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1/ When I conducted research at the Ministry of Justice [2009-2012], for a chunk of
the archive of the Highest Court [cassation/council of cassation] didn't have a working lightbulb [beyond usual power cuts]. We used the weak flashlight in cigarette lighters on some days
Thread https://twitter.com/mazen_barbir/status/1280437536230387713
the archive of the Highest Court [cassation/council of cassation] didn't have a working lightbulb [beyond usual power cuts]. We used the weak flashlight in cigarette lighters on some daysThread https://twitter.com/mazen_barbir/status/1280437536230387713
2/The institutions of the #Lebanese state, including the Ministry of Justice & our legal system (what could be & once was a crown jewel), have been neglected & pushed into disrepair for forty years-it is a trend across all governments & parliaments. Its the government workers-
3) public servants (often demonized public servants mind you) who have literally held the system together. I'm sure the archivist of the commercial registrar knows EXACTLY where to find a particular file & probably gets on unsteady ladders & carries & breathes toxic dust all day
4) as they literally hold state institutions together. It's not the Minister or the First Justice who keep the place running, it's the 
taking notes & interfacing with citizens & pushing papers & walking in and out of dark rooms & literally breaking bones using wobbly ladders
taking notes & interfacing with citizens & pushing papers & walking in and out of dark rooms & literally breaking bones using wobbly ladders
5/I am not the 1st nor the last researcher to read the legal archive & notice a difference in the boldness, independence & creativity of jurists & legal bodies (istasharat, for example) in pre & post war eras. The Lawyers Syndicate has 1 of the best research libraries in Lebanon
6/And the Lebanese University has, through their faculty of law, been digitizing this archive.
Every time you see a photo or a video that depicts the utter disrepair, neglect, & criminal underfunding of our state institutions, remember that there public servants working there,
Every time you see a photo or a video that depicts the utter disrepair, neglect, & criminal underfunding of our state institutions, remember that there public servants working there,
7/ somehow still making it work [just think of our public schools]. Sometimes these public servants get the brunt of citizens frustrations bc their bodies are the daily interface between citizens & their state (& yes some do embody the microcosms of all the state's problems)
But
But
8/ to have an Independant & effective Judiciary, we must 1st recognize that it's been run to the ground. Literally. Studies show the building's foundation is increasingly unsafe. We must recognize who it is that makes our judicial system possible; often underpaid civil servants
9/ the same people who's salaries, when paid, are increasingly worthless. the same people who pull files & stack them & work in damp & dusty rooms & have lung problems & now probably no retirement.
Also, its literally all governments & parliaments that decayed our institutions
Also, its literally all governments & parliaments that decayed our institutions
10/ [ i know that i am a nerd, but sometimes i spend my nights reading the legal research portal at the Lebanese University. its incomplete & still being added to, but it is a indispensable tool of public learning] #Lebanon http://www.legiliban.ul.edu.lb/Default.aspx
i should say i went back to do research four months ago and there is a lightbulb now in the archive of the highest court that is hooked up to a battery so people can see even with power cuts -- progress!
