LEBANON Law and Practice Contributed by: Mohamed Alem, Mazen Ghosn and Rana Kahwagi, Alem & Associates
12.3 Approach of the Courts As indicated in 12.2 Enforcement Procedure , the ref- erence made in Article 796 (2) of the NCPC to Article 800 of the NCPC has the effect of making it possible to examine all the grounds that may be raised against a domestic award when considering the application for exequatur of an international arbitral award. Fortunately, the Lebanese courts have remedied the deficiency found in Article 796 (2) of the NCPC, with the Court of First Instance of Beirut ruling that the exequatur judge is not actually required to review the merits of the arbitral award (Court of First Instance of Beirut, 16 July 1991, Decision 197/3). Similarly, the Beirut Court of Appeal held that the exequatur judge’s review should be limited to verifying only the mani - fest conformity with international public policy (Court of Appeal of Beirut, 21 December 2011, Decision 1786/2011). A decision of the Court of First Instance of Mount Lebanon held that the exequatur is a purely administrative act that requires a simple summary review (Court of First Instance of Mount Lebanon, 12 October 1995, Decision 123/95). In light of the above, international arbitral awards (whether rendered locally or abroad) are generally granted recognition and exequatur in Lebanon, while there are very few cases in Lebanese case law of exequatur being denied. 13. Miscellaneous 13.1 Class Action or Group Arbitration Class actions are not available under Lebanese law. However, pursuant to Article 811 of the NCPC, Leba - nese law recognises that parties may agree to institu - tional international arbitration, whose rules provide for multiparty arbitration, as is the case with the arbitra - tion rules of the ICC and DIAC. 13.2 Ethical Codes The code of ethics for lawyers conducting proceed - ings in Lebanon is found in Law No 42 of 1991 organ - ising the legal profession in Lebanon.
There is no code of ethics or other professional stand - ards specifically applicable to arbitrators. However, the NCPC contains a number of provisions that pro - vide guidance as to the ethical standards expected of arbitrators. For example, Article 769 of the NCPC provides that once arbitrators have accepted their mandate, they may not resign without good cause, failing which the arbitrators shall be liable for dam - ages. Article 770 of the NCPC further provides that the challenge of an arbitrator may only be based on the same grounds that justify the recusal of judges. 13.3 Third-Party Funding Lebanese law does not contain any provisions gov - erning or restricting third-party funders. 13.4 Consolidation Lebanese law does not address the consolidation of separate arbitral proceedings. However, pursuant to Article 811 of the NCPC, Leba - nese law accepts that parties may agree to institu - tional international arbitration, the rules of which may provide for the consolidation of different arbitral pro - ceedings. 13.5 Binding of Third Parties As indicated in 5.6 Jurisdiction Over Third Parties , it is well established in Lebanese jurisprudence that third parties that participate in the negotiation or exe - cution of a contract are deemed to be bound by the arbitration agreement contained therein. With respect to the binding effect of an arbitral award on third parties, it is generally accepted under Leba - nese law that judicial decisions may be binding on third parties to the extent that the performance of such decisions may require the participation of the third parties, but without affecting their property. This is the case, for example, with the withholding of the award debtor’s funds held by a third party. The same applies to arbitral awards, as Lebanese law does not distin- guish between judicial decisions and arbitral awards in this respect.
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