Nassar: No Sectarian Quotas in the Judiciary; Productivity Up 200 Percent

Minister of Justice Lawyer Adil Nassar held a press conference at the ministry, addressing the issue of sovereignty and restricting weapons to the state, as well as the key files and projects the Ministry of Justice is working on, and developments related to the judiciary's work.

Nassar said: "Everyone has become convinced that handing over Hezbollah's weapons to the Lebanese Army is now a settled decision." He noted that the issue at hand today is implementing this decision with as little damage as possible, especially since time is pressing us, and that Lebanese interests and the interest of building the state require restricting weapons to the state.

He added: "We must remember that this weapon, for 27 years, has brought Lebanon nothing but disasters and absurd adventures. There are generations in Lebanon who have known nothing from this weapon except destruction and death, without any horizon, and it cannot be considered that these years yielded any positive results."

He said: "How can the continuation of the weapon be justified as long as Hezbollah says it is not deterrent, and that there is no parity of opportunity? If the goal of retaining it is to disrupt negotiations, which are the only way to recover land and stop attacks, and there is no other path for that, then this is a disaster."

He added: "If the goal of retaining the weapon is to participate again in an auxiliary war should things deteriorate negatively between the United States and Iran, then this is another disaster, because it means sacrificing Lebanon once again for reasons unrelated to it. Therefore, the issue of weapons has become urgent and cannot be postponed indefinitely."

He pointed out that "the claim that restricting weapons to the state negatively affects the Shia sect contradicts the truth."

He said: "The ultimate goal is to ensure the security of all Lebanese, across their various spectrums, to recover land from the far south to the far north, protect all areas, and rebuild the state."

He added: "This path is not directed against any Lebanese group whatsoever; quite the opposite. Hiding behind a sect to display weapons and endanger everyone to justify the continuation of these weapons is unacceptable."

He continued: "It is very important to reaffirm that we, all Lebanese, cannot live with a constant obsession about what might happen if a new war breaks out between Iran and the United States. This obsession exists because Hezbollah's leadership itself during the last war was unable to confirm what the decision would be, because the decision lies elsewhere."

He affirmed that "restricting weapons to the Lebanese state has become a matter that must be implemented as quickly as possible."

Nassar touched upon the Ministry of Justice's files, noting that his visit to the city of Nabatieh was "very important," and the direction is to resume work in the city's courthouse and take necessary measures to protect case files.

He said: "I met with residents there and listened to them; the state has a duty towards the people of the South who suffered everything they endured."

Regarding the investigation into the Beirut Port explosion, he indicated that "the file has taken its correct course since the formation of the current government," noting that it was one of the goals he set when assuming the position of Minister of Justice.

He said: "The Judicial Investigator closed the investigation and referred it to the Public Prosecution, which issued its indictment earlier than expected. We are now all awaiting the completion of the work of Judicial Investigator Judge Tarek Bitar, whom I salute for his work, particularly regarding the issuance of the indictment decision, as I expect, before the end of the year."

Regarding the judiciary's work, he pointed to "an increase in productivity after the judicial formations, with rates ranging, depending on the relevant sectors, between 50 percent and 400 percent, with an average close to 200 percent."

He saluted "all judges and the work they do and their dedication, especially given the difficult conditions of their work." He said: "These results also reflected on the Public Prosecutions; there is no longer delay or backlog in the Cassation Court Public Prosecution nor in the Mount Lebanon Public Prosecution, nor is there delay in other Public Prosecutions, despite the significant accumulation that existed previously."

He noted that "these results include various governorates, including Mount Lebanon, Beirut, the North, and the Bekaa."

On the topic of the Commercial Register in Baabda, which concerns many Lebanese, especially lawyers, Nassar clarified that "all commercial register files have been removed from the building, numbering approximately 250,000 files," indicating that "the archiving process of these files has begun, whether in Baabda or in a newly established center in Jdeideh," explaining that "archiving is done through an electronic system to track files, allowing anyone working on a computer to know where the file is located."

He said: "The ministry, in cooperation with the European Union and the German State, is working on a project to digitize all commercial registers in Lebanon. The project will enter into force very soon, certainly before the end of the year, and is expected to begin during November."

He added: "There is a project to digitize courts, in cooperation with the European Union, aiming to introduce digitization into various stages of judicial work, contributing to reducing delays and ensuring the integrity of workflow within courts."

Nassar announced that he sent "today to the Council of Ministers, a draft law for the independence of the ordinary judiciary," and also sent to "the Parliament, via the sub-committee, a draft law for the independence of the administrative judiciary."

He explained that both laws are fundamental, and their drafts have been completed and sent to the concerned authorities to complete the legislative path.

He also pointed to "work on finalizing a personal data protection law in cooperation with the European Union, enabling Lebanon to reach the internationally required level."

