The Role of a Member of Parliament (MP) in the Lebanese Political System / دور النائب في النظام السياسي اللبناني

‍The Role of a Member of Parliament (MP) in the Lebanese Political System

When speaking about a MP (Member of Parliament), we should introduce him as a member of the most important power in the country, which is the legislative power. The MP’s primary importance is highlighted through his representation of the people in the Parliament, from which emerge his various powers through the contribution to the legislation and the monitoring of the State policy and its fiscal policy; all that in addition to his electoral powers that are represented by the election of the President of the Republic and the Deputy Speaker.

From here stems the following question: how does the MP exercise his role in the Lebanese political system?

In this article we are going to address this topic through:

Section I: MP's Privileges and Section II: MP’s Competencies.

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Section I: MP's Privileges

In order to fulfill his role perfectly, the Lebanese Legislature is given several privileges and benefits to help him in his daily life, in addition to a parliamentary immunity to protect him from untrue prosecutions which we will discuss in detail, later in this section.

Paragraph 1: Benefits Granted to the MP

The MP has several benefits, the most important are:

1. Monthly allocations which surpass 11 million LBP, or 34 times the minimum wage, while allocations of the French Legislature do not exceed 10 times the minimum wage.  
2. Social assistance from the Parliament Mutual Fund. Its value is approximately 3 million LBP per month. This assistance has been approved by the Bureau of the Council since 1994, in order to assist deputies in facing their burdens in view of their limited allocations at that time. The Fund also covers the hospitalization and medical costs of the present and former deputies and their families through annual contracts signed with insurance companies. The Fund has two main resources: the participation of deputies and the contribution of the State in the General Budget.
3. The right to be accompanied by two State Security Officers throughout his tenure.
4. An annual sum of 150 million LBP spent from the budget of the Ministry of Public Affairs to carry out work in his electoral district. Votes arose in the summer of 2001, calling for the cancellation of these allocations.
5. The right to register one vehicle in his name in each parliament session, free of custom duties, registration fees and technical inspection.
6. The benefit from a lifetime compensation or pension, after leaving Deputyship, which his wife and family members continue to benefit from after his death.
7. The right to have a free private passport which enables him to obtain free visas to most countries of the world. This privilege includes all his family members under the age of 25.

Paragraph 2: Immunities Granted to the MP

In order to carry out his duties, the Lebanese Constitution grants the MP, as in contemporary countries, legal immunity known as parliamentary immunity, and it is divided into:

1. Political immunity or immunity of irresponsibility:

Article No. 39 of the Constitution provides that no criminal action may be brought against any deputy for ideas and opinions he expresses throughout his tenure. This immunity was applied in Lebanon in 1907, when the Parliament refused to lift the immunity of Deputy Ghassan Twainy, who was charged with insulting senior officers. And it was applied also in 1994, when the corporate body of the Council decided to refuse the request of the Public Prosecutor's Office to waive the immunity of the Deputy Najah Wakim, because of his statements about the corruption and the bribery.

2. Criminal immunity or immunity of personal privacy:

Article No. 40 of the Constitution and Article No. 90 of the internal regulations of the Council provide that a deputy may not be criminally charged, prosecuted, or arrested during sessions of the Council, except with the authorization of the Council or in case captured in flagrante delicto. This exception is due to the possible exposure of the MP to untrue prosecutions in order to cripple his work through arresting him or summoning him for investigation.

The request for permission to prosecute is submitted by the Minister of Justice, accompanied by a memorandum from the Attorney-General of the Court of Cassation containing the type of offense, when it was committed, the whereabouts of the crime, and the summary of evidence requiring urgent action. The request for waiver of immunity shall be submitted to the Deputy Speaker, who shall invite the Council Office Body and the Administration and Justice Committee to a joint hearing to examine the request. The Presidency of this corporate body shall inform the Council at its first meeting. The Council may decide to grant the corporate body additional time or would decide to take matters into its own hands and settle it immediately. The decision to waive immunity is made by the relative majority.

In case of a flagrante delicto, or if the deputy was persecuted outside the session or before being elected, the prosecution shall continue in the sessions without need to request a Council permission.

The Council and corporate body, when examining and discussing the request for waiver of immunity, should take into account the seriousness of the prosecution and ensure that the request is far from the ends of partisanship and politics and is not intended to deprive the Deputy of his representative work.

