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Lebanon's parliament has approved a new amnesty law, marking the second such legislation in 35 years. The recent decision, enacted on Wednesday, comes decades after a landmark amnesty law was passed in 1991, following the country's devastating civil war.

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The general amnesty issued in 1991 came following the civil war, in hopes of closing a chapter and entering a new era. The philosophy of general amnesty is fundamentally based on establishing public oblivion, meaning closing a page of the past and opening a new one.

The 1991 amnesty was enacted with the primary goal of turning the page on the 1975-1990 civil war and ushering in a new political era. Its philosophy was rooted in establishing "public oblivion," aiming to close past chapters and open new ones. This law broadly covered crimes committed before March 28, 1991, particularly those of a political nature related to the war, with specific exceptions. It carried a strong political and reconciliatory character, intended to restore coexistence.

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Is it reasonable for a person to remain all this long time without a trial? Is it reasonable for certain accusations and cases to drag on to this extent? It was necessary to address this issue, but unfortunately, it fell victim to political wrangling for years.

In contrast, the 2026 amnesty law addresses contemporary issues, focusing on the conditions of detainees, prolonged detentions, and the ongoing prison crisis. However, former officials distinguish it significantly from its predecessor. Former Minister of Social Affairs Rashid Derbas questioned the prolonged detentions without trial, while former Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar highlighted that the 2026 law is not a general amnesty for all past crimes.

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There is a very big difference between the law of August 26, 1991, and the law of August 12, 2026. From a political standpoint, the 1991 general amnesty law aimed to turn the page on the war and conclude all prosecutions associated with it.

Najjar explained that the new legislation has specific political dimensions related to Lebanon and Syria, alongside its focus on prison conditions. Crucially, the 2026 law targets specific categories and cases, functioning more like a socio-penal law. It explicitly excludes numerous serious crimes and felonies, including the killing of military personnel, crimes referred to the Judicial Council, premeditated murder, money laundering, financial crimes, and drug felonies. This selective nature sets it apart from the broader scope of the 1991 law.

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The 1991 law therefore had a political, reconciliatory character, meaning it aimed to restore the smooth functioning of coexistence, which was its primary political goal.