Article: The Lebanese Customs Police: legal powers, institutional structure and governance challenges: <i>a comparative study with France and Egypt</i> Journal: International Journal of Public Law and Policy (IJPLAP) 2026 Vol.12 No.7 pp.1 - 17 Abstract: This article examines the Lebanese Customs Police (Dabitah Jumarkiyyah) as a sui generis law enforcement body operating within the Lebanese customs administration. Drawing on Decree No. 1802/1979, the Customs Law No. 4461/2000, and the 2009 WCO diagnostic report, the article analyses the institutional structure, legal powers - including inspection, seizure, search and pursuit - and the procedural framework governing customs seizure reports. Through a comparative lens encompassing the French Direction Générale des Douanes et Droits Indirects (DGDDI) and the Egyptian Customs Authority, the article identifies critical governance gaps characterised by command duality, a 35% staffing vacancy rate, and a 7% case resolution rate. The article argues that effective customs policing requires not merely technical reform but a fundamental restructuring of the institutional relationship between the Supreme Customs Council and the General Directorate. The article concludes with targeted reform recommendations grounded in comparative best practice. Inderscience Publishers - linking academia, business and industry through research

Title: The Lebanese Customs Police: legal powers, institutional structure and governance challenges: a comparative study with France and Egypt

Authors: Mohamad Ali Yaghi

Addresses: Beirut Bar Association, Beirut, Lebanon

Abstract: This article examines the Lebanese Customs Police (Dabitah Jumarkiyyah) as a sui generis law enforcement body operating within the Lebanese customs administration. Drawing on Decree No. 1802/1979, the Customs Law No. 4461/2000, and the 2009 WCO diagnostic report, the article analyses the institutional structure, legal powers - including inspection, seizure, search and pursuit - and the procedural framework governing customs seizure reports. Through a comparative lens encompassing the French Direction Générale des Douanes et Droits Indirects (DGDDI) and the Egyptian Customs Authority, the article identifies critical governance gaps characterised by command duality, a 35% staffing vacancy rate, and a 7% case resolution rate. The article argues that effective customs policing requires not merely technical reform but a fundamental restructuring of the institutional relationship between the Supreme Customs Council and the General Directorate. The article concludes with targeted reform recommendations grounded in comparative best practice.

Keywords: customs police; Lebanese customs law; comparative administrative law; anti-smuggling; institutional governance; customs seizure; France; Egypt.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPLAP.2026.157091

International Journal of Public Law and Policy, 2026 Vol.12 No.7, pp.1 - 17

Received: 12 Jun 2026
Accepted: 02 Jul 2026
Published online: 19 Oct 2026 *

Title: The Lebanese Customs Police: legal powers, institutional structure and governance challenges: a comparative study with France and Egypt

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