Press Release: The Core Group for Judicial Independence launches the Draft National Action Plan for the Independence of the Judiciary
Beirut, 14 November 2022
The Core Group for Judicial Independence launched the proposed National Action Plan on Judicial Independence on Monday, November 14, 2022, at the Radisson Blu Hotel - Verdun in Beirut. The launch ceremony was attended by current and former members of parliament and their representatives, representatives of ministers and the President of the Higher Judicial Council, judges, the Tripoli Bar Association, lawyers, and civil society organizations.
The ceremony aimed to shed light on the judiciary’s current situation in Lebanon in comparison to the practices enshrined in international treaties. The speakers explained the components of the national plan and its most prominent titles, which included obstacles to strengthening the judiciary’s independence, disciplinary procedures, the role of judicial courts, and judicial corruption, as well as the influence of politics, religion, and the media at the institutional level and political interventions in the work of the Higher Judicial Council. The presentation was followed by a discussion among attendees regarding the practical key points to be adopted in the upcoming years.
The Core Group includes the Tripoli Bar Association, ALEF - Act for Human Rights, the Lebanese Center for Human Rights, the International Commission of Jurists, Proud Lebanon, and Restart Center for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence and Torture.
During the closing of the ceremony, members of the Core Group called upon attendees to exert united and systematic efforts to strengthen the judiciary while upholding Lebanon's commitment to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Political and Civil Rights.
