- Appoint the civil servants, dismiss them, and accept their resignations in accor-
dance with the law. - Has the right to dissolve the legislature at the request of the president of the
republic if the legislature refrains from meeting during an ordinary or extraordinary
session for at least 1 month despite two successive calls or if it rejects the whole sched-
ule with a view to paralyzing the work of the government. This right cannot be exer-
cised for the same reasons which led to the dissolution of the legislature the first time. - When the president of the republic is present he chairs the sessions of the Coun-
cil of Ministers. The meetings of the Council of Ministers are to be held at a venue
designated by the Council of Ministers. The legal quorum of its meetings is two-thirds
of its members. It adopts its decisions by consent, and if this is not possible, by vot-
ing. Decisions require the majority of those present except in fundamental issues where
they require a two-thirds majority of the members of the Council of Ministers. The
following are considered as fundamental issues:
Declaring and ending the state of emergency, war and peace, and general mobiliza-
tion; concluding international agreements and treaties the general budget of the state
and the comprehensive and long-term development plans; the appointment of officials
of the first grade or its equivalent; the administrative redistribution of governorates;
the dissolution of the legislature; election law, the law of personal status, the law of
nationality; and the dismissal of ministers.
E. The Minister
The powers of the minister should be consolidated in a way compatible with the gen-
eral policy of the government and the collective responsibility. The minister should
not be removed except by a decision by the Council of Ministers or by a vote of no
confidence in him by the Chamber of Deputies.
F. The Resignation of the Government, Considering It Resigned, and Firing of Ministers
- The government is considered as resigned in the following situation:
a. if the prime minister resigns.
b. if it loses more than one-third of the members specified in its formation decree.
c. if the prime minister dies.
d. at the beginning of the term of the president.
e. at the beginning of the term of the legislature.
f. by a vote of no confidence by the legislature whether at the chamber’s initia-
tive or at the government’s initiative.
2. The minister is fired by a decree signed by the president and the prime minis-
ter after the approval of the Council of Ministers.
3. When the government resigns or is considered resigned, the legislature is con-
sidered as a ruler in an extraordinary session until the formation of a new government
and its obtaining a vote of confidence.
G. Abolition of Political Sectarianism
The abolition of political sectarianism is a basic national aim toward which work should
be carried out according to a step-by-step plan. The legislature, elected on the basis of
350 LEBANON AND SYRIA