The decision of the council to waive the immunity or reject the request is not an adjudication because the Council is not a Court, all that the Council does is ensure that the request for waiver of immunity does not involve political ends.

Nevertheless, all these benefits and privileges granted to the MP by the constitution are matched by many duties in various fields that we will discuss in the second part of our article.

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Section II: MP’s Competencies:

The Lebanese constitution has provided the MP with multiple competencies, but the two most important ones which we will be talking about in this section are:

-Legislative and regulation competency (participation in the legislation)

-Political competency (monitoring the actions of Executive Power)

Paragraph 1: Legislative and regulation competency

The constitution grants the Parliament full power to legislate. It appears in two important matters: the right to propose the laws and the right to ratify them. Both the Government and the Parliament have the right to propose a law, and this right is established for every deputy. Every proposal put forward by the Parliament is called a “Bill”, and every proposal put forward by the Government is called a “Government Bill”.

The proposal is submitted to the Deputy Speaker who in turn refers it, after informing the Council, to the specialized committees. If the proposal was put forward by the Parliament, the Deputy speaker shall send a copy of it to the Government. The deputy can withdraw or amend his proposal. And the Council can also amend or reject the proposal. It is noticed that most laws passed by the deputies are Government Bills put forward by the Government.

After the committees finish examining the Government Bill, they report to the Council who carries out a general debate until it ends with a majority vote. In an event of a tied vote, the project fails. In an event of approval, the approved law shall be referred to the Government to be promulgated by the President, or to request a reconsideration from the Parliament.

The Deputy can propose any law he wishes on various subjects, except for laws aimed at creating new expenses during the examination of the General Budget.

There are topics that are defined in the Constitution and must be regulated by law, such as financial affairs, acquisition and loss of nationality, freedoms regulation, the establishment of crimes and penalties, the compensations of deputies, and the allocations of the President of the Republic…

Paragraph 2: Political Competency

The Council acts as a supervisor over the actions of the Government, and the Government is accountable for all its actions in front of the Council. Supervision is reflected in the following:

1. Questioning. Any Deputy has the right, during the sessions, to address questions to the Government or its members to clarify an issue. Questions could be asked verbally where the Government answers it immediately, or requests it to be deferred to another session.  Questions could be written and addressed to the Government by the Deputy Speaker, where the Government should respond in writing in a duration of 15 days or request an extension for this duration. If the Government doesn’t reply in time or if the Deputy isn’t satisfied by the answer, he will have the right to transform his question into interrogation.
2. Interrogation. It aims at discussing and holding the Government accountable for certain conduct. Interrogation involves a kind of criticism and accusation, and it differs from the questioning in that it does not remain between the Deputy who initiated the interrogation and the Minister who is supposed to respond, but it grants all the deputies the opportunity to participate in the debate regarding the subject of the interrogation. The request for interrogation is presented to the Government in writing, where the Government must respond in 15 days. The Government is entitled to request an extension if an investigation was required, and when the answer is received, the subject of the interrogation is placed on the agenda of the first meeting of the Council dedicated for questioning and answering. This meeting is allocated after every four working sessions at most, and in the session, both the Deputy and the Government speak, and if the Deputy is convinced with the answer, the matter is over. If he is not convinced, he requests a Motion of No Confidence in the Government, and if the Council comes to find out the matter is serious, it decides to conduct an investigation.
3. Parliamentary inquiry. The Council sets up a special committee from its members to investigate, hear statements, and gather information about the subject and its circumstances.  The committee shall then prepare a report and submit it to the Deputy Speaker, who shall bring it to the attention of the deputies to discuss it and take a decision. The Council could question the ministerial responsibility and take a Motion of No Confidence.

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We have discussed the role of the MP in the Lebanese political system.

In conclusion, it is now clear that the Lebanese Constitution has granted the Deputy multiple privileges and immunities that help him perform his role fully. It also has assigned his primary competencies on all levels such as political, supervisory, social, legislative, and other levels in a way that secures a balance between the three powers and is a means of lobbying and holding them accountable to preserve the public interest, prevent tyranny, and implement the principle of separation of powers based on mutual control.

Hence, the following problems need to be addressed: Is the Lebanese Deputy playing his role today as it is set in the Constitution? Is it permissible for the Deputy to combine the roles of both the Council and the Government?

Source: Constitutional Law and Political System, d. Muhammad Al-Majzoub, Al-Halabi Human Rights Publications

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