Referral to the Justice Council
Kamal Jumblatt was assassinated on March 16, 1977 on the Kfarhim-Baakline road with Fawzi Shdid and Hafez al-Ghosayni. The case was referred to Lebanon's Justice Council on March 21, 1977.
Judge Hassan Kawas was appointed judicial investigator on March 22, 1977. The As-Safir archive later published the decision text on May 24, 1996, identifying Kawas as the judicial investigator and citing the official referral and appointment decisions.
The facts fixed by the published decision
The published text fixed the criminal facts in detail: Jumblatt was in a Mercedes, a Pontiac Firebird with four armed men blocked the road, two men wore military clothing, the driver and escort were removed, and Jumblatt was shot inside the car.
The decision also recorded forensic and vehicle evidence, including the Pontiac's customs history and its re-entry into Lebanon shortly before the assassination.
The legal dead end
After nineteen years, Kawas concluded that the investigation had not discovered the perpetrators, partners, interveners, or instigators. The proceedings were dropped, warrants withdrawn, and papers preserved.
This is why the file is central to his public legacy: the decision preserved the legal record of the crime while also recording the state's failure to carry the investigation to named perpetrators.