General Amnesty Law in Its Final Form... Key Provisions of the Amendments

The Parliament approved, on Wednesday, a draft law aiming to grant general amnesty and exceptionally reduce the duration of some penalties, following amendments, concluding a prolonged political and legal dispute over the crimes covered and the detainees who might benefit.

The draft law aims to grant general amnesty and exceptionally reduce the duration of certain penalties. Here is the version as amended by the joint parliamentary committees:

Article One:

General amnesty is granted for crimes committed before March 1, 2026, benefiting all individuals involved in their commission, whether as perpetrators, accomplices, interveners, inciters, or concealers, according to definitions in the Penal Code.

General amnesty results in the extinction of public prosecution and the annulment of original, subsidiary penalties, and precautionary measures imposed, as well as the extinction of all proceedings, judgments, and decisions, whether in personam or in absentia or deemed in personam.

Article Two:

The following crimes are excluded from general amnesty, regardless of whether judgments have been issued: -1 Crimes referred to the Military Court.

-2 Intentional or deliberate homicide and crimes specified in the Anti-Terrorism Law dated January 11, 1958, against civilians or military personnel and all members of security forces.

-3 Military crimes stipulated in Chapter Two, Book Three, and Article 105 of the Military Judiciary Law No. 24 dated April 13, 1968.

-4 Crimes of treason, espionage, and illicit relations with the enemy, except those covered under paragraph 2 of Article One of Law No. 194 dated November 18, 2011, who are considered automatically beneficiaries of the current general amnesty law.

-5 Repeat drug offenses as defined in Article 125 of the Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law No. 673 dated 1998, referring to legal repetition as defined in the Penal Code. All drug-related crimes committed by military personnel and all members of security forces.

Crimes related to cultivating narcotic substances are excluded from this exception.

-6 Crimes involving any type of trespass subject to prosecution that remain ongoing as of the date of this law’s issuance, committed against:

- State-owned public property of any kind. - Municipal public property.

- Municipal, private, and royal common lands.

- Public property belonging to public institutions. - State-owned private properties and facilities.

General amnesty does not cover fines imposed for violations prior to this law.

-7 Crimes committed against public funds.

-8 Crimes stipulated in the Public Sector Corruption Prevention Law No. 175 dated May 8, 2020, and related provisions.

-9 Crimes stipulated in the Financial Disclosure and Conflict of Interest Law and Punishment of Unjust Enrichment Law No. 189 dated October 16, 2020.

-10 Crimes stipulated in the Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Law No. 2015/44, and violations of the Banking and Credit Law, regardless of the perpetrator, particularly crimes related to depositors’ funds and banking-related offenses of any kind.

-11 Crimes stipulated in laws concerning antiquities.

-12 Crimes of rape, incest, human trafficking, domestic violence, sexual assault on minors, and provisions of the Torture and Disappearance Law No. 2018/10.

-13 Theft crimes, as follows:

• Felonies if prosecution or judgments have been repeated more than twice.

• Misdemeanors if prosecution or judgments have been repeated more than three times.

-14 Environmental crimes stipulated in the Environmental Protection Law No. 444 dated July 29, 2002, and related provisions.

Article Three:

Notwithstanding any other provision, for crimes committed before the entry into force of this law, whether or not judgments have been issued and not covered by amnesty, penalty durations shall be replaced as follows:

-1 Death penalty becomes 28 years imprisonment.

-2 Life hard labor becomes 17 years imprisonment.

-3 All remaining penalties are reduced by one-third.

For crimes where the victim had assumed the status of private prosecutor before March 1, 2026, this reduction applies only after the private right has been waived.

Article Four:

The jurisdiction over personal rights arising from crimes covered by full amnesty, expiration of the statute of limitations, or penalty reduction remains with criminal courts, provided the public prosecution was directly submitted to or referred to the competent criminal authorities before this law takes effect.

For other personal claims arising from crimes covered by full amnesty or the expiration of the statute of limitations, civil or administrative courts with jurisdiction shall decide, applying the rules governing fees in civil litigation before criminal courts.

The plaintiff may request compulsory detention of the convicted party upon enforcement of a compensation judgment issued by criminal or civil courts, pursuant to Article 446 of the Criminal Procedure Code, Article 997 of the Civil Procedure Code, and Article 146 of the Penal Code.

