Speaker Nabih Berri called for a three-day plenary session next week, starting Tuesday, to discuss and endorse a series of draft laws and bills that were studied by parliamentary committees this year.
This legislative session will also be an occasion for Parliament to fill up the vacant positions at the Supreme Council for the Trial of Presidents and Ministers.
Parliament’s secretariat did not distribute the agenda for this session, but sources said that it will not include major or controversial bills and draft laws.
According to these sources, neither the draft rental law nor the one related to municipal elections will be studied by Parliament as they are still being discussed by committees.
Sources said that many bills and draft laws on the agenda are related to agreements between Lebanon and other countries.
As to filling up vacancies at the Supreme Council for the Trial of Presidents and Ministers, sources questioned whether this step was related to investigations currently being conducted with former Agriculture Minister Ali Abdullah over the squandering of public funds at his ministry last year.
However, other sources said that the appointment of new members to this council was a routine procedure and was not related to the case against Abdullah, who if faced with charges must stand trial by this council only in his capacity as a former minister.
Another issue that will be absent during next week’s session is the appointment of new members to the National Audio-Visual Media Council and the Constitutional Council.
Like almost any other appointment to a government board, the move requires consensus among the country’s top leaders before it is endorsed by Parliament. Such appointments are usually marred by sectarian considerations.