The Daily Star - 2 judges join Higher Judicial Council, May 9 2012

By Wassim Mroueh

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Court of Cassation elected two judges Tuesday to the Higher Judicial Council, as Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi promised to forward the names of five other candidates to officials to approve their appointment in the council.

Qortbawi also presented to reporters a draft law he authored to grant the council more independence and increase the number of its members.Judges Antoine Daher and Suheir Harakeh, who are heads of chambers in the Court of Cassation, were elected out of three candidates.

Qortbawi will forward in a decree five names to replace five members whose term is set to expire on June 5.

“I have a period till June 5 to forward the five names and I will do that for sure,” Qortbawi told a news conference at the Justice Ministry. “These require a decree signed by the president, prime minister and the justice minister.”

Qortbawi said he waited for the two members to be elected in order to consider their sectarian background before sending the decree to maintain balance on the council.

“It is not a secret ... that there is a puzzle you need to solve when it comes to allotting posts according to sects,” he said

Qortbawi hoped that the head of the council would be appointed soon. The post has been vacant for over a year following the retirement of Judge Ghaleb Ghanem. Filling the post demands approval by two-thirds of the Cabinet.

“I forwarded a name long ago which was not presented to the Cabinet for reasons you know,” he said.

The question of a successor to Ghanem has put President Michel Sleiman and Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun at loggerheads as each favors a different candidate.

Lawyers held a 24-hour strike in March to protest against the failure of the Cabinet to agree on a nominee.

In addition to the head of the council, General Prosecutor Said Mirza and the head of the Judicial Inspection Department Judge Akram Baasiri are permanent members on the Higher Judicial Council. But Mirza will retire on July 30, and the Cabinet has to appoint a successor.

“There will be a problem without a judicial council,” Qortbawi said.

The council manages the judiciary in the country. It makes judicial appointments, monitors the functioning of courts and judges and conducts exams to recruit new judges.

The justice minister outlined a number of amendments he would introduce to the judiciary law in his draft law to make the council more independent. A committee of seven lawyers and retired judges established by Qortbawi took part in drafting the proposal.

The draft law raises the number of the council members from 10 to 14.

“Twelve will be working judges,” Qortbawi said. “As for the remaining two, one would be a former judge ... and the 14th member would be a former head of a Bar Association,” he added.

The two must not be older than 74 on the day they are appointed, according to Qortbawi’s draft law.

“Once they are appointed, they will not be allowed to work in the judiciary for the rest of their lives,” he said.

“In my opinion, [once they become council members], the retired judge and the former head of a Bar Association can make people feel that the judiciary is more objective,” he said.

The number of permanent members in the council will rise from three to four, with the new member being the head of the Institute of Judicial Studies.

Under the draft law, the term of the council members will increase from three to four years and council members will only be allowed to serve again after spending two consecutive terms outside the post.

“All this aims at liberating the human being from [seeking private] interest [in his post],” Qortbawi said.

Rather than having only two council members elected, an adviser from the Court of Cassation and a head of a court of appeals will be elected in addition to the two.

The draft law would grant the council the prerogative of making appointments in the judicial sector without the need for a decree bearing the signature of the president, prime minister and the justice minister as is the case now. Qortbawi argued this will further boost the independence of judiciary as called for by the Constitution and laws.

Qortbawi proposed in his draft law that the council would also be granted the prerogative to decide whether a certain judge has the qualifications to remain in his post, rather than restricting the task to the Department of Judicial Inspection as is currently the case.

The draft law says a judge cannot remain in a post for more than five consecutive years, but will be moved to another one. Qortbawi urged judges and lawmakers to study his draft law.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2012/May-09/172774-2-judges-join-higher-judicial-council.ashx#axzz1uMmgVfAw