Ministry of Justice (Lebanon)
| وزارة العدل | |
.png) Emblem of this ministry. | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Government of Lebanon |
| Headquarters | Sami Solh Street, Adlieh Area, Beirut |
| Minister responsible | |
| Agency executive |
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| Website | www |
The Ministry of Justice of Lebanon (Arabic: وزارة العدل) is a ministry of the Lebanese government responsible for the administration and organization of the judiciary, oversight of the application of laws, preparation of draft legislation, and representation of the Lebanese state before courts. Its institutional origins date back to the establishment of Greater Lebanon under the French Mandate in 1920, and its current structure is governed primarily by Legislative Decree No. 151 of 1983, which remains in force.
Historical background
[edit]Following the proclamation of the State of Greater Lebanon by Henri Gouraud the French High Commissioner on 31 August 1920, the administrative framework of the new state was defined by Decision No. 336 of 1 September 1920. This decision established seven central state departments, including the "Department of Justice, Properties, and Endowments", which constituted the precursor of the Ministry of Justice.[1] In October 1920, the department was renamed the Directorate of Justice by a decision issued by then-Governor of Greater Lebanon, Major Albert Trabaud. The directorate was tasked with administering judicial institutions, supervising the enforcement of laws and judicial regulations, and coordinating with French legal advisers. Charles Debbas was appointed as the first Director of Justice on 1 September 1920.[1] The institutional designation underwent several changes during the French Mandate: In December 1920, it became known as the Judicial Service, and in 1924, it was renamed the Directorate of Justice Affairs, and its head assumed the title of Supervisor of Justice.[1] In 1922, a Consultative Legislative Committee was established within the judicial administration to review draft laws and regulations. The committee included senior judicial figures and legal academics from the French Law School in Beirut; its composition was revised in 1923 to include appointed legal professionals and academic representatives.[1]
Establishment as a Ministry and post-independence reorganization
[edit]Following the promulgation of the Lebanese Constitution on 23 May 1926, Decree No. 5 of 31 May 1926 formally organized the ministries of the Lebanese Republic. The Ministry of Justice was listed as the first of seven ministries and was entrusted with organizing and administering the judiciary, supervising the application of laws and judicial regulations, and proposing decrees related to pardons or sentence modifications. The decree also placed the Council of State and religious courts under the ministry’s authority.[1] In 1932, after the suspension of the Constitution, executive authority was exercised by a "Council of Directors", and the ministry reverted temporarily to the designation of Directorate of Justice.[1]
A legislative Decree [a] issued on 22 November 1939 abolished the Directorate of Justice and transferred judicial departments to the Ministry of Interior. This arrangement was reversed in December 1941 with the formation of a new government.[1] The first comprehensive organization of the ministry’s central administration was enacted on 6 March 1944. A subsequent reorganization occurred in 1953, which expanded the ministry’s competencies and created a forensic medicine service. A legislative issued on 5 January 1955 reaffirmed this structure as a cabinet-approved regulatory decree.[1] In 1959, the official designation was standardized as the Ministry of Justice by Legislative Decree No. 111 of 12 June 1959. That same year, responsibility for publishing the Official Gazette was transferred from the ministry to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers.[1]
Period of Syrian Influence (1990–2005)
