Lebanon

National Assembly

Political system: Presidential-Parliamentary
Structure of parliament: Unicameral
IPU membership: Yes

Openness and transparency

Information about access to parliamentary documents, parliament’s reporting to the public, parliament’s relation to Freedom of Information laws, and lobbying.

Parliamentary documents

The agendas of plenary meetings are published online in advance: All
The agendas of committee meetings are published online in advance: All
Results of votes on draft legislation are published on the parliamentary web site: None
Draft legislation is published on the parliamentary website: Some
Citizens can submit comments on draft legislation on the parliamentary web site: Yes

Annual reporting by parliament

Parliament publishes an annual report on its activities: No

Notes: There are annual reports which are published by certain general directorates (e.g. General Directorate of Meetings and Commissions - General Directorate of Studies and Information - General Directorate of Foreign Affairs) but not for the Parliament as a whole.
The annual report is available on the parliamentary web site: No information available
Parliament publishes the parliamentary budget: No

Access to parliament

Plenary meetings are open to the public: Yes

Notes: Since 2005, Assembly meetings are open to the public unless a majority decides to sit in closed session upon the request of the administration or at least five deputies (Constitution, Article 35).
Committee meetings are open to the public: No

Notes: According to Article 34 of the Rules of Procedure, the meetings, work, minutes, discussions and votes of the committees are secret, unless the committee decides otherwise.
There is a dedicated channel for broadcasting parliamentary meetings: No
Media used for the dedicated channel: No information available
Meetings broadcast on the dedicated channel: No information available

Freedom of information

There is a freedom of information law in the country: Yes
Parliament is subject to the freedom of information law: Yes
Parliament has an office/division dedicated to FOI requests: Yes
Categories of Information that are exempt from disclosure: The law on the right to information was adopted in February 2017 and implemented by decree in July 2020. Some amendments were made to the law in July 2021. The right to access information is provided to all natural and legal persons and to the general public without discrimination, either by public publication or on request. This includes all information and documents that are not confidential, with some exclusive specified exceptions. This law also provides the right to request the correction of personal information in the cases specified by law.

The categories of information that cannot be consulted are linked to any overriding public or private interests, in particular: defense and security secrets, relations with foreign States as well as commercial and professional secrets, and those which affect financial and economic interests, the national currency and the privacy of individuals their health, and a host of other secrets protected by special laws.

Lobbying

There are rules about the activities of lobbyists in parliament: No
There is a register of accredited lobbyists: No

Lebanon

National Assembly

Openness and transparency

Parliamentary documents

Annual reporting by parliament

Access to parliament

Freedom of information

Lobbying

Historical data for IPU membership

Historical data for Citizens can submit comments on draft legislation on the parliamentary web site