The President of the Beirut Bar Association by virtue of article 117 of the Internal Regulations nominates hereby the “Committee for defending public freedom and Human Rights” for the year 2016 as follow:

 Lawyers Members:

Beirut on 8/2/2016

Antonio El Hachem
The Bar President

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By-laws of the Public Freedoms and Human Rights Defense Committee

Chapter 1
Definition and Name- Mandate- Structure

Article 1: Definition and Name

As per Article 117 of the Beirut Bar Association’s by-laws, the President of the Bar establishes a specialized committee, known as the “Public Freedoms and Human Rights Defense Committee”.

Article 2: Mandate

a- The Public Freedoms and Human Rights Defense Committee assists the Council of the Bar in defending the principles, freedoms and rights stipulated in the Lebanese Constitution, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and in the international treaties and conventions complementing them, as well as the laws in accordance with them and the conventions the Bar has concluded and concludes. The committee is also in charge of publishing and disseminating them, as well as reinforcing their principles in all fields and rights with no exception, in text and in practice.

b- The committee seeks to reach its objectives under the supervision of the President of the Bar. It shall cooperate with national, Arab and international organizations and bodies working in the field of defending public freedoms and human rights.

Article 3: Structure

a- The Public Freedoms and Human Rights Defense Committee is composed of the General Body that includes all committee members, among whom are the chairman, the deputy-chairman and the Rapporteur. Under the General Body is a committee, known as the Bureau of the Committee and other committees, known as “subcommittees”.

b- The procedures of appointment, obligations, powers and the establishment of these bodies, individuals and their obligations are elaborated in the following articles of these by-laws.

Chapter 2
General Body

Article 4: Appointment and exemption of members

a- The General Body is composed of 15 to 30 members appointed by the President of the Bar for one year. The members are among the lawyers registered on the General Roll at the Beirut Bar Association. The chairman, deputy chairman and the Rapporteur are selected from these members. Appointment in the committee is renewable for similar successive terms. In all cases, the committee continues to perform all of its duties even if its term ends until the President of the Bar appoints the members of the successive committee.

b- The President of the Bar is entitled to exempt a member from his membership in the committee in case of his absence from three successive General Body meetings without an excuse, or if any of the members carries out an action that violates or contradicts with the committee’s duties after listening to the concerned member.

c- The President of the Bar may exempt the entire members from their duties before the one year is over, and this shall be as per a justified decision.

Article 5: Powers

The General Body enjoys the maximum powers to take all the recommendations, measures and proposals in order to achieve the objectives of the committee. The General Body monitors and supervises the actions of the individuals and the bodies forming the committee.

Article 6: Meetings

a- The General Body convenes periodically once every month at its headquarters in the Beirut Bar Association on a date that it sets during the first meeting it holds after its appointment.

b- The General Body holds extraordinary meetings when deemed necessary, upon a call by the President of the Bar or the chairman of the body, or upon a written request by five members of the General Body which they submit to the chairman. Then, the latter would be bound to convene a meeting as soon as possible according to the requested agenda.

c- The General Body’s sessions convene, discussions take place and decisions are voted on in the presence of at least absolute majority of the members.

d- Any member from the Council of the Bar is entitled to attend the meetings and participate in the discussion.

Article 7: Agenda

a-  The President of the Bar, as well as the chairman of the General Body, are entitled to enlist on the agenda any topic, whether upon the initiative of each, or the Bureau of the Committee, or upon  a written request by five members. The agenda, along with any documents if found, shall be notified to the members of the General Body at least one week before the date of the meeting.

b- Items may be added to the agenda during the meeting in case of urgent matters and other issues as per a decision by the President of the Bar or the General Body by the absolute majority of the members forming it.

Article 8: Order of sessions

a- After the committee chairman opens the session and before discussing items on the agenda, the Rapporteur reads out the minutes of the previous session. The minutes is then endorsed by the General Body after the correction acknowledged by the chairman, either automatically or upon the request of one of the members.

b- Recommendations and measures are taken by the majority of the attendees unless mentioned otherwise by these by-laws. In case of a vote tie, the vote of the chairman acts as a tie breaker. Voting takes place by raising the hand unless the General Body decides on secret ballot.

c- Every violating member has the right to request the registration of his/her violation and the reasons behind it in the minutes. He/she is also entitled to submit a written memorandum in this regard to annex it to the minutes.

