Mount Lebanon Prosecutor Judge Ghada Aoun, who was under disciplinary action, has officially resigned and confirmed in a call to the National Information Agency (NNA) that “the judicial formations were unfair in their right and against many other judges.”
Judge Aoun explained that the judicial forms were unfair to her and unfair to many other judges. She described the judicial forms as “retaliatory” and revengeful.
“We are awaiting a correction of this imbalance in the standards and evaluation by the Minister of Justice Marie Claude Najem as well as the Supreme Judicial Council,” she pointed out.
تداولت ورئيس مجلس القضاء الأعلى في مستجدات قضية القاضية غادة عون،
المسألة هي قضائية داخلية، وهي قيد المعالجة من قبل مجلس القضاء الأعلى لما فيه مصلحة القضاء.
أهيب بالجميع أخذ هذا الأمر بعين الاعتبار.#غادة_عون— Albert A. Serhan (@AlbertSerhan) October 30, 2019
According to NNA, Judge Aoun has also confirmed that she put her resignation at the disposal of the Lebanese President Michel Aoun, adding that she was “overthrown because of her decisions to combat corruption.”
The resignation of Mount Lebanon Prosecutor comes amid public demands of separating the judicial system from politics, i.e. for politicians to refrain from assigning judges, making it almost impossible to hold any politician accountable legally.
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Hassan Diab confirmed on Saturday, March 8th, that the new government has begun preparing a national anti-corruption strategy to legally prosecute the corrupted.
“Soon, the relevant committee will see the light,” Diab added, “it will be equipped with the powers and independence necessary to carry out its tasks.”
He proceeded to say; “since transparency is the best way to combat corruption, this government has advanced, just three weeks after gaining confidence, a draft law aimed at lifting bank secrecy from everyone who takes over and handles public affairs.”
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Even though the new government has made notable promises for Lebanon and the Lebanese community, the promises remain ink on paper for the Lebanese who have yet to observe a change.
Even though Diab also mentioned banks in his speech, he did not hold them responsible for the crisis as he believes political leaders pose a great contribution to the problem.
Diab’s approach to the banking sector was limited in terms of “shifting from its primary role as an influencer and financier in the economic cycle to a broker juggling more than one thing at the same time.”
Diab attributed the shift to the “economic model established by previous policies”, without specifying who was responsible for the economic model or giving out any legal procedures for the matter.