On 14/11/1946, the decree number 7384 was issued pertaining to the forensic doctors and the determination of their authorities enclosed to the payroll.
And on 10/03/1953, the service of forensic medicine was created and affiliated to the Ministry of Justice. And despite the importance that represents the forensic medicine in the establishment of justice rules and in helping the justice to reach the truth, the Lebanese Law is still vacant of any complete legislation that satisfies this subject, mainly that the legislative decree number 151 of 16/09/1983 amended by the legislative decree number 23/85, added to the tasks of the service all matters related to the criminal evidence and starting from this date the organizational decree was not set as provided in article 31 of the mentioned decree.

Service Panels

President of the Service

• The service is headed by an official of second category who will be appointed by virtue of a decree issued upon the suggestion of the Minister of Justice.
• The president of the service handles to take good care of the execution of the laws that govern the affairs of its service and supervises the accomplishment of the tasks of the forensics in a good manner.
• He is the direct administrative president of the employees working for the service.
• The president is assisted by an editor who undertakes the administrative and office works as well as a salaried employee who maintains the files and the secretariat works.
• The president of the service holds the registers related to every forensic in which it is written all the works and the tasks assigned to this latter.
• The president of the service will insist in taking the measures imposed by the applicable regulations, on top of which the referral to the disciplinary council, and that against the forensic proven to have committed any violation against these regulations.
• The president of the service submit a periodic report, every three months, to the Minister of Justice through the director general of the Ministry, in which it clearly appears the examinations and works accomplished by the medical examiner/ forensic during the mentioned period in addition to the committed transgressions if occurring. And in general, this report deals with all the matters related to the work of the service.

Scientific Committee
The scientific committee undertakes to prepare the necessary studies, educational courses in order to rehabilitate the medical examiners.
The committee handles as well the working out of essential protocols that help the medical examiner in his work since they show him the manner to be followed in the scene of the crime, to carry out the autopsy, description of the dead bodies of unidentified persons and how to take samples of poisons and tissues.

Medical Examiners

• The medical examiners are appointed by virtue of a decree taken in the Cabinet upon the suggestion of the Minister of Justice based on the opinion of a committee chaired by the public prosecutor in appeal and the membership of the Director of public Health reanimation and Director of interior.
• The medical examiners will handle the medical examination, the autopsy and the deliverance of all relevant reports in addition of all the works required by the investigation of criminal accidents from the technical medical point of view.
• The medical examiner is bound to be at the disposal of the officials of the judicial police, the policemen and the gendarmerie, without delay to accomplish the above-mentioned tasks.
• It will be possible to have the assistance of specialized doctors recorded in the list of experts in urgent cases only for a fee to be evaluated by the competent judge.
• The medical examiner is prevented from presenting any forensic report related to the penal cases unless upon the designation of the judicial department.
• The medical examiner, starting from 01/08/2002, should observe the samples adopted by the Ministry of Justice during his accomplishment of his inspection and examination, and is bound to fulfill all the information of these samples and attach photographic copies showing clearly the place and date of the inspected injury.
• The medical examiner is asked to attend all the seminars, lectures and periodic meetings determined by the service of forensic medicine and the criminal evidences.
• The medical examiner is asked to be absolutely bound by the shift schedules of the Ministry.
• The medical examiner is asked to provide the Ministry, the service, with a report clarifying all the works and tasks assigned to him.
• Every breach to the above-mentioned provisions, that may hinder the control of the medical examiner work, will be noted in his proper record and makes him assume the responsibility according to the applicable regulations.
• The medical examiner earns fees for his work determined according to the payroll attached to the decree number 7384/1046, and his remuneration shall be paid from the treasury fund by order of the competent judge or out of the amounts credited by the personal plaintiff.
• The competent judge is entitled to reduce the fees of the medical examiner if the mission he handled did not deserve the whole amount fixed at the mentioned payroll. And he has as well the right, in extraordinary cases, to order a fee exceeding the fixed amount according to the payroll provided that he obtains the prior approval of the Ministry of Justice or his representative.
• In the presence of many wounded in the case, the doctor will be disbursed a full remuneration for one injured and a half remuneration for each of the others.
• The medical examiner will earn for the examination that he handles upon the designation of the police in Beirut but a lump sum which will be determined within the budget.
• The medical examiner has the right to receive a compensation of presence to the court to give his statement or his technical opinion during the investigation and trial or for the other tasks assigned to him according to the attached payroll.
• All the expenses payable to the medical examiner will be recorded in the list of expenses of the case and shall be paid by the party who is not in the right.
• If the medical examiner refrains from the obligations of his profession, shows ignorance and deficiency during his work or has given false attestation or an incorrect report, he will be referred by a decision of the Minister of Justice to the committee which contributed in his appointment mentioned above.
• With exception to the penal pursuit he may be subject to, the committee will have the right to sentence the medical examiner referred to it by the following measures:
• Blame
• Critic
• Interruption from practicing the career of medical examiner for a maximum duration of six months
• Striking him off the list of medical examiners.

Service Tasks
The service handles the following activities:

• Medical examinations, autopsy and all other medical works required for the investigation of criminal accidents assigned to it by the judicial authorities and the judicial police.
• Supervision of forensics’ works as well as all the activities related to the forensic medicine and the criminal identification and their development.
• Organization of scientific seminars, cooperation and coordination with all the parties concerned with the forensic medicine.
• The coordination with the governmental hospitals in order to equip and manage the morgues therein (currently Tripoli and Beirut and later on in all the provinces).