Is criminal justice in Lebanon under the prosecutor general’s full authority?

The 163 articles of the law organizing the judiciary, passed on July 31, include a provision that has been particularly controversial in legal circles. Article 42 has sparked strong outrage, especially by the Coalition for Judicial Independence — a group of NGOs that submitted in 2018 to Parliament a draft law to protect the judiciary from political interference.According to the adopted law, the top prosecutor now has the authority to order the suspension of proceedings in a case under review. “In addition to circulars and directives, the Cassation’s Prosecutor General may issue individual directives to initiate and conduct public prosecutions, including dropping proceedings in cases under review, through the hierarchical superior of any member of the public prosecutor’s office,” the article said.However, under the current law — the law...