The judiciary enjoys constitutional, financial and administrative independence and its judges are protected

Guarantee that separation of powers is rooted in Lebanon’s administration, thus avoiding conflicts of interest at all levels of Government

Transparent, Responsive,  Accountable & Effective Institutions

1.The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets, defends, and applies the law in the name of the state or the people

2.The independence of the judiciary and, by extension, its liberation from the ruling authority’s control, is a prerequisite for building a just and effective democratic state, subjecting public administration to the rule of law and holding wrongdoers among them accountable, and, most importantly, drawing red lines for any ruler

3.The confidence of all citizens in the judicial institutions’ ability to protect their lives, rights, and freedoms without favors from anyone such that they live at ease with their compatriots in freedom and without fear is the foundation of coexistence and national unity, which can only be realized via an independent judiciary

1.World Justice Project (WJP) Rule of Law Index (Factor 1: Constraints on Government Powers)

1.The Lebanese judiciary is divided into six major categories: A Constitutional Court, Judicial courts, An Administrative Court, A Financial Court, A Political Court and Exceptional Courts such as the Military Court

2.The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is largely responsible for the budget and administration of the courts

3.The appointment of judges is effectively a political act that often leads to corrupt relationships between judges and the political leaders who appoint them

4.There are no specific training or capacity-building programs in place to help judges navigate and prosecute corruption-related cases

5.Cases of corruption within the judiciary system are dealt with by the Judicial Inspection Authority, and trials are held in private hearings; As a result, it is extremely difficult to find out if a judge is found guilty in a corruption charges brought against them

6.Police enforcement and court rulings are not always impartial; for example, most investigations into politically-motivated assassinations have stalled or been prolonged

7.The judiciary is part of the solution for many of the problems facing Lebanon today. Corruption, clientelism, bribery, money laundering, power abuse, arbitrary administration, random arrests, violation of public services’ networks, environmental crimes etc. all fall under the judiciary competence and within its jurisdiction

1.The draft law on the Independence and Transparency of the Administrative Judiciary is being stalled in a prolonged examination by the parliament’s legal committee in an ironic attempt to avoid the very limitations that the bill puts forth

2.There is no effective separation of powers between the judiciary system and the executive branch; as many members of several judicial bodies are not elected by their peers, but rather are nominated either by MPs, or upon the recommendations of the Minister of Justice

3.The Lebanese judiciary system is not financially independent (with the exception of the Constitutional Court); however the budgets of all other courts are included in the budget of the Ministry of Justice, the Office of the Prime Minister, and Ministry of National Defense

4.Like other parts of the Lebanese bureaucracy, justice institutions are affected by clientelism, political interference and sectarianism; Judges are constantly subjected to political pressure, transforming the judiciary into circles of influence that invariably rule in favor of the powerful and propagate practices of interfering in the judiciary upon the ruins of the culture of its independence

5.Ministerial immunities restrict the trying of ministers to an imaginary political court in the form of a supreme council that has never convened, and prevent the judiciary from playing an active role in confronting the ruling authority’s corruption

6.For political reasons, the President of the Republic has stalled the permutations of judges recommended by the Supreme Judiciary Council (SJC), thus interfering in the judiciary

7.In the absence of an effective government, the entire judiciary system is at risk of collapse: The SJC’s mandate expires in 2021, and the Constitutional Court has lost its quorum and can no longer convene

1.Article 20 of the Lebanese Constitution stipulates that the judiciary is entrusted with independent powers

2.The Bar Association of Lebanon was organized by the Decree of February 6, 1919

3.The Council of the State, established in 1924, tries disputes between individuals and the state

4.Decree Law No. 7855 of 1961, which is known as the Judicial Organization Law, governs the structure and function of the judiciary

5.The Constitutional Council, created in 1990, judges the constitutionality of laws and adjudicates election disputes

6.In 2018, a group of judges established the Lebanese Judges Association (LJA) advocating for an independent judiciary and for the strengthening of the role of judges in society

7.A bill on the Independence of the Judicial Judiciary has been pending in the Parliament’s Administration and Justice Committee since September 2018

8.In February 2021, a group of over 50 democratic political groups, legal organizations, and active non-governmental organizations announced the establishment of the Independence of the Judiciary Coalition in Lebanon

9.The group introduced a bill on the Independence and Transparency of the Administrative Judiciary prepared by the Legal Agenda

Policy Action

1.Enforce judiciary independence:

• Adopt both of the following draft laws without undermining the essence of the safeguards that they contain: the Independence of the Judicial Judiciary draft law and the Independence and Transparency of the Administrative Judiciary
• Ensure that the judiciary’s budget is independent from the executive authority (Ministers of Justice, of National Defense, and Prime Minister)
• Institute administrative independence so that judiciary appointments are issued by the Supreme Judiciary Council on the basis on merit rather than by the Council of Ministers
• Guarantee that the judiciary is able to develop its own organizational decrees free from third party intervention
• Ensure that judges are protected against physical threats
• Strengthen monitoring and control agencies by increasing their human and logistical capabilities

2.Effectively limit the Military Tribunal jurisdiction to only the individuals and purposes it was intended for

3.Call for judicial assistance from the United Nations in the Beirut Port Explosion investigation

4.Cooperate with international bodies to freeze the accounts of corrupt officials and recoup embezzled funds transferred abroad