Beyond digitisation: Lebanon's judicial data deficit
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Lebanon's judicial reform debate has entered a decisive phase. Parliament adopted a judicial reform law on 31 July 2025; the European Union welcomed it while urging further comprehensive rule-of-law reform. At the same time, parliamentary discussions on a proposed general amnesty law point to a related pressure: unresolved cases, prolonged detention and overcrowded prisons. Both debates rest on caseloads the courts cannot currently measure. Public attention has focused mainly on independence, caseload and detention pressure. A quieter but essential question has received less attention: whether the state can see what is happening inside its own courts. Without baseline data on caseloads, processing times, workload and case outcomes, reform claims remain difficult to verify. The first reform question is therefore not only “how can Lebanon digitise the courts?” It is “what information does Lebanon need to manage court reform?” This policy paper proposes that entry point: a court-data pilot in Baabda. The purpose is not to create another technology project. It is to build the information infrastructure needed to diagnose delays, manage workload, protect privacy, communicate progress and prepare a national standard. Within a year, the pilot can give Lebanon its first verifiable reform baseline: six aggregate indicators published without personal or judge-level data, and the tested standard a national rollout needs. Lead responsibility sits with the Ministry of Justice, the Higher Judicial Council and Baabda court leadership. Predictable dispute resolution is part of restoring economic confidence; public court statistics are a direct, verifiable contribution to Sustainable Development Goal 16.
Authors: SmartGov, HALLAB, IHAB
Language: English
Subfield: Law
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7169199162
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