On amending the constitution

It does not matter what we think the Patriarch meant or didn't mean regarding amending the constitution to allow for the election of Michel Suleiman. The constitution cannot be amended without this current cabinet and without the endorsement of March 14 deputies.

Many in the March 14 camp have spoken against amending the constitution, meaning it is not something that will happen. Hizbullah and March 8 still cannot do anything without the parliament's majority, which, despite the paralysis imposed by Nabih Berri and Emile Lahoud, still owns a major part of the vote for the new president. Note how Hizbullah is still demanding a "national unity government" even "if it is half an hour before the presidential election". Hizbullah knows the only way to impose the "March 8" agenda is through a coup (in the form of a military government), civil war, or more Syrian terror.

Here's what the constitution says about amending the constitution! In short, it cannot be done without a draft law submitted by the cabinet. It also cannot be discussed or vote on "except when a majority of two thirds of the members lawfully composing the Chamber are present."

Article 76 [Proposal]
The constitution may be revised upon the proposal of the President of the Republic. In such a case the Government submits a draft law to the Chamber of Deputies.

Article 77 [Request]
The constitution may also be revised upon the request of the Chamber of Deputies. In this case the following procedures are to be observed:
During an ordinary session and at the request of at least ten of its members, the Chamber of Deputies may recommend, by a majority of two thirds of the total members lawfully composing the Chamber, the revision of the constitution.
However, the articles and the questions referred to in the recommendation must be clearly defined and specified. The President of the Chamber then transmits the recommendation to the Government requesting it to prepare a draft law relating thereto. If the Government approves the recommendation of the Chamber by a majority of two thirds, it must prepare the draft amendment and submit it to the Chamber within four months; it it does not agree, it shall return the Decision to the Chamber for reconsideration. If the Chamber insists upon the necessity of the amendment by a majority of three fourths of the total members lawfully composing the Chamber, the President of the Republic has then either to accede to the Chamber's recommendation or to ask the Council of Ministers to dissolve the Chamber and to hold new elections within three months. If the new Chamber insists on the necessity of amending the constitution, the Government must yield and submit the draft amendment within four months.

Article 78 [Priority]
When a draft law dealing with a constitutional amendment is submitted to the Chamber, it must confine itself to its discussion before any other work until a final vote is taken. It may discuss and vote only on articles and questions clearly enumerated and defined in the draft submitted to it.

Article 79 [Majority, Promulgation]
(1) When a draft law dealing with a constitutional amendment is submitted to the Chamber, it cannot discuss it or vote upon it except when a majority of two thirds of the members lawfully composing the Chamber are present. Voting is by the same majority.
(2) The President of the Republic is required to promulgate the law of the constitutional amendment under the same conditions and in the same form as ordinary laws. He has the right, within the period established for the promulgation, to ask the Chamber to reconsider the draft, after consultation with the council of Ministers, in which case the vote is by a majority of two thirds.

Comments

[fubar]

What? The Constitution cannot be changed easily in 15 minutes? Are you saying that someone in Lebanon is once again ponificating without ever having read the Constitution? Well, that does it, I am shocked!

That's two shocking pieces of news in one day...

(UK Independent) One Iraqi militiaman, who asked to be named only as Abu Muhannad, said he had spent a month in Southern Lebanon, Hizbollah's stronghold. "I was one of the experienced fighters from the Mehdi army to go for training there," he said. "We learned how to take advantage of an armoured vehicle's weakness, and how to wait and kill the soldiers who try to escape." The 39-year-old from Suwayrah, a city 40 km south of Baghdad was one of several fighters to confirm the links between the two groups. The US has long claimed that Hizbollah, Iraq's Shias and Iran have formed a broad alliance opposed to Israel, the US and its Middle Eastern allies.

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article2878769.ece

[ghassan karam]

HA is very much aware of what its coalition members can do and what they cannot do in the Parliament. That is why HA has not called for its "own" government , neither its "own" President nor a constitutional amendment. What they have done instead, is to place all sorts of demands such as asking for the right of veto, a President agreeable to both camps and the threat of a two government outcome. These onerous conditions for their cooperation demonstrate clearly their lack of interest in a resolution to the current Lebanese crisis, they are simply bargaining in bad faith. It should be clear to all that HA will not benefit from a resolutionto the standoff, they have purposely created one obstruction after the other and they will go on finding new obstacles as time goes on because the resulting political paralysis suits their long term objectives and plans. The longer the crisis lasts the better it is for HA. They have no interest in working for a resolution, how could they when a return to normality implies that they will have to give back what they have already taken by force.

If many Lebanese, including those in power, have chosen to be in denial this does not change the simple fact that there is a major incongruity between a soverein , democratic state and a HA like organization. Until Lebanon gets its own version of Mr. Abbas who has thus far frustrated the plan of Hamas and its backers {Iran and Syria) to proceed with their "coup" HA and its allies will keep on increasing the instability of Lebanon because it serves them well.

I have just received an email from a friend with an attachment of the statement issued by the World Maronite Union in which they object openly to the idea of a constitutional amendment and especially one that favours General Suleiman. I profess ignorance to the question of Who is the World Maronite Union and how influential are they but since we are talking about Lebanon and a Presidency that is allocated to the Maronits I imagine that such a statement cannot be totally ignored.

[JoseyWales]

Yes AK,

It's not easy to change the constitution and M14 has more than enough MPs to stop any amendment.

But call me a worrier cuz;

-It's Lebanon and the worst always seems to happen.

