On Wednesday, the judicial inspection listened to the members of the administrative body of the Judges’ Club of Lebanon based on a referral from the Minister of Justice in the caretaker government, Judge Henry Khoury. This referral was due to the statements issued by the club and circulated in the media and social media, along with media appearances by the club's president, Judge Faisal Maki, and taking the necessary measures. According to judicial sources, the administrative body members complied with the inspection’s request after being informed of the Minister of Justice’s request, numbering eight members who represent the club, which has around one hundred judges. The club had obtained legal recognition from the Ministry of Interior and has been a member of the International Association of Judges and the Arab Union of Judges' Clubs, which advocate for judges' rights to express themselves, a principle recognized not only in Lebanon but also at the Arab and international levels. This marks the fourth time that the club's president, due to media appearances, and the club itself have been referred by the Minister of Justice to the inspection, with compliance to the request resulting in the file being archived.
Since its establishment in 2018, the club has focused in its statements on demanding the independence of the judiciary and avoiding political interference, as well as conveying judges’ struggles amid the economic crisis affecting Lebanon to enable judges to fulfill their duties within the judicial institution, even at a minimum level regarding work conditions. Its latest statement, issued last week, called for adopting clear criteria when distributing judicial positions, emphasizing that “the highest-ranking or oldest judge should fill the position of Attorney General or the First Investigating Judge, Charbel Abou Samra, in the provinces,” in accordance with the provisions of the Judicial Authority Law. The statement from the club was in response to a decision by the First President of the Court of Appeal in Beirut, Habib Rizkallah, to assign Judge Wael Sadiq to fill the position of the First Investigating Judge in Beirut, which will become vacant on November 9. It also involved assigning Judge Zulfa Hassan to head a chamber in the Criminal Court in Beirut following the retirement of Judge Sami Sadiq on September 29, who previously headed it. There was opposition in the corridors not against the two assigned judges, who are well-regarded, but for disregarding seniority and judicial rank in cases of judicial vacancy, due to the lack of judicial formations since 2017.
