The talk will cover everything you need to know about Federalism!

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We will discuss the 10 principles of federalism:

The proposed federal constitution is based on the following 10 principles:

Principle #1 - on National Narratives: Lebanon is a multi-national country. The various populations adhere to –and are structured around- different “national narratives”. Cultural diversity is the social reality at the heart of Lebanon. The “Community” is the encapsulation of the individual and collective identity. Hence sect is identity not religion nor faith.

Principle #2 - on Self-Government: as in Europe, the application of cuius regio eius religio – governed and governor have to be of the same faith- is a cornerstone for secularism, accountability and development. Enabling each “community” to freely choose its own leaders and its governance system within a uniform ensemble (canton) is not only a basic human right, but more importantly the recipe for peace, stability and development.

Principle #3 - on Subsidiarity and Localism: Bottom-up power devolution is the basis of governance. The smallest political entity is the municipality. Each municipality will be asked to choose its governance model and its cantonal belonging (resulting in cantonal delineation). Furthermore municipalities shall decide how and when to combine their resources and “scale up” in promoting “public good”.

Principle #4 - on Solidarity: With freedom comes responsibility. With rights come obligations. Therefore, development and wealth creation must be shared. Development of one municipality (or canton), must have a spillover effect to drag along surrounding municipalities as much as possible. This is especially if the municipalities belong to different cantons.

Principle #5 - on Cantonal sovereignty: Legislative elections are cantonal. No federal elections. Any federal decision that conflicts with Cantonal decision is not enforceable on the canton that doesn’t accept it. This applies on judicial, parliamentary and executive powers.

Principle #6 – on the Structure: Municipal, Cantonal and Federal are the three pre-set governance levels. Case by case cooperation models (multi-order scaling up) between municipalities form the variable leg of the model. The purpose being to achieve scale and economic optimality (bottom-up) to enable feasibility and viability of various infrastructure project.

Principle #7 - on Governance: All federal authorities (including federal government), are modelled on the basis of a governing council in which the representatives of each canton has a seat. Presidency rotates, pro rata pari pari passu, among the seated parties. All decisions require unanimous vote.

Principles #8 – on Direct Democracy (Checks and Balances): To keep elected representatives in check and to control project by project, communities (municipal, cantonal or federal as the case may be) will periodically express their approvals or rejection of decisions/choices/projects in municipal, cantonal and federal referendums initiated by the concerned public.

Principle #9 – Roadmap: Communicate, educate and debate to sharpen the project and fine tune the details. Frame the project as an inclusive project suited for all communities/nations in Lebanon. Design a unifying strategy to achieve a federal Lebanon. Once an agreement is reached by the representatives of the communities over the text of the new constitution, such text will need to be ratified by referendum held by each community separately. The constitution in only valid between -and enforceable against- the communities who have ratified it.

Principle #10 – on Implementation, The first municipal vote will enable each municipality to determine to which canton it wants to belong.

Speaker's Bio

Iyad Georges Boustany is an accomplished specialist in the fields of financial structuring, corporate turnaround, strategy and M&A advisory. Currently the CEO of Subsidium Advisors Ltd FZE, a company he founded, advising large global corporate clients out of Dubai. With a rich background in his field, he has co-authored a book on securitization and has made significant contributions through the publication of numerous papers on development, politics, governance, and finance. Residing in Baabda, Lebanon, he is recognized as a prominent figure in his profession.

Tickets are free, but booking is a must!

Places are limited, book here: https://ihjoz.com/events/6907#checkout

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This session will be online from the comfort of your home.

This session is part of the Free Online Series Program done by I Have Learned Academy in collaboration with KAS: "Thoughts & Talks for a Better Lebanon"