-The most consistent jurisprudence in Leb is "the (lousy) constitution will be trashed"

-Loud statements of "No way, really really, I will vote to extend Lahoud" are still ringing in my ears. They were made ONE week before Lahoud's catastrophic extension by: Fattoush, Robert Ghanem, Rafic Hariri etc who all voted for it (in less than 15 Syrian minutes).

Yesterday, Charles Rizk and Geagea visited Sfeir. Each of them, after his meeting, "explained" or "clarified" Sfeir's position: no law change UNLESS...

Sfeir may be senile but I can't believe the people around him are this careless and irresponsible with "his" statements. Who knows?

Still hope you're right AK.

[Jeha]

"Dastour" ya nass... That little piece of paper has been through so much, one more is not going to feel like anything.

Those pols of ours can change it just as easily as they change convictions.

[Bad Vilbel]

I must echo Josey Wales' sentiment. I am not convinced that they won't find some way to change the constitution, 2/3 majority or not.

HA and their allies have so far proved masters of inventing new ways to obstruct, deceive and make messes that M14 seems entirely incapable of handling.

[Vox. P.]

'Patriarch' doesn't need a capital P.

[Abi Lama]

+++AL-AHRAM WEEKLY 23-29 Aug.'07:"Fraternal altercations"
HEADING:"Recent name-calling between Syria and Saudi Arabia is rubbing salt
in worsening wounds, writes Sherine Bahaa"
QUOTE:"Damascus rarely criticises Arab
states.This is no longer the case"

EXCERPTS:
"Virtually paralysed," was how Syrian Vice-President Farouk Al-Sharaa
described the regional role of Saudi Arabia. . .. "The government of the
kingdom of Saudi Arabia has followed with great surprise the distasteful
statements recently made by(Syrian V.P.] Al-Sharaa, which included numerous
lies and fallacies aimed at harming us," said the statement carried by the
official Saudi press agency.
"Talk about the paralysis of the kingdom's Arab and Islamic role does not
come from a rational and prudent person, as this role is well known to
everyone. Perhaps Al-Sharaa made a slip of the tongue and meant by paralysis
the policy he speaks for," said the statement.
. . ..
Arabs still remember Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad's famous speech after
the victory of the Iranian-backed Hizbullah in last summer's war with
Israel, in which he blamed Arab leaders for their impotence calling them
"half men" for their failure to act to stop the violence. Syria is known for
its strong anti-Western and anti-Israeli rhetoric, but, Damascus rarely
criticises Arab states.This is no longer the case..
"Although we had our differences, he [the late Hafez Al-Assad] always
maintained good relations with the kingdom," said one Saudi official,
speaking on condition of anonymity because of the subject's sensitivity.
Things have changed since then. Today Syria is out of Lebanon, and is blamed
for its former prime minister, Rafiq Hariri's assassination in 2005. It has
been given the cold shoulder by its Arab neighbours, being criticised for
falling under the spell of its Shia ally Iran.
In all these developments, the Syrians seem to see the hidden hand of Saudi
Arabia. . . .According to a Syria analyst, Damascus knows it is now
"virtually impossible" to mend fences with Riyadh without outside mediation.
But now, there are concerns the Syrian- Saudi spat could have negative
repercussions for countries where each has a major stake, such as Iraq and
Lebanon.. . .

[Abi Lama]

+++AL-AHRAM WEEKLY 23-29 Aug.'07:"Fraternal altercations"
HEADING:"Recent name-calling between Syria and Saudi Arabia is rubbing salt
in worsening wounds, writes Sherine Bahaa"
QUOTE:"Damascus rarely criticises Arab
states.This is no longer the case"

EXCERPTS:
"Virtually paralysed," was how Syrian Vice-President Farouk Al-Sharaa
described the regional role of Saudi Arabia. . .. "The government of the
kingdom of Saudi Arabia has followed with great surprise the distasteful
statements recently made by(Syrian V.P.] Al-Sharaa, which included numerous
lies and fallacies aimed at harming us," said the statement carried by the
official Saudi press agency.
"Talk about the paralysis of the kingdom's Arab and Islamic role does not
come from a rational and prudent person, as this role is well known to
everyone. Perhaps Al-Sharaa made a slip of the tongue and meant by paralysis
the policy he speaks for," said the statement.
. . ..
Arabs still remember Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad's famous speech after
the victory of the Iranian-backed Hizbullah in last summer's war with
Israel, in which he blamed Arab leaders for their impotence calling them
"half men" for their failure to act to stop the violence. Syria is known for
its strong anti-Western and anti-Israeli rhetoric, but, Damascus rarely
criticises Arab states.This is no longer the case..
"Although we had our differences, he [the late Hafez Al-Assad] always
maintained good relations with the kingdom," said one Saudi official,
speaking on condition of anonymity because of the subject's sensitivity.
Things have changed since then. Today Syria is out of Lebanon, and is blamed
for its former prime minister, Rafiq Hariri's assassination in 2005. It has
been given the cold shoulder by its Arab neighbours, being criticised for
falling under the spell of its Shia ally Iran.
In all these developments, the Syrians seem to see the hidden hand of Saudi
Arabia. . . .According to a Syria analyst, Damascus knows it is now
"virtually impossible" to mend fences with Riyadh without outside mediation.
But now, there are concerns the Syrian- Saudi spat could have negative
repercussions for countries where each has a major stake, such as Iraq and
Lebanon.. . .