Qortbawi Reveals Plan to Appoint 5 Members of Higher Judicial Council

Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi announced on Monday that he will present an initiative to resolve the dispute over the appointments in the Higher Judicial Council, hoping that the government would reach an agreement over the appointment of the head of the council.

He announced in a press conference that he will present a decree in May on the appointment of five members of the council.

“I have performed my duties regarding the appointment of the head of the council and I have adopted judicial standards in making my choice over this position, despite my political affiliations,” he added.

He explained that the council is comprised of ten members, three of which are appointed by cabinet.

They are the head of the council, the general prosecutor, and the head of Judicial Inspection Board.

Two of the remaining seven are chosen by the members of the Court of Cassation, and the remaining five are appointed by the justice minister and approved by the president without necessarily consulting the government.

Qortbawi stated that he had repeatedly warned that the tenure of seven members of the Higher Judicial Council will end on June 5.

“I have informed President Michel Suleiman of my plans to this end and I hope he will approve my decree because we can only deal with judicial matters in a judicial manner,” stressed the minister.

He also said that he "understands" the strike that Beirut lawyers staged on Monday in protest against the delay in appointing the head of the Higher Judicial Council.

He told reporters that he opposes the politicization of the position of the head of the council, revealing: “Had I adopted political standards, I would have made different choices for the council.”

Differences between Suleiman and Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun have prevented the cabinet from making the appointment.

Addressing the spoiled food scandal that has emerged in Lebanon, Qortbawi said that the issue has been blown out of proportion, with the media portraying everything in Lebanon as being spoiled.

“The judiciary is performing its duties in this matter through pressing charges against individuals suspected of premeditated murder,” he explained.

The justice minister revealed that seven people have so far been arrested in Beirut over the scandal, while seven others were arrested in Mount Lebanon, one in al-Nabatiyeh, and four in the North.

Two arrest warrants have been issued against two other people who are still at large, he continued.

A Chinese national has also been arrested in connection with the scandal, he said.

The spoiled food scandal that has emerged in Lebanon in recent weeks has caused a “food safety” crisis in the country.

The army on Friday raided three warehouses in the Tariq al-Jedideh neighborhood in Beirut, uncovering over 40 tons of spoiled food.

In recent weeks, the Consumer Protection Directorate raided several warehouses in al-Fanar, Beirut’s southern suburbs, Tyre, and Marjayoun that were selling spoiled meat and food products.

The seized products included poultry, meat, canned food, cheese and several other consumer products.

The Directorate had raided another Tariq al-Jadideh warehouse earlier in March where it seized 25 tons of spoiled meat and arrested its two owners, Samih and Suleiman al-Natour.

The Internal Security Forces detained at least eight other people for food safety violations in separate raids.