Decree Dilemma: The Prospects of Lebanon's 2024 Budget and Article 86 Challenges

Will the Cabinet issue the 2024 budget by decree according to Article 86 of the constitution?

 

Sources in the premiership have stated that this could happen if the Parliament fails to approve the budget by the end of January. They consider that the ministers who discussed and approved the project cannot reject this constitutional step, and it would, for the first time in decades, ensure the budget's effectiveness within its constitutional timeframe.

According to Article 86 of the constitution, "If the Parliament does not conclusively decide on the budget project before the end of the designated period for its study, the President, in agreement with the Prime Minister, immediately calls the Parliament for an extraordinary session lasting until the end of January to continue studying the budget. 

Suppose the extraordinary session expires without a final decision on the budget project. In that case, the Cabinet can make a decision, and based on it, the President issues a decree that makes the project effective in the form presented to the Parliament. The Cabinet cannot use this right unless the budget project has been submitted to the Parliament at least fifteen days before the beginning of its session."

In line with this article, Caretaker Prime Minister Mikati's government has referred the budget project to the Parliament before the second term of the Parliament by 15 days. 
This term starts on the first Tuesday after October 15 and continues until the end of the year, fulfilling the conditions for resorting to Article 86. Since this government holds the presidency's powers due to the ongoing vacancy in the primary presidential position, it has the right, according to constitutional experts, to use the President's right mentioned in this article to issue a decree considering the budget effective.

On the other hand, parliamentary sources described this direction as part of exaggeration by Mikati and his supporters from the political parties participating in the government meetings. They stated that the Finance and Budget Committee would start successive sessions to study the budget project. Still, it has not yet received the detailed budget. 

They consider this delay in sending the details as a form of procrastination. 

Caretaker Finance Minister Youssef Khalil responded to these accusations by stating that, according to Article 18 of the Public Accounting Law, the Finance Minister provides a detailed report to the legislative authority before November 1, describing the economic and financial situation in the country and the principles adopted by the government in the budget project.

 

Therefore, any talk of the Ministry of Finance's delay in presenting the details is not serious and lacks credibility. It is considered a mere disturbance that falls within the scope of populism, which does not serve the public interest. November 1 is just around the corner, less than a month away.