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The rule of law in Lebanon is characterized by an inconsistency of the law and by a disparity between law and practice. The 1990 amendments to the Lebanese Constitution launched the basic structures for the rule of law. At the same time, they introduced the system of Ta’efiya, or confessionalism, that distributes political and institutional power proportionally among Christian and Muslim sects, and has undermined all efforts to establish the ’State of Law’. Passed as a temporary mechanism for embracing religious and sectarian diversity, confessionalism, was transformed from a mechanism for partnership and peaceful coexistence to a tool that compromises the prevalence of the law. Post war governments focused on rebuilding infrastructure and promoting economic growth instead of a top down reform approach that strengthens and develops institutions to which the legislative, executive and judicial powers devolve. Successive and protracted political and economic crisis continue to hamper the strengthening of the rule of law despite the political discourse that poses the rule of law as a solution to the crisis. Accordingly, the implementation process of the rule of law in Lebanon has been progressing along a vicious circular track. |
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I. The Rule of Law in the Lebanese Constitution
When the Lebanese Constitution was promulgated on 23 May 1926, it was still under the French mandate that had been erected after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I. The constitution was designed after the French constitution of Third Republic. Institutionally, it provided for a parliament, a Cabinet and President, while retaining the supreme power of the French High Commissioner. With respect to rights it stated the equality of the Lebanese people before the law, protected religious freedoms (Lebanese Constitution, articles 7 and 9), and stated the principle of equal confessional representation in public jobs. It also commissioned the Cabinet as a temporary mechanism for the coexistence and fairness between Muslims and Christians (Lebanese Constitution, article 95 (old version, before amendments of 1943 and 1990), thus embedding the first seeds of confessionalism.
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Despite the emphasis on the rule of law in the President’s oath of office and in other official and non official political discourse, sectarian considerations still surmount, in practice and in legal statutes, the prevalence of law. Legitimacy is derived from the extent to which it reinforces coexistence among religious communities, much the less from compliance with law and human rights. Delays in promulgating laws that respond to the needs of beneficiaries contribute to the failure of effectively connecting people to the government. In addition to that, weak incorporation and application of human rights principles hamper the formation of an egalitarian society. Therefore, if the law itself in Lebanon is cruel, in a sense that it allows for the exploitation of vulnerable social groups and the abuse of power by the powerful, should this law still be sovereign? If so, rule of law would establish an “orderly” society, or a law abiding society, but it will not achieve justice. What is just for one group will remain unjust to another. As long as discrepancies and prejudices persist in the law itself, the rule of law stands on a deformed base. However, when the laws are derived from individual rights and freedom, then, the concept of a “just” society as opposed to an “orderly” society could prevail. On the other hand, irrespective of whether the law is fair or not, the problem is that it is either not enforced at all or not enforced on everyone equally. So, even the prospects of establishing an “orderly” society in Lebanon is obstructed by the lack of efficient and consistent enforcement of the law. This risks undermining the aim of the rule of law, particularly reducing the aim of delivering justice to delivering revenge, be it legal revenge or illegal revenge.
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Bibliography
Amnesty International 2012: Amnesty International Annual Report 2012: Lebanon, 24 May 2012. http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4fbe392cc.html (last accessed on 16 July 2012).
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Ziadeh, Tareq 2010: The Meaning of Lebanon, AlHaditha Institute, Tripoli.
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