Article 9: Procedures of deliberating committee’s proposals

a- When discussing any draft legal text or a document or any proposal issued by one of the subcommittees (draft), the draft shall be read along with its obligating motives and the report prepared by the subcommittee concerned.

b- The members of the subcommittee submitting the draft designate a colleague to explain the draft, the obligating motives and the report and to answer the questions. Each member of this subcommittee is entitled to take part in the discussions to give explanations and answer the questions. 

c- After the discussion is over, the General Body reads the draft clause by clause to vote on it, unless there is a proposal to reject the draft. Then, deliberations take place on the proposal. If the proposal is accepted, the draft shall be deemed rejected.

Chapter 3
Chairman- Deputy Chairman- Rapporteur

Article 10: Chairman

He/she chairs and runs the sessions according to the agenda. He/she runs the discussions and announces the recommendations and measures issued by the General Body during the session. He/she represents the committee before the President of the Bar, the Council of the Bar and other bodies. He/she exercises different duties, namely those stipulated in these by-laws.
If this post is vacant for any reason, the deputy chairman undertakes the chairman’s duties until a chairman is appointed by the President of the Bar.

Article 11: Deputy Chairman

The deputy chairman performs the committee’s chairman’s duties in case of the latter’s absence for any reason and the missions entrusted to him/her by the chairman when necessary.

Article 12: Rapporteur

The committee’s Rapporteur undertakes secretariat duties during the ordinary and extraordinary sessions of the General Body. He/she supervises the elaboration of reports and minutes and makes sure they are sent along with the agendas to the members. He/she coordinates between the chairman of the committee, the General Body and the subcommittees. He/she receives from the members and others proposals, memoranda and written complaints and submits them to the chairman, apparatuses and the concerned bodies in the committee. The Rapporteur also performs the duties of the committee’s chairman in case of the absence of the chairman and the deputy chairman, as well as the duties entrusted to him/her by the chairman when necessary. 

Chapter 4
Bureau of the committee

Article 13: Bureau of the Committee

a- The Bureau of the Committee is composed of the chairman, the deputy chairman, the Rapporteur and two members elected by the General Body during its first meeting.

b- Taking into account Article 17 below and without tampering with it, the Bureau of the Committee is in charge of following up on the implementation of the General Body decisions, running and following the judicial defense in cases related to the committee.

c- In very urgent cases where the Bureau of the Committee can not convene, any of its members can perform what is necessary after the approval of the President of the Bar, provided that he/she advise the Bureau of the Committee later on what measures were taken in the following meeting.

Chapter 5
Subcommittees

Article 14: Establishment of subcommittees

The subcommittees are established by virtue of a decision made by the General Body that defines their name, duties, number of members and their chairman who should be among the members of the General Body. 

Article 15: Membership

a- Membership in the subcommittees is open before members of the General Body.

b- Every member in the General Body is entitled to attend the meetings of the subcommittee, even if he/she is not an appointed member in it. He/she may contribute to its actions, just like its members.

Article 16: Deliberations

a- The subcommittee convenes upon a call by the chairman of the General Body or the Rapporteur or the chairman of the subcommittee or its Rapporteur. The subcommittee selects its Rapporteur from its members during its first session.

b- By analogy, the subcommittee adopts in its meetings all the procedures enforced with respect to the General Body, which are mentioned in these by-laws.

c- The subcommittee may seek the assistance of any lawyer and expert. It may also request from the chairman of the General Body to provide it with the references, documents and information which it sees necessary. 

d- The subcommittee periodically submits a report to the General Body. It also submits its proposals to this body to be endorsed as drafts, which should include their obligating motives and a briefing of the different opinions. Moreover, they should be included with a copy of the studies, memoranda, complaints and papers which were discussed. 

