The Lebanese Ministry of Justice Project to Assess the Risks of the Notary Sector in Lebanon in Light of the Authority of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)

Abstract

This project examines the Lebanese Ministry of Justice project concerning the assessment of risks in the notary sector in Lebanon, especially in relation to money laundering and terrorist financing. The project was launched in a period where Lebanon was under strong pressure after being placed on the Financial Action Task Force grey list. It was also connected to technical assistance provided by the European Union through the EU Global Facility. For this reason, the subject is not only a technical issue related to notaries. It also raises a wider question about the way international standards and pressure can enter the work of Lebanese public administration. The main question of this research is whether the assistance provided in this context should be understood as ordinary technical cooperation and capacity-building, or whether it became a form of indirect pressure on Lebanese administrative sovereignty. The project also asks whether the measures taken by the Ministry of Justice, especially the circulars addressed to notaries, were the result of an independent Lebanese reform process, or whether they were mainly adopted in response to FATF requirements and the pressure created by the grey list. The research is based on a case study of the Ministry of Justice project. It relies on the analysis of Lebanese legal texts, mainly Law No. 44/2015 on fighting money laundering and terrorist financing and Law No. 337/1994 regulating the notary profession. It also examines the ministerial circulars issued in this context, the administrative correspondence between Lebanese authorities, and interviews with judges, committee members, notaries, and persons familiar with the project. The project shows that FATF recommendations, although not binding in the traditional legal sense, become very strong in practice. Once a country is placed on the grey list, it becomes difficult for it to deal with FATF requirements as simple recommendations. In the Lebanese case, the European assistance was useful because it provided technical knowledge and methodology. However, it also came at a moment where Lebanon had limited practical freedom to refuse, delay, or negotiate the process without fearing further negative consequences. The research also shows that the Lebanese administrative response was often formal and fragmented. Letters were exchanged, committees were formed, and circulars were issued, but these steps did not always show clear and effective implementation on the ground. The circulars issued by the Minister of Justice imposed new duties on notaries, such as checking sanctions lists, asking about the source of funds, keeping special records, and refusing certain transactions. These duties affected the traditional role of the notary and moved it from a mainly documentary role toward a more preventive and supervisory role in the anti-money laundering system. The interviews conducted for this project show the gap between the administrative view and the practical view of the notary sector. Some actors involved in the administrative process considered FATF pressure useful because it pushed the Lebanese state to act and improve coordination. On the other hand, several notaries considered the new obligations unclear, heavy, and difficult to apply without sufficient consultation, training, tools, and legal protection. The project concludes that international pressure can push reform, especially in a weak or delayed administrative system. However, pressure alone is not enough to create real reform. If external requirements are translated only into circulars and formal measures, reform may remain superficial. For this reason, the real challenge is to transform international pressure into internal reform that is legal, realistic, coordinated, and applicable within the Lebanese context.