He noted that "Lebanon entered into an agreement concerning combating crimes and exchanging information, but implementing the information exchange process requires the existence of personal data protection," affirming that "the proposed law is essential in this field, and the text that has been finalized meets the required conditions for implementing the information exchange process in the field of combating crimes."

The Minister of Justice saluted the President and members of the Higher Judicial Council who "completed the partial or subsidiary formations, which covered around 80 positions," noting that he signed the project and it was sent.

He said: "I can assert that all the partisan quotas that Lebanese were familiar with in the past were completely excluded from the appointment and judicial formation process."

He also saluted "President of the Republic General Joseph Aoun, Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, who completely refrained from intervening in this matter."

He said: "The judiciary took its role, as did the Higher Judicial Council, and we began to feel the results of this process through increased productivity according to the figures we received."

On the topic of abolishing the death penalty, he said: "Abolishing the penalty does not in any way mean leniency towards crimes. Lebanon, through this step, regained its fundamental and leading role in the region regarding all matters related to basic rights."

He saluted the Parliament which "made great effort in this file to reach this result, but ultimately the decision rested with the Parliament, which holds the primary decision-making power in this matter."

He clarified that "abolishing the death penalty does not mean abolishing penalties," affirming that "imprisonment and other legal penalties remain in place, and the intent is that the death penalty should not be part of the legal system, and that the state should not be the entity executing death."

Nassar pointed out that "the Institute of Judiciary, which was completely stalled, had its work revived," noting "the training of a large number of judges in France, in addition to training others by their colleagues in Lebanon, and updating the institute's programs."

He stressed that "this matter is essential, because the institute is the future of the judiciary, and through it begins the preparation of judges and the development of their capabilities."

He mentioned that "for the first time in nine years, a competition was held to select judges to join the institute, and the exam was conducted successfully and with full transparency," noting "awaiting the competition results in preparation for accepting a number of successful candidates into the institute."

He pointed to "training judges in the Public Prosecutions, whether in the Financial Public Prosecution or the Judicial Public Prosecutions, in addition to training in fields of financial crimes, terrorism, and other crimes, in cooperation with the French State."

He explained that "Lebanese law is largely inspired by French law, therefore there is significant cooperation between the two countries in the field of training Lebanese judges," noting "Lebanon entering into several judicial cooperation agreements with different countries, among them an important agreement concerning the registration of Lebanese lawyers in France."

He said: "This issue faced an obstacle due to the condition of reciprocity, which led to the suspension of the registration of a number of Lebanese lawyers in the Bar Association in France, and some of them were threatened with closing the offices they worked in."

He added: "The French side showed great cooperation in this matter, given the presence of a large number of Lebanese lawyers who know French law and the French language and wish to register in the Bar Association in France."

He continued: "During the visit of the French Minister of Justice to Lebanon, the agreement was signed, and the primary beneficiary is the Lebanese person, because the Lebanese lawyer possesses the necessary qualifications that help him register in the Bar Association in France and pass the entrance exam."

In response to a question about restricting weapons, the Minister of Justice said: "I stated clearly that there is no option left other than restricting weapons to the Lebanese state, because this matter has become urgent, and it protects Lebanese generally and allows for recovering land and stopping Israeli attacks."

He added: "We condemn Israeli attacks, but condemnation alone is not enough. The decision to restrict weapons was taken before we entered into negotiations, so it is not permissible for anyone to say that this matter is linked to negotiations or any other detail. This is an urgent issue, and whatever the political considerations, we all know that weapons have brought Lebanon nothing but disasters."

He continued: "It is better for the weapons to be handed over with as little damage as possible to the state and the people. The path of handing over weapons cannot stop, because it relates to the rights, security, and interests of all Lebanese, and specifically to the future and stability of the state."

In response to a question about whether abolishing the death penalty facilitates the extradition of wanted persons, he clarified that "any request for the extradition of wanted persons became easier once the death penalty was abolished, because this issue constituted an obstacle to some extradition requests."

He said: "Abolishing the death penalty goes far beyond this file; Lebanon, through this step, returns to playing a leading role in the region and consolidates its orientation in the field of law and criminal law. This does not at all mean leniency towards criminals or penalties, because imprisonment and legal penalties are in place, and there is no leniency towards crimes, but rather Lebanon affirms that the death penalty is not part of its legal system, and that it refuses for the state to be the entity executing death."

On how the Ministry of Justice accompanies the path of handing over weapons, he said: "Persons arrested for carrying weapons are prosecuted, regardless of their affiliations, and more strictly than in the first incident covered by media outlets."

He added: "This matter is also judicial, and the Ministry of Justice does not intervene in the work of the judiciary nor dictate what it should do, because the judiciary is independent, and at the same time strict, applying Lebanese laws."

He stressed that "anyone prosecuted judicially, regardless of the nature of the penalty that may be issued against them, will undergo judicial procedures and applicable laws."