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After the Constitutional Council Ruling: What Does General Amnesty Law No. 70/2026 Mean for You?
A concise legal guide on General Amnesty Law No. 70/2026 following Constitutional Council Decision No. 12/2026, detailing the three distinct systems, exceptions, binding interpretive reservations, and practical steps.
El Ghoul · Araji – Attorneys at Law | Beirut, October 15, 2026
On October 12, 2026, the Constitutional Council issued its Decision No. 12/2026 regarding the appeal against General Amnesty Law No. 70/2026. The Council did not annul the law; rather, it kept it in force while voiding certain provisions and attaching nine binding “interpretive reservations” governing courts and public prosecutions. Consequently, the law must now be read hand in hand with the Council’s ruling.
Below is an overview of what matters most to detainees, convicts, their families, and affected parties.
Three Distinct Systems, Not Just One Amnesty
- General Amnesty: Covers crimes committed before March 1, 2026, excluding exempted offenses. Its effect is the dismissal of public prosecution and the expungement of the penalty.
- Sentence Reduction: For crimes not covered by amnesty committed before September 4, 2026:
- Death penalty is commuted to 28 years of imprisonment;
- Hard labor for life is commuted to 17 years of imprisonment;
- All other sentences are reduced by one-third.
- Statutory Release (Ikhla’ Al-Sabil Al-Hukmi): For any detainee whose pre-trial detention exceeds 12 years of imprisonment without a final verdict, for all crimes committed before March 1, 2026, while trial proceedings continue.
What Crimes Are Exempted from Amnesty?
The law excludes 14 categories, most notably:
- Crimes referred to the Judicial Council;
- Intentional and premeditated murder, and terrorist crimes;
- Crimes against public funds, illicit enrichment, and money laundering;
- Forgery and currency counterfeiting;
- Rape, domestic violence, sexual assault against minors, and torture;
- Continuous encroachments on public property, environmental crimes, and antiquities offenses;
- Recidivism in drug and theft offenses under specific conditions.
What Did the Constitutional Council Add?
- Forgery: The exception covers all forgery crimes under the Penal Code, not just currency counterfeiting.
- Corruption: The exception extends to corruption crimes in both the public and private sectors and all involved parties.
- Drugs: Recidivism is calculated in its strict legal sense; multiple case files alone are not sufficient. All drug crimes committed by military personnel, including cultivation, remain excluded.
- Public Property Encroachments: The exception covers actionable encroachments, even if prosecution was not formally initiated.
- Grave International Crimes: War crimes, crimes against humanity, torture, and enforced disappearance are strictly excluded.
- Abolished Death Penalty: Those whose death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment under Abolition Law No. 68/2026 now face a 28-year sentence, not 17.
- Homicide: The Council expanded cases where sentence reduction depends on the waiver of personal claims (Isqat Al-Haqq Al-Shakhsi) and removed the time limit for registering civil party status.
- Unified Date: March 1, 2026 became the sole temporal cutoff for amnesty, including drug offenses.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the amnesty cover bounced checks?
In principle yes, unless linked to forgery or classified as an exempted banking crime. The holder retains the right to claim the check amount.
Does it cover fraud, breach of trust, and theft?
In principle yes, if committed against private property. However, they are excluded if related to public funds, bank and depositor funds, or exceeding theft recidivism limits.
Does the amnesty cover fatal traffic accidents?
Unintentional manslaughter is not excluded; the exception is limited to intentional and premeditated murder.
Does amnesty mean acquittal?
No. Amnesty dismisses public prosecution and the penalty, but it is not a declaration of innocence.
Do victims’ rights lapse?
No. The aggrieved party retains the right to claim compensation before the competent court and may request civil coercion (Habas Ikrahi) upon enforcing compensation.
What about non-Lebanese nationals?
Benefiting non-Lebanese nationals are handed over to General Security immediately upon release from prison.
Unresolved Issues
Several ambiguities remain that courts will settle case by case unless the legislature intervenes:
- Scope of the terrorist crime exception;
- Inclusion of attempted murder in exceptions;
- Method of calculating a “prison year” during pre-trial detention;
- Status of those who benefited from amnesty before its implementation was suspended.
Therefore, we recommend reviewing each file individually before submitting any application.
Practical Steps
- Determine the precise legal characterization of each charge, not the colloquial name.
- Verify the date of offense commission: before March 1, 2026 for amnesty, and before September 4, 2026 for reduction.
- Review exceptions and binding interpretive reservations.
- Calculate detention duration to check eligibility for statutory release.
- Base any application on Law No. 70/2026 read alongside Constitutional Council Decision No. 12/2026.
You can download and view the full comprehensive study report below:
Download Comprehensive Study Report (PDF)
Source El Ghoul & Araji Law Firm
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