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Sergio Engravalli – Germany
By studying the legal structure of the Lebanese state, which was established during the time of the French Mandate, as well as the various amendments that were introduced to it, it is clear to us that Lebanon is now a civil state, and this in no way contradicts the existence of a set of legal provisions dealing with sectarian affairs, if through personal status. Or ensuring the participation of sects in state institutions. Sects do not exist except through state recognition of them, which occurred in stages, the most prominent being the High Commissioner’s Decision No. 60 / LR. The date of March 13, 1936, which recognized the so-called “historical sects” and demanded in its fourth article “to submit to the examination of governmental authority, a system extracted from the texts under which the sect is managed”. While the fifth article of the same decision stipulated the following: “This system is ratified by a legislative decision that makes it enforceable and includes the recognition of the sect, in accordance with the provisions of article 1 of this decision, provided that it does not include a text contrary to public safety, morals, state constitutions and sects, or the provisions of this decision ”. The sectarian norms on personal status do not become applicable once they are approved by the religious authorities, but need legislative approval, that is, approved by the parliament in accordance with a law. The sectarian legislative content acquires legal force, only with the approval of the House of Representatives, which formally preserves the exclusivity of its legislative authority.
As a consequence of the foregoing, it is clear to us that the “historical sects” are official institutions attached to public law, to which the law has granted powers to exercise them exclusively in the field of personal status. Its authority comes from state recognition. This is evident in Resolution 60 / LR. Who recognizes the existence of Lebanese who do not belong to historical sects (Article 10), while Article 11 establishes that “whoever reaches the age of majority and enjoys their mental strengths, can leave or become a sect with a recognized personal system … ”. The rights of the sects do not override the rights of individuals who enjoy complete freedom in their relationship with these sects. This also appears clearly and unequivocally in the preparatory memorandum for Resolution 60 / LR. Established by the General Inspector of Endowments Philippe Genardi in 1934, since it seems that the objective of the decision is to regulate the affairs of the sects without compromising the freedom of individuals, affirming the supremacy of the civil authority (supématie du pouvoir civil) over the sects.
In addition, it is up to Parliament to modify the list of recognized denominations, as happened with Law No. 553 of July 24, 1996, which incorporated the Coptic Orthodox Church to the list of recognized denominations according to Decision No. 60 / LR. Sects, regardless of their religious beliefs, are social groups that arose in specific historical circumstances, which means that they are subject to the historical process in which the number of their followers increases or decreases, or until the existing relationships between their members are they develop as a result of certain circumstances and become more cohesive, or on the contrary, they dissolve completely to the point of decaying with it. Sect and disappears as a social fact. Therefore, it is up to the State to adjust its relationship with the sects according to the evolution of the reality of society, and this explains why the Lebanese legal system recognizes the right of the State to recognize the sects and regulate their affairs, is In other words, the State is civil by nature because it does not adopt the beliefs of this or that sect, and does not intend to impose morality. The religious beliefs that this or that group says about the fact that religious beliefs and morals have their origin in heavenly laws, while the state in Lebanon considers sects merely historical and social entities, and does not care in absolute the teachings of these sects in terms of their view of existence, the nature of God, reward and punishment, etc. Various religious beliefs.
The supremacy of the state is also evident in the sects, with the requirement of Resolution 60 LR In its fifth article, as we have said, the regulations of the sects do not conflict with public safety and the state constitution. The Lebanese state accepts the existence of sects as a social reality that must be addressed, because the objective of any state is to create a legal framework that guarantees people the exercise of their basic rights, either by sanctifying the sectarian affiliation of citizens or recognizing the existence of individuals who do not belong to historical sects, but prefer by decision. It is personal and free not to declare your religious beliefs and directly regulate your relationship with the State, without going through the sectarian channel.
The Lebanese constitution enshrined the nature of the civil state, declaring in paragraph D of its introduction that the people are the sovereign and the source of the authorities, which means that the state derives its legitimacy from the people and not from any metaphysical doctrine, which means that the authorities in Lebanon are temporary and their legislation is positivist. . The Lebanese legal system does not recognize the existence of a single legislative authority embodied in the House of Representatives, and the existence of sectarian personal statutes in no way contradicts civil status, since sectarian legislation is not imposed on the basis of religious legitimacy transcendent, but is effective only because the state through its constitution and laws allow it. Exist. In fact, without going into details, the House of Representatives has more than once amended the regulations on the personal status of the sects, confirming the permanent supremacy of the state over the sects.
The sovereignty of the people is also evident in article 9 of the constitution, which states that freedom of belief is absolute, which means that the citizen in Lebanon is free to belong to a certain sect or to reject this affiliation regardless of the truth of their faith. Freedom of belief also includes the freedom to declare this belief, since the individual may be a believer in some religious belief, but refuses to classify himself within a sect as a social historical group and is content to practice his faith in his personal life. .
This quick narrative demonstrates unequivocally that the state in Lebanon is now civil, and the existence of specific constitutional provisions for sects that in no way deprive them of their civilization. Realizing the civilization of the current state automatically leads to the dismantling of the discourse promoted by the political system, which affirms that the total collapse that Lebanon is experiencing is due to political sectarianism, and that the desired solution is the civil state, since this Ideological approach seeks to divert attention from the dominant system of leaders. In reality, in Lebanon, which prevents the Lebanese state from practicing its full civilization by justifying corruption, clientelism and quotas with the needs of political sectarianism, while the truth is that the political system that dominates Lebanon is simply a balance of authoritarian terror among leaders demanding civil status while effectively chaining and destroying it.
* college professor
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