Article Five:

Exceptionally, in all crimes committed before March 1, 2026, for which no judgment has been issued, and where pre-trial detention exceeds 14 years, the judge shall release the accused by ruling and continue the trial in accordance with legal procedures.

Article Six:

If a beneficiary of this law commits a misdemeanor or felony within five years after the publication of this law, their penalty for the new offense shall be increased according to the provisions of Article 257 of the Penal Code.

Article Seven:

For non-Lebanese nationals, any individual benefiting from this law shall be handed over immediately upon release from prison to the General Directorate of Security for legal procedures.

Article Eight:

Fees, insurance contributions, fines already collected, and legally prohibited items seized or confiscated in all cases covered by amnesty shall not be returned.

Article Nine:

Exceptionally, all convicts who have served their sentence before the publication of this law but remain imprisoned due to unpaid fines shall be exempted from all fines and fees of any kind, enabling their release from prison.

Article Ten:

Once and exclusively for the purpose of implementing this law, Article 205 of the Penal Code is amended to read as follows:

Except for those sentenced to death or life imprisonment, which cannot be combined,

if multiple felonies or misdemeanors are proven, and a penalty is imposed for each crime, the harshest penalty shall be executed without combination.

However, penalties may be combined such that the total of suspended penalties does not exceed the maximum penalty for the most serious crime by more than one-quarter.

Article Eleven:

This law enters into force immediately upon publication in the Official Gazette.

Reasons in favor, as amended by the joint parliamentary committees

This proposal aims to restore the principle of justice, a cornerstone of the rule-of-law state and a fundamental safeguard of individual rights and freedoms, by addressing the imbalance caused by the chronic delay in issuing criminal judgments and the resulting consequences undermining the essence and objectives of justice.

Given Lebanon has suffered for years under successive crises affecting both the judiciary and prison administration, leading to a severe humanitarian crisis manifested in the prolonged detention of detainees and prisoners beyond legally prescribed periods under the Criminal Procedure Code, contrary to minimum standards required in prisoner treatment,

and given the exceptional circumstances Lebanon has endured—repeated political and constitutional crises, delayed government formation, vacancy in the presidency, dysfunction in constitutional institutions, strikes and sit-ins affecting the judiciary, delays in appointments, recurring wars and attacks, and their severe security, economic, and social repercussions—these factors collectively negatively impacted the proper functioning of justice and the regularity of judicial procedures, contributing to case accumulation and delayed judgments, thereby undermining public trust in the judiciary and the state’s ability to deliver justice,

and given that the principle of the rule of law demands a balance between security needs and justice while respecting fundamental rights, and that slow judicial processes and accumulated cases prolong pre-trial detention, transforming it in many instances from an exceptional measure into an actual punishment enforced before a verdict is issued, contrary to the right to a fair trial within a reasonable time and the principle that liberty is the norm and detention an exception,

and given that delayed justice loses its practical meaning, as timely justice alone constitutes real justice, and excessive delays in issuing judgments undermine the presumption of innocence, the individual’s right to freedom and personal security, and the principle of equality before the law, eroding legal certainty and public confidence in the judiciary and the state,

and given that this situation has worsened due to recurring logistical and administrative obstacles, such as the inability to bring certain detainees to trial or adjournments due to reasons beyond their control, producing outcomes that cannot be attributed to the detainee or prisoner,

and given that the crisis has a direct humanitarian dimension tied to human dignity, as overcrowding and poor conditions in detention and prison facilities make prolonged detention without trial or legal resolution a violation of human dignity and international minimum standards for the treatment of detainees and prisoners,

and given that Paragraph (9) of Article 53 of the Lebanese Constitution entrusts the Parliament with the authority to grant general amnesty,

and given that enacting a general amnesty law, within clearly defined limits and explicit exceptions, will help alleviate injustice suffered by the wronged, strengthen public trust in state institutions, reduce prison overcrowding, and enable the judiciary to accelerate rulings on pending cases, without undermining accountability, infringing on victims’ rights, or compromising public order,

and given that this proposal constitutes an exceptional and temporary measure aimed at restoring balance to the criminal system and achieving humane justice—not a substitute for necessary judicial and prison reform, nor a remedy for structural imbalances requiring a comprehensive national policy,

and given that this step must be accompanied by a clear, goal-oriented national policy formulated by the executive branch, aimed at revitalizing court proceedings, reforming prison and detention conditions, rehabilitating facilities according to humanitarian and legal standards, within a defined timeline,

therefore, we submit this draft law.