Will the Lebanese state — with its executive as well as legislative power — be declared ineligible to manage public funds and unfit to collect or even spend even as little as a penny to add to its revenue and settle its obligations? Will the Lebanese wake up one day to discover that they have a judicial guardian of their state finances? The question is not purely theoretical, and it is about a lawsuit being filed, which is the first of its kind in Lebanon and perhaps in the world.
On Sept. 10, six Lebanese nationals filed a lawsuit against the government with the Shura Council of the Lebanese state, i.e., the administrative court, which is authorized to resolve any legal problem between any citizen and any governmental entity. The six plaintiffs are known. They hold or have held official responsibilities: Hussein al-Husseini, former head of parliament, Elias Saba and Charbel Nahas, two former ministers, Ghassan Moukheiber, current MP, Najah Wakim, former MP, and Ghada Yafi, professor at the Lebanese University and daughter of former Prime Minister of Lebanon Abdallah Yafi. The plaintiffs based their claims on the Lebanese constitution and laws, which provide for two basic points.
