Justice Ministry is ‘no place for a rookie’ – Najjar
Ibrahim Najjar offered a thoughtful meditation on his tenure as Justice Minister Wednesday, describing the position’s many challenges and advocating a process of modernization and reform. “When I first accepted this office I was not aware of the difficulties I would face but I decided to be true to myself and to stay committed to the job,” he said during an address at the Issam Fares Center for Lebanon.
Najjar took over the ministry in 2008 following the Doha accord, and his speech, titled “To be minister of justice in Lebanon,” was devoted primarily to the obstacles he had faced since assuming his post.
“The ministry is no place for a rookie. A justice minister needs to be ambitious, bold and free and he should always respect the country’s tradition as not to differentiate between majority and minority,” he said. “A minister has to be foremost himself.”
Najjar divided the position’s several challenges between the political, security, judicial and bureaucratic levels. He noted specifically the fight against bureaucratic inertia within the ministry, investigating Islamic extremists and spies, immunizing the judiciary from political interference and negotiating with the UN special tribunal probing the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
With respect to the tribunal, he said that he had tried his best not to interfere, and to “let justice run its course.”
Despite the challenges, Najjar said that important gains had been made during his time in office. He asserted that the ministry had moved toward greater independence and applauded the Higher Judicial Council. “I am proud of the Higher Judicial Council and its judges. It is honestly the most independent council yet,” he said, noting that no one advanced in the ministry unless they were competent.
In addition, he spoke of his effort to increase the number of judges from 300 to 502 as part of a broader mission to modernize and reform the ministry. “The world is opening up and becoming more modern by the day. The Ministry still needs time and work; even a pregnant woman needs nine months,” he said.
But Najjar also described where the judiciary had fallen short. He condemned the disgraceful condition of Lebanon’s prisons and the country’s high rate of administrative detentions. “It is not acceptable that trials be put on hold because we do not have a place to hold them,” he said.
On the release of the four security chiefs held without charge since 2005 in relation to the Hariri assassination, Najjar said: “I couldn’t believe that people were detained on suspicion without a clear accusation.” He noted that he had presented a draft amendment intended to limit detention based on suspicion.
Following the release of the generals, Najjar told a reporter, “To be released does not mean to be innocent.” He called these remarks hasty, noting that a minister can “run away from the press, embrace it or use it.”
He also lamented the fact that more competent judges hadn’t been appointed because of political deadlock and objections from the opposition, adding that there were more moderate ways forward on electoral reform than implementing proportional representation.
Above all, the minister emphasized the dangers of blending politics with justice.
“A justice minister cannot work under political supervision. Justice and politics are contradictory,” Najjar said, later adding: “I do regret some things I was not able to do because of political interference and this is why justice should be separated from politics.”