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Caretaker justice minister: Decision to postpone daylight savings time is 'illegal'

Caretaker justice minister: Decision to postpone daylight savings time is 'illegal'

Caretaker Justice Minister Henri Khoury. (Credit: NNA)

BEIRUT — The decision to postpone daylight savings time in Lebanon for a month is illegal, caretaker Justice Minister Henri Khoury said in a statement Saturday evening.

“This decision is contrary to the cabinet decision issued on Aug. 20, 1998, and is therefore issued by an invalid authority and is illegal,” the statement explained.

The decision to postpone daylight savings time in Lebanon took many by surprise and was adopted almost unilaterally following a discussion between caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

The Grand Serail announced Thursday that the change to daylight savings time, scheduled for midnight March 25/26, has been postponed until the end of April.

“This decision caused confusion in the Lebanese society, and caused disturbances and divisions at the level of the supreme religious references and the private media and educational institutions, all of which declared openly that they would not abide by the decision, and it also violated the global time in force for decades, which will cause many problems for all Lebanese companies and huge financial burdens,” Khoury's statement said.

Khoury concluded the statement by calling on the “caretaker prime minister to reverse this decision in order to avoid the catastrophic risks that may result from it.”

Former Minister Michel Pharaon also tweeted on Sunday that "the [daylight savings] hour is not sectarian, but global. Lebanon cannot be separated from its history and surroundings”  

Several media outlets, archdioceses and schools said Saturday that they will not abide by the decision to postpone by one month the transition to daylight savings time. Some media outlets said in a statement that they decided to go ahead with the time change "to protest the decision of the [caretaker] prime minister."

Some view Mikati's decision as confessional, saying that it was made in view of the impact it would have on the country's Muslim population during the month of Ramadan when many members of the faith fast from sunrise to sunset.


BEIRUT — The decision to postpone daylight savings time in Lebanon for a month is illegal, caretaker Justice Minister Henri Khoury said in a statement Saturday evening.“This decision is contrary to the cabinet decision issued on Aug. 20, 1998, and is therefore issued by an invalid authority and is illegal,” the statement explained. The decision to postpone daylight savings time in Lebanon...