Parliament prepares immunity vote: Will political shield protect MP George Bouchikian?

Report by Joe Farchakh, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi

A critical phase has begun in the legal proceedings involving MP and former Minister George Bouchikian, with the matter now officially in the hands of Parliament.

The case began when Justice Minister Adel Nassar submitted a formal request to the Parliament seeking permission to prosecute Bouchikian. 

The request was accompanied by a memorandum from Lebanon's top public prosecutor outlining the nature of the offense, the time and place of the suspected crime, and a summary of the evidence that requires urgent judicial action.

The request was placed on the desk of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who has now taken procedural steps by convening a special session on Friday that brought together the Bureau of Parliament and the Administration and Justice Committee.

Following that meeting, a joint decision was made to form a smaller subcommittee tasked with reviewing the evidence. The subcommittee has two weeks to submit its findings in a report that will assess whether the evidence merits lifting Bouchikian's parliamentary immunity or whether political motives may be influencing the case.

Once the subcommittee's report is submitted, the matter will be referred to the entire Parliament, which will vote on it in its next scheduled session. A simple majority is required to lift immunity—defined as half of the members present plus one, with a quorum of at least 65 MPs.

For example, if 80 lawmakers attend the session, at least 41 must vote in favor of lifting immunity for the motion to pass.

All eyes are now on the Parliament to see whether it will allow the judiciary to proceed or whether, once again, political considerations will override judicial accountability.