BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Parliament has approved the abolition of capital punishment, marking a major change to the country’s criminal justice system by replacing the death penalty with life imprisonment. The Lebanon death penalty decision was approved during Parliament’s legislative session on August 11, 2026, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency. The move changes how some of the country’s most serious crimes will be punished and formally removes a penalty that Lebanon has not carried out for more than two decades.

Lawmakers approved the proposal after introducing amendments to clarify how sentences will apply depending on when an offence was committed. Under an amendment proposed by MP Abdul Rahman Bizri, crimes committed before the new law comes into effect will carry life imprisonment, while crimes committed after its enactment will be punishable by aggravated life imprisonment. The change means courts will use lengthy prison sentences instead of capital punishment for offences that previously could have resulted in a death sentence.

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The decision is particularly significant because Lebanon had already gone more than two decades without carrying out an execution. The country’s last executions took place in 2004, but the death penalty remained part of Lebanese law, meaning courts could continue to issue death sentences even though they were not being carried out. The latest vote therefore goes further than maintaining the longstanding pause on executions by removing capital punishment from the legal framework.

The Lebanon death penalty reform also brings attention to how existing cases and future serious offences will be handled under the amended legislation. People convicted of crimes committed before the law takes effect will face life imprisonment rather than execution, while the aggravated life imprisonment provision will apply to relevant crimes committed after the law is enacted. Further details on how these sentences will operate will depend on the final provisions and implementation of the legislation.

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The parliamentary decision represents a significant shift in Lebanon’s approach to criminal sentencing and is likely to draw wider attention across the Middle East, where capital punishment remains part of the legal system in several countries. For Lebanon, the change formally turns its long period without executions into a legal move away from capital punishment.

Impact to expect

The Lebanon death penalty abolition will reshape sentencing for the country’s most serious crimes, replacing execution with imprisonment and bringing the law in line with Lebanon’s longstanding practice of not carrying out executions.