LEBANON Law and Practice Contributed by: Nayla Comair-Obeid, Ziad Obeid and Zeina Obeid, Obeid & Partners
Obeid & Partners Stratum Building Omar Daouk Street Beirut Central District Lebanon
Tel: +961 1 36 37 90 Fax: +961 1 36 37 91
Email: info@obeidpartners.com Web: www.obeidpartners.com
1. General 1.1 General Characteristics of the Legal System Lebanon has a civil law legal system and therefore follows the inquisitorial model. Legal proceedings are conducted primarily through written submissions. 1.2 Court System As Lebanon is a unitary state, it does not have a system of federal courts. The judiciary in Lebanon is divided into two primary branches: • Judicial Courts, which operate across three levels and handle both criminal and civil matters; and • Administrative Courts, which deal with disputes related to administrative matters. At present, the State Council ( Conseil d’État ) is the sole judicial authority overseeing administrative disputes, as the lower-level administrative courts have not yet been established. There are also special courts with subject matter juris- diction, such as the military and the religious courts (dealing with matters related to personal status). Civil Court Chambers The civil courts are responsible for adjudicating civil disputes. They are divided into chambers, depending on the nature of the dispute, as follows. • The Commercial Chamber, which handles commer- cial and financial disputes related to business and trade.
• The Financial Chamber, which oversees disputes related to financial claims. • The Real Estate Chamber, which adjudicates prop- erty and real estate matters. • The Personal Status Chamber, which deals with issues related to nationality, inheritance, civil mar- riage and similar matters. In addition to the above, there are special chambers for lease disputes, labour law matters and bankruptcy cases. Civil courts also include single-judge cham- bers for summary proceedings and an Enforcement Bureau, which manages enforcement procedures. Structure of the Civil Courts The civil courts are divided as follows. • Courts of first instance are presided over either by a single judge or by a panel of three judges, depending on the complexity and value of the case. A sole judge typically handles specific mat- ters, such as lease disputes or claims of lesser value, while more complex cases are heard by a panel. (a) The timeframe of the court proceedings is affected by various factors, such as the sub- ject matter and complexity of the case (eg, the need to appoint an expert), as well as other factors that may or may not be within the par- ties’ control. Generally, the period between commencing proceedings and reaching trial ranges from two to six months under normal circumstances, provided that notification is not delayed. However, in recent years, this
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