Chapter 6
Committee’s relation with the Bar

Article 17: Procedures of Supervision by President of the Bar

a- The Public Freedoms and Human Rights Defense Committee works within its competencies under the supervision of the President of the Bar according to the following procedures.

b- The chairman of the Public Freedoms and Human Rights Defense Committee advises the President of the Bar about the agenda of the General Body meeting, including the same deadlines and the conditions applied to the members in these by-laws, except for urgent matters.

c- All proposals and recommendations shall be submitted in writing to the President of the Bar following their issuance. If he does not object and one week has passed on their submission, they are considered as approved.

d- If the President of the Bar objects, they shall be reexamined in the committee in the presence of the President of the Bar or his representative. In case the committee insists in it with majority of two-thirds of the members of the General Authority, they shall be forwarded to the Council of the Bar to make a final decision.

e- No position shall be revealed by the committee or its chairman, and no measure shall be taken except after advising the President of the Bar in writing and obtaining his approval.

f- Decisions of the President of the Bar may not be challenged or reexamined in any way, except for what is mentioned in paragraph “d”.
Nor may the decisions of the Council of the Bar be challenged or reexamined. 

g- The committee has to submit a report every six months about its actions to the secretary of the Council of the Bar to present it before the council.

Chapter 7
Miscellaneous

Article 18: Financial Matters

a- The funds and the resources of the committee are a contribution by the Beirut Bar Association. As for the donations and the grants for the committee’s works, their acceptance or rejection depends on a decision by the Council of the Bar upon a recommendation by the committee’s General Body.

b- These funds are deposited in an account to support the funds of the bar.

c- In case of the dissolution or the termination of the committee, all its funds and rights shall be directed to the Beirut Bar Association Support Fund.

Article 19: Procedures of amendment

These by-laws may be amended as per a decision taken automatically by the Council of the Bar, after listening to the opinion of the committee’s chairman or upon a proposal forwarded by the General Body of the Committee taken by a two-thirds majority.

Article 20: Enforcement of the by-laws

These by-laws enter into force as of the date of its enactment and endorsement by the Council of the Bar. 
The Council of the Bar enacted these by-laws in its session on 17/1/1997 and endorsed it in its session on 24/1/1997.

Objectives and Activities of the Public Freedoms and Human Rights Committee

First: Objectives

 The Public Freedoms and Human Rights Defense Committee seeks to defend the principles, freedoms and rights stipulated in the Lebanese Constitution and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as in the international treaties and conventions complementing them, as well as the laws in accordance with them. The committee is in charge also of publishing and disseminating them, as well as reinforcing their principles in all fields and rights with no exception, in text and in practice.
The committee aims to achieve its objectives and cooperates with the national, Arab and world organizations and bodies working in the field of public freedoms and human rights.

Second: Activities

The committee organizes different activities and programs to achieve the abovementioned objectives and the following objectives among others, and they are what characterize the Beirut Bar Association.

Monitoring:

Establish an office to receive complaints relevant to the violations and the infringements against public freedoms and human rights; verify and document them (it would be called Complaints Center) upon a referral by the President of the Bar, or the chairman of the committee, or one of its members, or lawyers or citizens. 

Defense:

Accept proxies; file different complaints and reviews, particularly in conflicts and issues where the committee’s intervention is useful; highlight the role of the Beirut Bar Association in public freedoms and human rights not only to eliminate injustice but to achieve its objectives, underline freedom and rights, promote a certain jurisprudence and enhance the role of the judiciary as an independence constitutional authority.
Development of laws and rectification of practices
- Enhance the collection of references, books and documents on public freedoms and human rights at the Bar’s library.
- Form expanded specialized committees composed of lawyers and legal experts, whereby their mission would be to conduct a comprehensive census on the status of freedoms and human rights in Lebanon and put scientific conceptions to develop them in different fields and achieve them. 
Media:
- Reinforce, disseminate the principles of public freedoms and human rights and introduce their status in Lebanon on all levels via diverse activities, such as media statements, special reports, seminars, lectures and other activities.

Coordination:

Find framework to coordinate work and activities with different organizations and bodies working in public freedoms and human rights.