Maharat Foundation welcomes the President of the Republic’s signing of the new Media Law, marking a long-awaited reform milestone following a legislative process that spanned sixteen years, since the draft law was first registered in 2010 through cooperation between Maharat Foundation and MP Ghassan Moukheiber.

This reform went through three parliamentary terms and nine Ministers of Information, as well as dozens of committee sessions and consultations involving MPs, journalists, experts, civil society organisations, and international organisations, particularly UNESCO. The process aimed to modernise Lebanon’s media legal framework and strengthen guarantees for freedom of the media and expression, following efforts by Minister of Information Paul Morcos to place the law on the agenda of the Parliament’s General Assembly.

The law enshrines a set of reform principles that Maharat has advocated for throughout these years. Foremost among these is establishing civil liability, rather than criminal liability, as the general rule in cases involving publication and expression; protecting journalists and their sources; guaranteeing the freedom to establish media institutions without prior licensing; strengthening the independence of the National Media Council; and introducing transparency standards for media ownership and financing.

At the same time, Maharat stresses that paragraph (B) of Article 104, which retains the criminalisation of publishing false information, remains a major gap that is inconsistent with the law’s reformist spirit. Maharat will continue working with its partners to amend this provision in line with international freedom of expression standards.

The signing of the law is not the end of the process, but the beginning of a new phase focused on safeguarding these gains and ensuring proper implementation. The success of this reform will not be measured by the text alone, but by how its provisions are interpreted and applied in a manner consistent with the law’s philosophy and reformist spirit, as well as with the Lebanese Constitution and international freedom of expression standards.

After sixteen years, a new chapter begins today. Maharat will continue working to ensure that this reform is translated into practice through free, independent, and pluralistic media that protect journalists and freedom of expression and serve the public interest and democracy in Lebanon.