Justice Minister in the caretaker government, Henry Khoury, announced from Morocco, "The Arab League, represented by the Arab Center, has been granted a piece of land measuring over 3000 square meters as a gift from the Lebanese state," noting that it "is located in a prime location overlooking the sea in the capital Beirut, in order to aid the advancement in the legal and judicial fields by achieving the goals of the center adopted by the Council of Arab Justice Ministers."
The Justice Minister, along with a delegation including judges Elie Halou, Carl Hirani, and Rabi' Al-Husseini, participated in the 38th session of the Council of Arab Justice Ministers held yesterday in Ifrane, Morocco. Upon his arrival in Morocco, Khoury met with his Moroccan counterpart, Abdellatif Wahbi, President of the 38th session of the Arab Ministers Council, to discuss the judicial situation in general and particularly in Lebanon. Minister Wahbi expressed Morocco's readiness "to support Lebanon and provide assistance to the Lebanese judiciary, and an agreement was reached to maintain communication between them to achieve this goal." Khoury also met on the sidelines of the conference with the Qatari and Omani ministers, who both expressed their full support for Lebanon and its judiciary.
On the first day of the 38th session, Khoury delivered Lebanon's speech, extending "sincere thanks and appreciation to the Kingdom of Morocco for its hospitality and generosity," and wishing it "success and achievement in what serves the good and reform." He addressed the participating ministers: "It is evident to you that the Arab Center, which has been around for more than 40 years since its inception, carries out the scientific secretariat for the Council of Arab Ministers and works under the supervision of the Council of Arab Justice Ministers, having an independent annual work program prepared by its Board of Directors and linked to the General Secretariat of the Arab League through its Secretary-General, administratively and financially, with its headquarters in Beirut."
He added: "We in Lebanon are pleased to have the participation of our Arab brothers, members of the Board of Directors of the center, who held their last session this year and raised their recommendations regarding supporting and developing the operational mechanisms of the Arab Center, which included a paragraph for amending the regulatory provisions and adopting the organizational structure of the center in accordance with the headquarters agreement and the vision of the Arab League. The meeting resulted in a consensus among its six members on a developmental vision through updating the regulatory provisions, which encouraged the host country, Lebanon, to announce the granting of a piece of land measuring over 3000 square meters to the Arab League represented by the Arab Center, in a prime location in Beirut overlooking the sea to assist in advancing the legal and judicial fields by achieving the goals of the center as adopted by your esteemed council." He continued: "We are also honored to inform you about the decision of your esteemed council numbered 1254 in the 37th session, which allocated support to the fund for the solidarity of judges in Lebanon concerning health and education, thanking the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Judicial Council of the brotherly Republic of Iraq, which responded positively to the decision's content and provided direct support to the fund through diplomatic channels."
For his part, the head of the technical secretariat of the Council of Arab Justice Ministers, Ambassador Mohammed Amin Akik, thanked Minister Khoury for the activities and efforts made by the Arab Center for Judicial and Legal Research in Lebanon, which had a remarkable positive impact in our Arab world. The session concluded last night with detailed recommendations on how to address complex judicial and legal issues in the Arab world.
