BEIRUT: The caretaker Justice Minister emphasized the importance of the draft law on domestic violence Monday, after surveying religious leaders on their views of the proposal.
Following a meeting with Mufti Sheikh Mohammad Qabbani, caretaker Justice Minster Ibrahim Najjar highlighted the importance of the domestic violence draft law, while acknowledging that some feared that the law would mix the country’s personal status laws with its penal code.
Najjar said that a subcommittee of the parliamentary Administration and Justice Committee and the parliamentary joint committees will meet Tuesday in Parliament to debate the draft law.He added that the opinions of religious figures were taken into account and that Qabbani’s suggestion to amend the penal code to include the main articles of the domestic violence draft law, instead of adopting a special law on domestic violence, was a good one.
Following the meeting, Qabbani acknowledged the need to hold domestic abusers accountable, but proposed that the articles be included in the penal code, instead of adopting a special law on domestic violence which he said could create controversy as the rulings based on a special law could conflict with the decisions of judges in religious courts.
Several civil society and non-governmental organizations have launched a campaign in the last few years to criminalize domestic violence. Last month, hundreds of women marched in the streets of Beirut to demand the drafting of a law against domestic violence.
Separately, when asked whether the political situation could deteriorate following the session of Parliament set for June 8, Najjar said “there will be no explosions in Lebanon.”
“If Speaker Nabih Berri insists on having the Parliament session, it will be postponed if there is a lack of quorum, but no explosions will take place,” he said.
As for his legal opinion on the constitutionality of Parliament convening in the absence of a functioning government, Najjar said that his main concern was the separation of powers, ensuring that one power doesn’t take the place of another even if the Constitution calls for an extraordinary session of Parliament if the Cabinet resigns.
In response to a question about Syrian President Bashar Assad’s decision to issue a general amnesty for all crimes committed before May 31, Najjar said that he called the Secretary General of the Higher Lebanese-Syrian Council, Nasri Khoury, and officially asked him for a copy of the decree, which he sent to the state prosecutor.
According to Najjar, the two-page decree was detailed and had multiple articles on crimes and various exceptions, and had to be scrutinized and examined to determine whether it applied to Lebanese who had been convicted or are wanted, or those who were victims of enforced disappearances.
“The Syrian authorities do not acknowledge the presence of Lebanese who were victims of enforced disappearance on its lands,” he said, adding that his ministry will also examine the general pardon decree.
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