Parliament approved 55 laws in 2014 compared to two in 2013, most of which were regular legislation with a few essential laws such as the law on the extension of Parliament’s term, the law permitting the government to issue treasury bonds in foreign currencies, the opening of additional credits worth LBP 340 billion to cover expenses in 2014, the Rent Act, the protection of women from domestic violence, the law giving financial incentives to those municipalities surrounding the Abey landfill and exempting them from certain obligations. 

 

Parliament convened three plenary sessions in 2014. The first spanned over 1, 2 and 3 April, the second was held on 9 April and the third on 5 November. 

 

It is known that Parliament is home to 16 parliamentary committees that do not fare better when it comes to meetings. In fact, some of these committees (Information Committee, Committee on the Displaced, IT Committee) have not convened even once in 2014 as illustrated in Table 1. The number of committee meetings totaled 161 in 2014 in addition to 35 sub-meetings. 126 meetings and 64 sub-meetings were held in 2013. The Administration and Justice Committee held 39 sessions, the largest number among all committees, accounting for 30% of total meetings.