Lebanon’s former top prosecutor, Judge Ghassan Oueidat, has formally refused to receive a judicial summons from Beirut Port blast investigator Judge Tarek Bitar, reigniting a bitter legal and constitutional standoff over the stalled probe into the 2020 explosion that killed more than 220 people and devastated large parts of the capital.

According to local reports, the legal standoff unfolded on July 15 when a court officer, acting on instructions from Public Prosecutor at the Court of Cassation Judge Jamal Hajjar, delivered a notice to Oueidat at his residence in the town of Chehim. The summons called on Oueidat to appear before Bitar for questioning on July 21 as part of the ongoing investigation into the blast.

Oueidat accepted a copy of the summons but refused to sign the acknowledgment of receipt, stating that he does not recognize Bitar’s legal authority, which he claims has been revoked. Instead, he submitted a handwritten statement rejecting the summons, a copy of which was appended to the court document.

In his written response, Oueidat addressed Judge Bitar directly, calling him “suspended,” “unqualified,” and “without jurisdiction.”

“To the suspended judicial investigator, who is himself under prosecution and the initiator of this case,” Oueidat wrote.

“In accordance with Article 354 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and Law No. 129 of October 26, 1999, you lack legal capacity, authority, and jurisdiction. You are prohibited by law from taking any action or conducting any proceedings. You have no legitimacy, and we will not grant it to you. You are an unqualified party; therefore, we consider this alleged and null accusation, along with the date of the session, as non-existent.”

Oueidat also criticized Judge Hajjar for executing Bitar’s orders, accusing him of enabling “legally flawed and egregious decisions” that he said violate the boundaries of judicial authority. He urged Hajjar to “correct the course” by formally charging and prosecuting him, as well as the other judges compelled to appear before Bitar, in accordance with Lebanese criminal procedure.

“As for you, Honorable Public Prosecutor at the Court of Cassation, who agreed to carry out such flawed and fundamentally unlawful decisions that strip you of your jurisdiction, I call upon you to correct this course by filing formal charges against me and prosecuting me properly, as well as pursuing legal action against the other judges whom you compelled to appear before an unqualified authority,” Oueidat wrote.

The latest development adds a new layer of complexity to an investigation that has been repeatedly obstructed by legal challenges, political interference, and constitutional ambiguity.

Judge Bitar resumed his probe earlier this year after a 13-month suspension but was immediately met with fierce resistance from powerful political and judicial figures, including Oueidat, who accused him of overstepping his authority and violating the separation of powers.