The Ministry of Justice of Lebanon () is a ministry of the Lebanese government responsible for the administration and organization of the judiciary, oversight of the application of laws, preparation of draft legislation, and representation of the Lebanese state before courts. Its institutional origins date back to the establishment of Greater Lebanon under the French Mandate in 1920, and its current structure is governed primarily by Legislative Decree No. 151 of 1983, which remains in force.
Following the proclamation of the State of Greater Lebanon by Henri Gouraud the French High Commissioner on 31 August 1920, the administrative framework of the new state was defined by Decision No. 336 of 1 September 1920. This decision established seven central state departments, including the "Department of Justice, Properties, and Endowments", which constituted the precursor of the Ministry of Justice. In October 1920, the department was renamed the Directorate of Justice by a decision issued by then-Governor of Greater Lebanon, Major Albert Trabaud. The directorate was tasked with administering judicial institutions, supervising the enforcement of laws and judicial regulations, and coordinating with French legal advisers. Charles Debbas was appointed as the first Director of Justice on 1 September 1920. The institutional designation underwent several changes during the French Mandate: In December 1920, it became known as the Judicial Service, and in 1924, it was renamed the Directorate of Justice Affairs, and its head assumed the title of Supervisor of Justice. In 1922, a Consultative Legislative Committee was established within the judicial administration to review draft laws and regulations. The committee included senior judicial figures and legal academics from the French Law School in Beirut; its composition was revised in 1923 to include appointed legal professionals and academic representatives.
Following the promulgation of the Lebanese Constitution on 23 May 1926, Decree No. 5 of 31 May 1926 formally organized the ministries of the Lebanese Republic. The Ministry of Justice was listed as the first of seven ministries and was entrusted with organizing and administering the judiciary, supervising the application of laws and judicial regulations, and proposing decrees related to pardons or sentence modifications. The decree also placed the Council of State and religious courts under the ministryâÂÂs authority, reflecting LebanonâÂÂs system of legal pluralism in which state courts operate alongside sect-based personal status jurisdictions. In 1932, after the suspension of the Constitution, executive authority was exercised by a "Council of Directors", and the ministry reverted temporarily to the designation of Directorate of Justice.
A legislative Decree issued on 22 November 1939 abolished the Directorate of Justice and transferred judicial departments to the Ministry of Interior. This arrangement was reversed in December 1941 with the formation of a new government. The first comprehensive organization of the ministryâÂÂs central administration was enacted on 6 March 1944. A subsequent reorganization occurred in 1953, which expanded the ministryâÂÂs competencies and created a forensic medicine service. A legislative issued on 5 January 1955 reaffirmed this structure as a cabinet-approved regulatory decree. In 1959, the official designation was standardized as the Ministry of Justice by Legislative Decree No. 111 of 12 June 1959. That same year, responsibility for publishing the Official Gazette was transferred from the ministry to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers.
Following the end of the Lebanese Civil War and the implementation of the Taif Agreement, Lebanon experienced an extended period of Syrian political and military presence that lasted until 2005. During this period, the Ministry of Justice and the wider judicial system operated within a political environment characterized by significant external influence over state institutions, including judicial appointments and prosecutorial authority. During the Syrian occupation period, the judiciary, including appointments via the Ministry, faced significant political interference, with key figures like Prosecutor General Adnan Addoum reporting to Syrian intelligence.
In 1964, a decree provided for the establishment of a Prisons Administration within the Ministry of Justice, transferring oversight from the Ministry of Interior. Despite its inclusion in later regulatory texts, provisions were not fully implemented, and prisons have remained administratively attached to the Ministry of Interior. The ministryâÂÂs present structure and mandate are governed by Legislative Decree No. 151 of 16 September 1983, which repealed prior organizational regulations. Under this decree, the Ministry of Justice is responsible for managing judicial affairs, ensuring proper application of laws and regulations, drafting legislation, providing legal opinions, representing the state before courts, and supervising matters related to detainees, juvenile offenders, notaries, experts, bankruptcy trustees, and court-appointed administrators. Through its oversight of judicial institutions, the Ministry is indirectly involved in the regulation of personal status matters, such as marriage, divorce, and inheritance, which are administered through religious courts but intersect with state legal frameworks.
On 13 July 2002, the Department for Minors was established as part of broader juvenile justice reforms, with the aim of improving detention conditions and the treatment of minors. The ministry comprises a General Directorate overseeing judicial and administrative courts, including bodies responsible for legislation and consultations, state litigation, judicial training, judicial and administrative personnel affairs, forensic medicine and criminal evidence, juvenile rehabilitation, and prison-related affairs.
Research on the archives of LebanonâÂÂs Court of Cassation has shown that judicial records are preserved across multiple administrative sites and have been subject to damage, dispersal, and later efforts at reorganization, reflecting the material challenges of maintaining legal continuity in the aftermath of conflict.
The following is a list of Heads of justice administration in Lebanon: