JUVENILE JUSTICE INITIATIVES IN LEBANON
        by Alex Schmid* and Ralph Riachy**
           Abstract
           Outlining the five major phases in the field of juvenile justice in Lebanese
           legislation since 1943, the present article reviews the process of reform of the
           juvenile justice system in Lebanon, which has been supported by the United
           Nations Office on Drugs and Crime since 1999. The phenomenon of juvenile
           delinquency was previously poorly understood by the authorities, as shown by
           the measures of imprisonment, the length of preventive detention and the
           generally coercive regime in prisons. The main focus of the reform was on
           ensuring better conditions of detention and treatment of young offenders,
           attempting to prevent delinquency, ensuring educational assistance to young
           people in danger and protecting young victims. In order to achieve those aims,
           a Department for Minors has been set up in the Ministry of Justice. The Lebanese
           reform has to be seen as a small but significant step in the evolution of justice
           for juvenile offenders. A second project by the United Nations Office on Drugs
           and Crime will support the continuing process of reform.
        INTRODUCTION
        A country of 18 communities grouped into two large religious entities,
        Christian and Muslim, each one enjoying legislative and judiciary autonomy
        in the matter of personal status, Lebanon is an ethnic and cultural mosaic.
        In that context, the necessary reform of an outdated and ill-adapted system
        of justice for juvenile offenders proved to be a difficult but nevertheless
        achievable task. The present article provides a review of the reform process
        and, by implication, a number of lessons that can be learned from it. 
        Lebanese legislation in the field of justice for juvenile offenders has been
        marked by many phases; the five described below are perhaps the most
        important. 
          *Head of Project, Centre for International Crime Prevention, United Nations Office on Drugs
       and Crime, Beirut.
          **President, Criminal Chamber, Court of Cassation, Beirut.
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         The Missed Step: the Penal Code of 1943 
         Compared with contemporary legislation on the subject, this phase, the
         Penal Code of 1943, given in particular the time period when it was imple-
         mented in Lebanon, was relatively advanced. It was characterized by pro-
         vision for rehabilitation and reintegration measures and by the fact that
         judges were allowed to intervene in the course of application of those
         measures so as to modify or repeal them according to the interests of the
         minors concerned. In addition, a specialized jurisdiction for juvenile
         offenders was advocated and all coercive sentences were abolished. In
         reality, however, although the mechanisms provided for were perfect, the
         system lacked the ability to give them practical effect. Given the absence
         of specialized institutions, the lack of training and specialization of judges
         in the field, and the shortages as regards the necessary auxiliary personnel,
         the system could not achieve its objectives. 
         The Fall: the years 1948-1983 
         The return to a more rigid prison system became a reality with the aban-
         donment of the innovative principles of the 1943 law and the development
         of a coercive regime based largely on sentences to be carried out in a secure
         environment. The rehabilitation measures so important in the 1943 Penal
         Code were no longer considered essential. In the context of a renewed out-
         break of criminality driven by habitual offenders, rehabilitation measures
         were no longer felt to be necessary or appropriate. 
         The Rise: Article No. 119 of 16 September 1983 
         Article No. 119 of 16 September 1983 once again took up certain princi-
         ples of the 1943 Penal Code, in particular those relating to rehabilitation,
         but without relinquishing the idea of sentences in a closed environment
         applying to juvenile offenders between the ages of 15 and 18.
         Article No. 119 was chiefly characterized by the adoption of a legislative
         system for juvenile offenders that was no longer an integral part of the
         Penal Code. Although it did not return to the concept of specialized juris-
         dictions, the Article instituted the social worker as adviser to the judge in
         determining the sentence to be imposed. The most important provision of
         the Article was thus to introduce into the judicial function a role previ-
         ously reserved for the social field.
      Juvenile Justice Initiatives in Lebanon   107
      Article No. 119 not only lacked a precise definition of rehabilitation
      measures, however, but details as to their content and the practical mecha-
      nics of their application were also not provided for. The protection of young
      people in danger was the subject of only one article, which proved to be
      confusing and difficult to apply. As a result, a reform of the system was
      warranted. 
      The Return: Law No. 422 of 6 July 2002 
      Established by the legislator with the assistance of national and interna-
      tional experts, Law No. 422 of 6 July 2002 was intended to respond to
      the imminent need for reform of the system.
      The civil war from 1975 to 1990 had weakened critical economic, social
      and family structures. Lebanon was not in a position to confront the result-
      ing escalation in juvenile delinquency without restructuring its legislative
      and institutional system in the area of juvenile justice.
      As has already been stated, although earlier legislation provided for rehabi-
      litation and reintegration measures, they were rarely applied; indeed, some
      were simply impossible to implement owing to the vagueness of their
      content. Furthermore, the absence of specialization among justice pro-
      fessionals, social workers and educators, as well as the lack of appropriate
      institutions aimed at reintegration, were key obstacles to taking up the
      challenge posed by juvenile delinquency. 
      Overall, the phenomenon and the implications of juvenile delinquency were
      poorly understood by the authorities responsible for the affairs of minors.
      Among other factors, this explains the popularity of imprisonment com-
      pared with educational and reintegration measures. Longer periods of pre-
      ventive detention led to prison overpopulation in inappropriate facilities
      under the supervision of prison personnel with a lack of adequate training.
      In addition, the concept of protection of the young person in moral and
      physical danger was absent from judicial decisions.
      The inadequacy of the system and Lebanon’s ratification of the Convention
      on the Rights of the Child (General Assembly resolution 44/25, annex)
      made restructuring imperative. In response to a request from the national
      authorities, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime supported a
      concerted reform effort under a technical assistance project carried out
      from January 1999 to June 2002. 
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         A review of juvenile delinquency in Lebanon
         Key to the reform process was a detailed assessment of the position of
         juveniles in the Lebanese justice system. A thorough reading and analysis
         of the decisions of the courts between 1998 and 2000 shed light on the
         nature and spread of juvenile delinquency. One of the major results of this
         work was the growth in the number of minors presumed delinquent, taking
         into account the number of committed crimes reported by the judicial
         police and the number of dossiers reviewed annually by the courts. The
         results clearly indicated that the phenomenon remained essentially one of
         low-level delinquency and not of serious crime. Three quarters of the
         crimes reviewed were in fact less serious or petty offences.
         Profile of the young people concerned
         The data on delinquency reflect the image of the boy or young man as
         criminal offender. That situation is reinforced by a certain indulgence on
         the part of magistrates with regard to delinquent girls, given that there is
         an absence of centres of detention especially for girls, who are currently
         detained in prisons for women, as well as a sociocultural context that
         inhibits all disclosures that could affect family honour.
         The average age of minors at the time of breaking the law was found to
         be mainly between 15 and 18. Nevertheless, there is an emerging tendency
         for younger offenders, in particular offenders between the ages of 12 and
         15, to come into conflict with the law. This is illustrated in figure I below.
         As regards the nationality of the offenders, children of Lebanese nationality
         represented the majority (60 per cent), followed by children of Syrian
         origin (20 per cent). A smaller proportion of the children (8 per cent)
         were of Palestinian origin.
         At the time of committing the crime, the majority of minors had interrupted
         their schooling and found themselves already in the world of work. That
         situation explained the high level of illiteracy, the lack of any professional
         qualifications among young offenders and the fact that offenders were
         employed in activities producing irregular or unstable incomes. 
         Nature of the crimes committed by minors
         Delinquency appears above all to be directed against property, often as a
         means of survival. The crime most frequently committed by minors is theft.