[edit]Following the end of the Lebanese Civil War and the implementation of the Taif Agreement, Lebanon experienced an extended period of Syrian political and military presence that lasted until 2005. During this period, the Ministry of Justice and the wider judicial system operated within a political environment characterized by significant external influence over state institutions, including judicial appointments and prosecutorial authority. During the Syrian occupation period, the judiciary, including appointments via the Ministry, faced significant political interference, with key figures like Prosecutor General Adnan Addoum reporting to Syrian intelligence.[2]
Later reforms
[edit]In 1964, a decree provided for the establishment of a Prisons Administration within the Ministry of Justice, transferring oversight from the Ministry of Interior. Despite its inclusion in later regulatory texts, provisions were not fully implemented, and prisons have remained administratively attached to the Ministry of Interior.[1][3] The ministry’s present structure and mandate are governed by Legislative Decree No. 151 of 16 September 1983, which repealed prior organizational regulations. Under this decree, the Ministry of Justice is responsible for managing judicial affairs, ensuring proper application of laws and regulations, drafting legislation, providing legal opinions, representing the state before courts, and supervising matters related to detainees, juvenile offenders, notaries, experts, bankruptcy trustees, and court-appointed administrators.[1] On 13 July 2002, the Department for Minors was established as part of broader juvenile justice reforms, with the aim of improving detention conditions and the treatment of minors.[4] The ministry comprises a General Directorate overseeing judicial and administrative courts, including bodies responsible for legislation and consultations, state litigation, judicial training, judicial and administrative personnel affairs, forensic medicine and criminal evidence, juvenile rehabilitation, and prison-related affairs.[1]
List of Justice ministers
[edit]The following is a list of Heads of justice administration in Lebanon:[5]
| Minister | Term of office | |
|---|---|---|
| Charles Dabbas | 01 Sep 1920 | May 1926 |
| Najib Kabbani | May 1926 | May 1927 |
| Choucri Cardahi | May 1927 | May 1928 |
| Bechara El Khoury | May 1928 | Aug 1928 |
| Najib Sawan | Aug 1928 | |
| Choucri Cardahi | Aug 1928 | May 1929 |
| Najib Sawan | May 1929 | Mar 1930 |
| Ahmed al-Husseiny | Mar 1930 | Jul 1931 |
| Auguste Pacha | Jul 1931 | May 1932 |
| Sami Al Khoury | May 1932 | Jan 1937 |
| Khayreddin al-Ahdab | Jan 1937 | Mar 1938 |
| Khaled Chehab | Mar 1938 | Nov 1938 |
| Abdallah El-Yafi | Nov 1938 | Dec 1941 |
| Philippe Boulos | Dec 1941 | Jul 1942 |
| Ahmed al-Husseiny | Jul 1942 | Mar 1943 |
| Ayoub Tabet | Mar 1943 | Sep 1943 |
| Habib Abu Shahla | Sep 1943 | Jan 1945 |
| Salim Habib Takla | Jan 1945 | |
| Henri Pharaoun | Jan 1945 | 22 Aug 1945 |
| Saadi Al Munla | 22 Aug 1945 | 22 May 1946 |
| Ahmed al-Husseiny | 22 May 1946 | Dec 1946 |
| Abdallah El-Yafi | Dec 1946 | Jul 1948 |
| Riad Al Solh | Jul 1948 | 01 Oct 1949 |
| Charles Helou | 01 Oct 1949 | 14 Feb 1951 |
| Boulos Fayyad[b][c] | 14 Feb 1951 | 07 Jun 1951 |
| Rashid Karami | 07 Jun 1951 | 11 Feb 1952 |
| Fouad Al-Khoury | 11 Feb 1952 | 09 Sep 1952 |
| Basil Trad[b][d] | 09 Sep 1952 | 18 Sep 1952 |
| Khaled Chehab[e] | 18 Sep 1952 | 30 Sep 1952 |
| Mousa Mubarak[f] | 30 Sep 1952 | 30 Apr 1953 |
| Muhieddin Al-Nasali | 30 Apr 1953 | 16 Aug 1953 |
| Bashir Al Awar[f] | 16 Aug 1953 | 01 Mar 1954 |
| Alfred Naqqache[g] | 01 Mar 1954 | 16 Sep 1954 |
| Charles Helou[c] | 16 Sep 1954 | 09 Jul 1955 |
| Gabriel Murr[c] | 09 Jul 1955 | 19 Sep 1955 |
| Fouad Ghosn | 19 Sep 1955 | 19 Mar 1956 |
| Salim Lahoud | 19 Mar 1956 | 08 Jun 1956 |
| Alfred Naqqache | 09 Jun 1956 | Nov 1956 |
| Sami Solh[h] | Nov 1956 | 03 Jan 1957 |
| Emile Dawood Tian | 03 Jan 1957 | 18 Aug 1957 |
| Sami Solh | 18 Aug 1957 | 14 Mar 1958 |
| Bashir Al Awar | 14 Mar 1958 | 24 Sep 1958 |
| Yousef Al-Suda[e] | 24 Sep 1958 | Oct 1958 |
