The constitutional debate over the powers of the caretaker government, the concept of these powers and their limits, has turned into a political conflict and a war of constitutional jurisprudence.
With the start of the countdown to the presidential elections and Lebanon entering the constitutional deadline to elect a new president, the debate began over whether the caretaker government is able to take over the powers of the President of the Republic, and reached talk regarding the possibility of withdrawing the mandate from President Najib Mikati, leading to the so-called floatation of the government. conduct business.
What are the powers of the caretaker government in the event of a presidential vacuum?
The head of the human rights “Justicia” Foundation, Lawyer Paul Morcos, explains to Kuwaiti “al-Anbaa” these powers, explaining that according to Article 62 of the Constitution, the powers of the President of the Republic are transferred to the Council of Ministers, in the event that the presidency is free of any defect, regardless of whether it is a caretaker government or A full-fledged government that assumes the tasks of the President of the Republic at a minimum, that is, it avoids all the unnecessary and non-urgent powers of the President. Therefore, this text was found to ensure the continuity of government and the constitutional institutions not interrupting their work.
According to the foregoing, Dr. Morcos points out that the constitution, by its nature, does not provide for details. The procedural details are inferred by jurisprudence, constitutional jurisprudence, and constitutional norms that lead to saying that the government exercises the powers of the president in light of the presidential vacuum in the narrow sense.
First, because the situation is exceptional, and secondly, because this government is a caretaker government and not a government with full powers.
In the context, Morcos points out that there is no such thing as a vacuum, and the constitution does not know a vacuum, and there are mechanisms for the transfer of government and the continuation of institutions, and it can be said that there is what is called emptying in the sense intended and deliberate by politicians, which is another matter, but a vacuum never occurs.
Dr. Morcos clarifies that the constitution sets out detailed mechanisms for electing a president of the republic in articles 49, 73, 74 and 75, and therefore there is no constitutional or any excuse in the constitution for not electing a president of the republic.
Regarding the discussion of floating the caretaker government or withdrawing the assignment, Dr. Morcos points out that there is no explicit text in the constitution that talks regarding withdrawing the assignment, and there is no such thing as a float of the government, and this term is a hybrid heresy that does not come close to the meaning of the constitution, which provides for the formation of a new government, However, the new government can be similar to the previous government, which is another matter, subject to the agreement of the President of the Republic and the designated prime minister, and subject to the parliament giving confidence to this government, whether it is itself or with some amendments.
However, it is desirable to change the government in the absolute and not to clone the present government, and this matter is permissible provided that it passes through the constitutional mechanisms to form the government, but there is no such thing as floating the government by returning to the House of Representatives, and this is something that the constitution does not know as previously mentioned.
