Lebanese Doctors' Syndicate Welcomes Approval of Amendment to Physician Immunity Law

The Lebanese Doctors' Syndicate welcomed the Parliament's approval of the draft law aimed at amending Article 44 of Law No. 313/2001, concerning physician immunity during professional practice, considering it a qualitative national legislative step that had been long awaited.

In a statement, the Syndicate emphasized that this law does not aim to exempt physicians from accountability, but rather to regulate it on fair scientific and legal grounds. It protects physicians from arbitrary prosecution and detention before medical facts are clarified, while simultaneously protecting patients by subjecting any complaint to an objective scientific assessment that ensures truth revelation and rights preservation.

Consequently, the law enhances the role of both the physician and the patient: it restores professional security and peace of mind for physicians to fulfill their humanitarian mission, and restores patient confidence that any proven error will be held accountable within procedures ensuring justice for all.

The Syndicate also extended thanks and appreciation to everyone who contributed to achieving this law, foremost among them: Professor Elias Shalala, Dean of the Beirut Doctors' Syndicate, who followed the file with seriousness and sincerity from its inception and was the primary voice of doctors throughout all discussion stages; the Parliamentary Committee on Public Health, Labor, and Social Affairs, chaired by MP Dr. Bilal Abdullah; the Administrative and Judicial Committee, chaired by MP Georges Adwan, and members of both committees, for their efforts in formulating a practical and logical formula that achieves balance between physician rights and patient rights; the Legal Department of the Syndicate, and its advisor Judge Ghalib Ghanem, for their pivotal legal role in drafting, following up, and legally fortifying the texts until their approval.

The Syndicate also thanked Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, parliamentary blocs, and MPs who placed the public interest above all considerations, as well as previous syndical councils that accumulated efforts over the years.

It concluded by affirming that this achievement is not the end of the road, but the beginning of a new path of cooperation between the Syndicate, the judiciary, the Ministry of Health, and Parliament, to ensure the application of the law in spirit and purpose, serving physicians, patients, and the health sector in Lebanon.