francois Roux told the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

The court proceedings ended without coming to a final decision. A decision is expected to be made by the end of the month.

Al Jazeera's Jonah Hull reports from The Hague.