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Rula Ibrahim
“Solidere will end in 2019,” a sign hung on the wall of the St. George Hotel in Beirut, stating that the Beirut settlement company has served the twenty-five years specified in its establishment decree issued by the Rafik Hariri government. However, to ensure the continuity of Solidere’s work, in 2005 the Fouad Siniora government issued a “preventive” decree that extended the company’s work from 25 to 35 years, that is, until 2029. This happened after the The majority will reject Siniora’s proposal to extend Solidere for 50 years at a time. And because the company went beyond the limits of its work rebuilding and developing downtown Beirut after the civil war, approval was granted in 2007 to operate outside of Lebanon. Governments, parliaments and pacts used to change, but Solidere remained resistant to violating its privileges, despite its seizure of state and citizen property and its impartiality of the reasons for its establishment. These facts were presented in a report issued by the adviser appointed to the Council of State, Judge Rita Karam. Consequently, the judge considered that Decree No. 15909 issued on 12/09/2005, which includes the modification of article 4 of the Solidere Bylaws, should be repealed, considering that this decree is illegal, and the obligation to adhere at the main age of the company, which is supposed to end in 2019. ‘ Karam’s decision was based on a review by the St. Georges hotel owner, Fadi Khoury, as one of those Solidere attacked and tried to seize, as Khoury has been fighting legal battles with the company through lawsuits filed with the State shura. Advice.
The report of the consultant appointed in the first room, Rita Karam, is not a final judgment, but an initial report that requires the issuance of the final final decision on the judgment. Four months have passed since this report, without a final decision issued by the Council of State. What recently emerged is the transfer of the file from the hand of the first chamber, which he himself heads (Karam is one of the advisers), to the Council of Cases (also headed by Elias) made up of the heads of the chambers of the Shura Council. and three advisers elected by the president of the council at the beginning, each judicial year. Decisions are made by vote.
The supporters of the case put several question marks on the neutralization of Judge Karam and the transfer of the file of the first chamber, which is the annulment court, to the council of the case. They speak of the pressure exerted by the president of the company’s board of directors, Nasser Al-Shamma, to prevent the liquidation of Solidere and the return of the right to its owners and public and maritime properties to the state and the people. While the holders of the other opinion confirm that the action of the President of the Council of State is legal, since he has full authority, according to article 44 of the Council system, to refer cases to the Council of Cases at any stage of the trial. . In this case, the House’s hand is removed from the case. Regarding the president of the council, Judge Fadi Elias, in response to Al-Akhbar’s question, said: “The report is not final and must be commented on by both parties, as the process is still long until the issue is issued. final decision. But why was the file from the first chamber transferred to the Council on Cases? “All the files related to the owner of the hotel St. George were referred to the council,” Elias responds, “because the Case Authority (which issues judgments in cases referred to the Council on Cases) is the highest judicial body, not to mention that Fadi Khoury (the owner of “St. George”) himself filed a request to transfer some of his files to the commission. So we’ve all figured it out. ”On the next steps in Solidere’s file, Elias notes that” will appoint a new rapporteur to issue a second report, which will be published with a deadline for comments. “Thus, there are those who fear the” trivia “of the file or its response, as happened in the past, to keep Solidere perched on the chest of the In the first chamber, Judge Karam is one of the judges who would have issued the verdict. Regarding the Case Authority, the voices of the judges affiliated with the forces behind Solidere prevail, who have worked for years s to avoid damage to it. Here, a question revolves around taking the transfer procedure after the consultant’s report decision was issued and not from the outset, and whether the council chairman used his powers to transfer the case to serve the occupants of Beirut. , especially while presiding. about the first court where the decision was rendered and it constitutes a guarantee for the issuance of a fair trial?
Khoury: It is suspicious to transfer all the files to the council at once.
For his part, the owner of the hotel St. Georges Fadi Khoury points out that “he asked the president of the Shura Council to dismiss (dismiss) the two judges Samih Maddah and Talal Baydoun and to transfer the 11 cases that I presented from the second room for the advice of the case without answering ”. Most of what happened were the answers and answers of the interview between the announcer and the second camera with the aim of closing the file. Khoury points out that these two judges issued three sentences against him in favor of Solidere, “and it was logical to request his dismissal. But what is suspicious is the transfer of all the files at once, including the demand to revoke Solidere’s extension, to the Case Authority without informing us, and before the state and the opponent, that is, Solidere, responded ”. Consequently, the Shura Council Spokesperson today has the responsibility of expediting the decision on the claim of nullity of the extension within the legal deadlines, since signs of delay in the deadlines and the ‘promulgation’ of the proceedings.
