Beirut, January 11, 2023 (Xinhua) – Minister of Justice in the Lebanese caretaker government, Henry Khoury, announced today (Wednesday) that a request for legal aid from foreign countries, if done in accordance with rules and principles, does not constitute an infringement of Lebanese sovereignty.
Khoury announced in a press conference that the Ministry of Justice had received requests for judicial cooperation from Switzerland, Luxembourg, France and Germany in the framework of European investigations into suspected financial crimes.
The Lebanese judiciary had earlier launched a judicial investigation into cases of corruption, smuggling, money laundering through banks and illegal enrichment, and judges in Luxembourg, France and Germany want to follow up these investigations under the supervision of Lebanese judges to complement existing files in their countries related to money laundering and tax evasion.
The minister stated in a press conference that the Ministry of Justice referred requests for judicial aid that it received through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Cassation Public Prosecution.
He pointed out that “a few days ago, discussions took place regarding the presence of the European judicial delegation to Lebanon, which some considered an attack on Lebanese sovereignty.”
He said, “Lebanon had ratified the United Nations Convention once morest Corruption and became a party to the first international treaty that sheds light on the issue of money recovery and combating corruption and allocates a wide area and detailed provisions to it.”
He added that “all international judicial cooperation takes place according to rules that do not constitute an infringement of Lebanese judicial sovereignty, and that every departure from these rules, if it occurs, will surely be rejected by the competent judicial authorities.”
He said, “The implementation of the request for judicial cooperation is carried out in accordance with the domestic law, as well as in accordance with the procedures specified in the request, whenever possible, as long as it does not contradict the internal law of the country receiving the request, that is, the Lebanese state.”
He pointed out that “the issue of the presence of foreign judges and investigators to the procedures for the Lebanese judiciary’s implementation of requests for judicial assistance is left to the Lebanese judge’s discretion in accordance with the Lebanese Code of Criminal Procedure.”
Regarding the date of the arrival of the European judicial delegations, he said, “The German delegation has arrived, and the French delegation and the delegation coming from Luxembourg are expected to arrive on January 16, provided that they leave on the 20th of the same month. The investigation will take place in the presence of all members of the delegations, and the arrangements are made in coordination with the Public Prosecution Office.”
The information of the Beirut newspaper, An-Nahar, issued yesterday (Tuesday), stated that members of the European judicial delegations will hear 11 current and former bankers and deputy governors of the Central Bank of Lebanon as witnesses.
It is noteworthy that Lebanon has been witnessing, since 2019, an economic collapse that the World Bank ranked among the worst in the world since the middle of the last century, as the country suffers from political, economic, living and health crises that led to the collapse of the value of the Lebanese pound, an increase in the poverty rate to 82%, an increase in unemployment and a shortage of basic commodities, especially fuel and medicines. and infant formula.
