Follow -up sources said that “Nassar tried to persuade those present that the aim of circulating is to protect Lebanon from its inclusion on the black list and prevent money laundering operations, and that the task of the notary is limited to preventing any person who included his name on the penalties from conducting transactions of a financial nature, such as buying and selling, and checking the source of the funds,” stressing that “the goal of generalization is to prevent money laundering and not political targeting.”
However, legal bodies explained to Al -Akhbar in response to the justifications of the Minister of Justice, that the latter has the right to issue organizational circulars to regulate the progress of work within his ministry, “but this authority is not absolute,” stressing that “the circular may not add conditions or restrictions that are not stipulated in the law, otherwise it becomes a regulatory decision to appeal before the State Shura Council.” She added that «justice writers are under the supervision of the ministry, but they are not employees, and any decision affecting the organization of their profession must be discussed with the Justice Writers Council to avoid disputes. Therefore, the circular must balance the commitment to international standards and the protection of constitutional rights, especially the freedom of possession and the right to defense.
Moreover, it is true that Law 44/2015 related to combating money laundering and terrorist financing is imposed on many professional groups – including justice writers – to ensure the identity of customers and report suspicious operations, but it does not stipulate the deprivation of persons included in external penalties of their right to contract or transfer ownership unless local judicial rulings are issued against them. Consequently, the requirement for generalization refraining from regulating transactions may be a transgression of the text of the law.
Likewise, Article 6 of the law is not banking parties, including justice writers, to take due care measures and verify the identity of the owners of the economic right when conducting transactions that exceed a certain amount, but they do not turn them into criminal investigation devices. This means that the generalization went beyond the text of the law in compulsion and verification.
If the Minister of Justice claims is correct, then “it is better for the order to be issued by a law from the House of Representatives so that the constitutional bond is available.” Note that the text of the circular “came comprehensive in terms of transactions and agencies and was not limited to financial transactions only”, and the term “financial transactions” includes all types of transactions without limitation. Moreover, the arrangements for the frozen people whose origins must be emptied of shares, shares, or the management of some companies, while the generalization of the Minister of Justice implicitly prevents them. Consequently, the circular transforms the penalties from the mere freezing of banking assets and accounts to the execution of the legal eligibility of the persons concerned, and deprives them of any right to review.
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