Omar al-Rassi, “Akhbar al-Yawm” agency

The situation is getting worse, no aid, no assistance, indifference is the answer

The absence of the state extends to all its sectors, and it has reached the judiciary, and the "judiciary" has been almost paralyzed since mid-August, when 400 out of 560 judges announced their suspension from work in implementation of the open strike, after "they reached a stage that is no longer acceptable to remain silent, as a result of poor working conditions and the low value of salaries due to the dramatic collapse of the national currency against the dollar".

In this context, one of the judges reports, via the agency "Akhbar al-Yawm", that the latest statistics indicate that 83% of the civil, criminal and financial courts are permanently suspended, while only 11% of judges go to the courts to address the conditions of detainees, enforcement departments and urgent matters in order to manage people's Affairs and address their problems.

It is known in this context that "slow justice equals no justice", and therefore what will be the fate of the courts during the period of political and institutional vacuum, and the files that have been outstanding for years?

Judicial sources explained, via "Akhbar al-Yawm" that the situation of judges is getting worse with the continuous deterioration of the value of the national currency, pointing out that there are no educational and medical assistance.

The sources pointed out that the problem of judges' transportation has become a dilemma for them, especially after the price of a can of gasoline exceeded 800 thousand, as it turned out that the place of residence of a significant number of judges is very far from their place of work, which prompted them to stop going to the courts, saying: the distance between the workplace and residence is being noticed by all judicial authorities in the countries of the world, but in Lebanon it is adopted as a punitive measure.

In response to a question, the sources considered that the demands of the judges were not dealt with with the required seriousness, two meetings were held between the judges and the Supreme Council and their problems were listened to, but no positive action was taken in terms of raising salaries and increasing assistance, while the Judicial Council does not interfere in the financial affairs of judges!

About the continuous call on judges by the bar associations in Beirut and the north, to activate the work and speed up the trials, the same judicial sources answered: we call on lawyers to go to the relevant ministers and the prime minister to address the problem and not deal with it indifferently.

The sources said: the judiciary is one of the most important public facilities in the country, and it is its pillar, noting that the independence of the judiciary is one of the most important demands of the international community, the International Monetary Fund and the embassies concerned with the Lebanese file.

In front of this painful reality, who is watching over the proper functioning of the judicial work? the sources only said: for a long time, appointments and formations have always been "related to political control".