half Muslims and half Christians, should adopt the necessary measures to achieve this aim.
A national organization, headed by the president, should be formed. It should include,
in addition to the speaker of the legislature and the prime minister, political, intellectual
and social personalities. The duty of the organization is to study and propose the neces-
sary means to abolish sectarianism, to present these proposals to the Council of Ministers
and the legislature, and to follow up the implementation of the step-by-step plan.
During the transitional stage, the following should be done:
- The abolition of the principle of sectarian representation and adopting profi-
ciency and personal qualities in appointment, in civil service, judiciary, military and
security establishments, public and mixed institutions, and independent organizations
according to the requirements of national reconciliation, with the exception of the first
rank positions and their equivalent, which should be divided equally between Mus-
lims and Christians without allocating any specific job to any sect. - The abolition of any mention of religion or sect in identity cards.
III. Other Reforms
A. Administrative Decentralization
- The Lebanese state is a single united state with strong centralized authority.
2. Extending the powers of governors and mayors and representing all state depart-
ments in the greatest possible form in the administrative regions to facilitate the ser-
vices for the citizens and to respond to their needs locally.
3. Revising the administrative division to secure national cohesion and to preserve
the joint coexistence and the unity of the people, land, and institutions.
4. Establishing extended administrative decentralization at the level of the minor
administrative units—constituency and smaller—by electing a council for every con-
stituency chaired by the mayor to secure the local participation.
5. Approving a comprehensive united development plan for the whole country,
which should be able to develop Lebanese regions economically and socially, and sup-
porting the resources of the municipalities, united municipalities, and municipal
unions with the necessary financial resources.
B. The Courts
- To secure that all officials and citizens are subject to the law and to secure the har-
mony of the work of both the legislative and executive authorities with the requirements
of coexistence and the basic rights of the Lebanese specified by the Constitution:
a. The supreme council specified by the Constitution, whose job is the trial of
presidents and ministers, should be formed, and a law for the principles of tri-
als by it should be adopted.
b. A constitutional council for interpreting the Constitution, monitoring the con-
stitutional status of laws, and deciding the contests and disputes stemming from
the presidential and legislative elections should be formed.
c. The following sides have the right to consult the constitutional council about
the interpretation of the Constitution and the monitoring of the constitutional
status of law:
LEBANON AND SYRIA 351