Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar
Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar sits down with NOW Lebanon’s Hayeon Lee to talk about his work in his ministry, including judiciary appointments, the meeting of Arab justice ministers in Beirut, as well as reforms of the Lebanese justice system.
NOW Lebanon: What is causing the delay in the judiciary appointments? Is it due to the lack of credible senior judges? It is political, and when will the situation be resolved?
Ibrahim Najjar: It becomes notorious that we have some problems going on with the judiciary appointments. And there are many causes for this. First, two among the senior judges have been eliminated by the limit of age; they had to retire. A third judge resigned because he was solicited to be the first president in the Mount Lebanon judiciary. The fourth has presented his resignation, but it hasn’t been yet accepted. The fifth one resigned. So the causes are very clear, and the only way to overcome it and to help judges to go on is to fill those empty positions, and I’ve been working very hard… I know that it’s a very important issue for both Beirut and Tripoli law societies. And please remember that I have been a lawyer for 45 years; I know exactly what are the necessities. But I think that one should point out very clearly that the minister has no capacity to replace the judges, I mean, to [take] their job. They have to take the means and decisions that could lead to a happy end. Now, we also have two major positions to fill [at] the higher presidency of the juridical inspection, and this matter has to be dealt with before the Council of Ministers. That’s why there are some delays, but that’s why the hope is strong. And I will do my utmost to help the judiciary and the Council of Ministers take good decisions and appoint the right judges.
NOW: A meeting of Arab justice ministers will be held in Beirut on November 27. Why is it being held now, in Beirut, and what will be on the agenda? What are the most pressing problems with the justice system in the region in general, and what will be the benefits of such a meeting?
Najjar: The Board of Arab [Justice] Ministers [meeting] will be held on the 25th and on the 27th [of November], and Lebanon will be welcoming the Arab justice ministers in an ordinary session under the auspices of the Arab League. This year I have taken the initiative to invite them here. I thought one month ago that it will be a good opportunity to hold the so-called judiciary opening of the year 2008 [to] 2009. I also thought that it would be a good opportunity for Lebanon to let it be known that we are back on the map with our judiciary, our presidency, a new Council of Ministers, and renewed life in the sessions of our parliament… After the closing of our meetings on November 28, we will be inaugurating a seminar with participants from all the Arab countries. And during those two days [following the closing of the sessions] we will have, with the help of the UNDP, several sessions in order to exchange views about the modernization of justice and the care we should give to the issue of human rights. The most relevant issue in the Middle East nowadays [in terms of the justice system] is related to all the problems raised by terrorists, and human rights. On the other hand, the modernization of our laws and practices seems to be very much under the spotlight.
NOW: What reforms are you working on in the Justice Ministry in order to bring it closer to international standards, and what do you think the outcome will be?
Najjar: Let me tell you frankly, the outcome doesn’t seem reachable very soon. But I have many reforms to initiate, and I know that it will be very difficult to convince everybody. If we take Lebanon, I have three kinds of modernizations that I have been advocating. The first one is the modernization of our justice palaces, our technology and the digital renovation of our courts, the Register of Commerce, the classification of our files, [and] all the hardware of the Ministry of Justice and the Justice Palaces. And in this regard, a special place has to be given to the jails and the detainee centers all over Lebanon. For instance, statistics show that we have too many prisoners who are yet to be sentenced. Many prisoners are waiting until the inquiries are closed. But I know that the Ministry of Interior and the attorney general are willing and [are] giving this issue the importance it deserves. I know also that many NGOs are working very hard with us, and they are trying. [To remedy the situation in the prisons,] I would like to promote building new facilities, because even if the prisoners are sentenced, one should give him at least a minimum of space and help, et cetera, et cetera.
The second modernization is related in my mind to the judiciary itself, and I think that in the coming years, we’ll have at least renewed one-third of our judges by appointing young and fresh judges. This will help practitioners and the whole judiciary, especially as we are giving them so-called continuous formation, which means they can update their knowledge continuously and their knowhow. In this way, they’ll have the opportunity to become familiar with all the modern model laws, dealing with technology, IT, capital markets, banking — international and domestic — business laws, etc. This modernization is going on with the help of several countries and regional organizations.
The third modernization is the modernization of our laws. I will submit in the near future draft laws to modernize our civil code, our business law code and our criminal law code. In the meanwhile, I’ve submitted to the Council of Ministers a draft law to abrogate the death penalty. And I’m considering right now with the [parliamentary] Justice Commission the renovation of the Lebanese citizenship law.
NOW: Concerning the prisons, many NGOs say that the Ministry of Interior should not be involved, and the Ministry of Justice should take over. What is your opinion on this?
Najjar: This is true, and we are working toward this.
NOW: What do you think about the special courts in Lebanon? The military court was established in 1968, and its jurisdiction was expanded after the civil war to cover issues on the basis of “national security.” However, such courts have been easily politicized, can act arbitrarily, and are considered obsolete in a democratic state. What is your opinion on this?
Najjar: It is not yet a very common question but… I have been told by specialists that our military courts are not in contradiction with international standards. One of my first questions to the magistrates [of] the military courts was this issue, [and] I’ve been provided with lengthy documentation establishing the military court as being in conformity with international standards. But the issue is still open to studies.
NOW: How about the judicial council [majlis al-adli], which deals with cases directly referred by the Council of Ministers? Doesn’t this breach the checks and balances of power, since the executive branch is directly linked to the judiciary branch? Shouldn’t courts have a direct relationship with the citizen, rather than one mediated through the state, according to international standards?
Najjar: It is a very important and a very spectacular way to show the public that some crimes are important enough, and they deserve a very special and high tribunal. But in Lebanon, this kind of tribunal has nothing to do with the executive power. It is purely judiciary, [thus] there are no interferences.
NOW: Do you believe that the upcoming report by UN Commissioner Daniel Bellemare on the Hariri tribunal will have a positive impact on Lebanese politics?
Najjar: From a bird’s eye view, it can be positive. But we will have to wait and see.