Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji, along with Ministers Joseph Saddy, Joe Issa El Khoury, and Kamal Shehadeh submitted a legal memorandum to the Council of Ministers of Lebanon, signed on Wednesday ahead of the Cabinet meeting, calling for immediate action to restore state authority and hold accountable those responsible for involving the country in armed conflicts outside constitutional legitimacy.
The document, described as a legal and constitutional notice rather than a political position, accuses an organized group operating outside state institutions of unilaterally making decisions of war and peace, violating Lebanon’s constitution, and infringing upon the government’s exclusive control over armed force.
Constituional and legal violations
The document grounds its arguments in specific provisions of Lebanese law. It cites Articles 7, 65, and 67 of the Lebanese Constitution, which enshrine equality before the law, the Cabinet’s authority over war and peace decisions, and government accountability.
The document also cites the principles of the Taif Agreement, which reaffirm the State’s monopoly over arms.
It further references provisions of the penal code that criminalize armed rebellion and actions undermining state security and obliges prosecutors to initiate legal action when such offenses occur.
The signatories demand the judiciary, particularly the public prosecution, to initiate immediate criminal proceedings against individuals accused of incitement, threats, or rebellion against state authority. The memorandum explicitly references figures within Hezbollah accused of making statements that undermine state sovereignty.
International Law and UN Resolutions
Beyond domestic law, the memorandum invokes international legal frameworks, including the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which provides grounds for international prosecution and the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1559, which calls for the disarmament of all non-state armed groups in Lebanon.
The text also suggests that Lebanon could seek international assistance under Chapter VII of the UN Charter if it is unable to enforce its authority independently.
Call for Disarmament and International Support
Among its demands, the memorandum calls for the immediate enforcement of the state’s monopoly on weapons, urging the government to implement all relevant domestic and international resolutions without delay.
It also suggests that should the Lebanese Armed Forces lack the capacity to achieve this objective alone, the government should consider requesting international assistance under Chapter VII of the UN Charter.
The memorandum outlines several additional legal and institutional measures, including the expansion of army deployment to reassert full territorial control, emergency economic measures to support affected sectors without penalizing victims, and a ban on unjustified public borrowing to finance the consequences of unlawful actions.
In a concluding warning, the document stresses that any failure by the Cabinet to act would amount to complicity in constitutional violations and could expose ministers themselves to legal accountability, both domestically and internationally.
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