| Hussein Al Oweini | Oct 1958 | |
| Philippe Takla[b] | Oct 1958 | 14 May 1960 |
| Gibran Nahas[i] | 14 May 1960 | 01 Aug 1960 |
| Nasim Majdalani | 01 Aug 1960 | 20 May 1961 |
| Philippe Boulos[b] | 20 May 1961 | 31 Oct 1961 |
| Fouad Boutros | 31 Oct 1961 | 20 Feb 1964 |
| Gibran Nahas | 20 Feb 1964 | Jul 1965 |
| Emile Dawood Tian | Jul 1965 | Nov 1965 |
| Nasim Majdalani | Nov 1965 | Apr 1966 |
| Philippe Takla[g] | Apr 1966 | 06 Dec 1966 |
| Fouad Rizk | 06 Dec 1966 | 08 Feb 1968 |
| Rashid Baydoun[f] | 08 Feb 1968 | Oct 1968 |
| Majid Arslan | Oct 1968 | 15 Jan 1969 |
| Shafik Wazzan | 15 Jan 1969 | 25 Nov 1969 |
| Adel Osseiran | 25 Nov 1969 | 13 Oct 1970 |
| Jamil Rachid Kabbi | 13 Oct 1970 | 27 May 1972 |
| Bashir Al Awar | 27 May 1972 | 25 Apr 1973 |
| Kazem al-Khalil[j] | 25 Apr 1973 | May 1975 |
| Nureddine Rifai[c][e][k] | May 1975 | Jun 1975 |
| Position vacant | Jun 1975 | 09 Dec 1976 |
| Farid Raphaël[f][l] | 09 Dec 1976 | 16 Jul 1979 |
| Youssef Gebran | 16 Jul 1979 | 25 Oct 1980 |
| Khatchig Babikian | 25 Oct 1980 | 08 Oct 1982 |
| Roger Shaikhani | 08 Oct 1982 | 29 Apr 1984 |
| Nabih Berri | 29 Apr 1984 | 22 Sep 1988 |
| Lotfi Jaber | 22 Sep 1988 | 25 Nov 1989 |
| Edmond Rizk | 25 Nov 1989 | 16 May 1992 |
| Nasri Maalouf[g] | 16 May 1992 | 30 Oct 1992 |
| Bahij Tabbara | 31 Oct 1992 | 24 Dec 1998 |
| Joseph Shaoul | 24 Dec 1998 | 23 Oct 2000 |
| Samir Jisr[m] | 23 Oct 2000 | 26 Oct 2004 |
| Adnan Addoum | 26 Oct 2004 | 19 Apr 2005 |
| Khaled Qabbani | 19 Apr 2005 | 19 Jul 2005 |
| Charles Rizk | 19 Jul 2005 | 21 Jul 2008 |
| Ibrahim Najjar | 22 Jul 2008 | 13 Jun 2011 |
| Shakib Qortbawi | 13 Jun 2011 | 15 Feb 2014 |
| Ashraf Rifi[n] | 15 Feb 2014 | 21 Feb 2016 |
| Position vacant | 21 Feb 2016 | 18 Dec 2016 |
| Salim Jreissati | 18 Dec 2016 | 31 Jan 2019 |
| Albert Serhan | 31 Jan 2019 | 21 Jan 2020 |
| Marie-Claude Najm[o] | 21 Jan 2020 | 10 Sep 2021 |
| Henry Khoury[p] | 10 Sep 2021 | 08 Feb 2025 |
| Adel Nassar | 08 Feb 2025 | Incumbent |
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ No. 10/L.E.
- ^ a b c d Served simultaneously as Minister of Economy and Trade.
- ^ a b c d Served simultaneously as Minister of Public Health.
- ^ Their task was to hold parliamentary elections, and no ministerial statement was submitted.
- ^ a b c Did not present themselves in front of Parliament and did not submit a ministerial statement.
- ^ a b c d Served simultaneously as Minister of Telecommunications.
- ^ a b c Served simultaneously as Minister of Foreign Affairs.
- ^ Served simultaneously as Minister of Interior and Municipalities.
- ^ Served simultaneously as Minister of Education.
- ^ Appointed in April 1973, but did not submit a ministerial statement to Parliament. Reappointed in July 1973.
- ^ Resigned June 1975.
- ^ Served simultaneously as Minister of Finance.
- ^ Served simultaneously as Minister of Education from 17 April 2003 to 26 October 2004.
- ^ Resigned 21 February 2016.
- ^ Resigned 10 August 2020, but remained in office as caretaker minister.
- ^ Resigned 30 October 2022, but remained in office as caretaker minister.
References
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Lebanese Ministry of Justice 2025.
- ^ Ghattas 2005.
- ^ Saliba 2012, p. 25.
- ^ Schmid & Riachy 2003, p. 112.
- ^ Lebanese Ministry of Justice 2025l.
Sources
[edit]- Ghattas, Sam F. (2005-04-29). "Lebanese Govt Removes Top Prosecutor, Security Chief". Arab News. Retrieved 2025-12-29.
- Lebanese Ministry of Justice (2025). "الوزارة". www.justice.gov.lb. Retrieved 2025-12-29.
- Lebanese Ministry of Justice (2025l). "الوزارة - الوزراء". www.justice.gov.lb. Retrieved 2025-12-29.
- Saliba, Amine (2012). "The Security Sector in Lebanon:Jurisdiction and Organization" (pdf). Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 October 2025. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
- Schmid, Alex; Riachy, Ralph (2003). "Juvenile Justice Initiatives in Lebanon | Office of Justice Programs". www.ojp.gov. Archived from the original on 17 September 2025. Retrieved 2025-12-30.
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