Newly-appointed Minister of Justice, Marie Claude Najm, has declared her intention to strengthen the justice system, enhance its effectiveness and transparency, and recuperate the embezzled funds as a priority.
Little is known to most, though, that the first woman to be ever appointed Minister of Justice in Lebanon has participated actively in the revolution.
So when she declared her intention for reforms, we got to believe that she at least meant it.
“The era of tutelage is over; I will not allow anyone to interfere in my work, neither politicians nor the wealthy or the influential,” she said publicly, defying the long-entrenched mindset of the Lebanese political arena.
In her first statement as Minister of Justice, MP Najm said: “A reform workshop in the Ministry of Justice awaits us, not only at a judicial level but also at the environmental and social justice levels. The challenges are great, and I ask the Lebanese people to give us the opportunity to judge our work.”
A founding member of “Save!” with a history of many contributions to civil society, Lebanon’s new Justice Minister was an attorney lecturer in the Revolution’s tents in Martyrs’ Square.
Early in the revolution, awareness sessions in various pertinent topics were launched as an important part of the revolution. Lectures, debates, and dialogues have taken place almost every day.
While the participation of MP Najm in the revolution is undocumented by social media (most of these informative lectures weren’t), local newspapers such as Libnan News and Lebanon24 call her a pro-revolutionist.
MTV Lebanon has earlier cited her as “The Thawra Attorney” and the senior field reporter Rachel Karam of Al-Jadeed TV reported: “Marie-Claude Najm used to give conferences in the revolution’s tents and everybody agrees on her capability and seriousness.”
Marie-Claude Najm is a professor at the Faculty of Law and Political Science of the University of Saint-Joseph (USJ). She’s also head of a private law department and director of the Center for Human Rights Studies for the Arab World.
She holds a B.A. in Law and a postgraduate diploma in Private Law from USJ, and a Ph.D. in International Private Law from the University of Pantheon-Sorbonne (Paris).
In her first few days as minister of Justice, she highlighted the importance of the justice system, especially when it comes to the recovery of embezzled funds.
“If we work together, we can we reach the independence of the judiciary system and the recovery of looted funds,” she said, addressing the Lebanese people.
She deems that, in order for her to be able to do her job, she requires the people to give the new government confidence so the situation will be set on the right path.
According to her interview with MTV, she considers herself the MP of Lebanon and her obligations are towards Lebanon and not a specific political part. She claims that she is pro-revolution and has the same demands as the Lebanese people.
Worth sharing that a fake Twitter account popped up in her name after her appointment as minister, spreading fake statements and engaging with Twitter users.
According to a statement she gave to the LBCI, her only real Twitter account was opened on January 26 and it’s the one below:
