LEBANON Law and Practice Contributed by: Nayla Comair-Obeid, Ziad Obeid and Zeina Obeid, Obeid & Partners
828 of the LCCP, the Execution Judge is the judicial authority competent to enforce a domestic judgment. The request for enforcement should be submitted at the clerk’s office of the Enforcement Bureau and include all relevant details (ie, the name of the party requesting enforcement, the name of the opposing party, their place of residence, titles, capacity, along with the judgment for which execution is sought, the requested amount, and the assets to be seized where relevant (Article 837 of the LCCP). The enforcement process is subject to certain con- ditions. For instance, a domestic judgment is not enforceable unless it has acquired the force of res judicata (Article 836 of the LCCP) or is an interim measure or an ex parte decision (which is enforce- able de jure). For enforcement purposes, certain measures such as seizures and third-party debt orders may be ordered. Additionally, Article 569 of the LCCP provides for the courts’ power to order a penalty to ensure the enforcement of the judgments in cases of partial, non- execution or delay in the execution of the judgment. Insolvency proceedings may be initiated against the defaulting party in the event where the defaulting party is a trader in a cessation of payments situation. For completeness, cessation of payment occurs when it is established that the debtor is in a desperate financial situation, and has failed to pay any outstanding debt that is: (i) commercial in nature (ii) due and (iii) certain (ie, typically, a final court judgment would fulfil this condition). 9.5 Enforcement of a Judgment From a Foreign Country Unless otherwise provided by virtue of an international convention signed between Lebanon and a foreign state, foreign judgments are recognised in Lebanon via an exequatur order, which is a pre-requisite to enforcement. To obtain an exequatur order, an appli- cation must be filed ex parte to the President of the Court of Appeal – Civil Section, having jurisdiction over:
• the defendant’s domicile; • the defendant’s residence; or • the assets subject to execution.
If none of the above-mentioned scenarios applies, the request shall be submitted to the President of the Bei- rut Court of Appeal (whose jurisdiction would, in this case, be established by default), pursuant to Article 1013 of the LCCP. Article 1014 of the LCCP provides that exequatur is granted to a foreign judgment that satisfies the fol- lowing conditions. • The judgment should be rendered by competent judges in accordance with the laws of the country in which the decision was rendered, provided that their competence is not only determined by the nationality of the plaintiff. If two foreign judgments are rendered in the names of two different jurisdic- tions but in relation to the same subject matter and among the same opponents, the Enforcement Order is granted to the judgment that is in con- formity with the rules of the Lebanese law pertain- ing to international competence. • The judgment should be enforceable and should have acquired the force of res judicata in the country where it was rendered. Nevertheless, the Enforcement Order can be granted to provisional and ex parte decisions that have become enforce- able in the country concerned. • The losing party should have been duly notified of the lawsuit that resulted in the judgment and their right of defence should have been duly ensured. • The judgment should be rendered in the name of a country whose laws allow the enforcement of Lebanese judgments within its territory after scruti- nising them or giving them an exequatur. • The judgment does not violate public policy. As an exception, foreign decisions related to personal status, capacity and issued ex parte, automatically produce their effects in Lebanon without the need for an exequatur, provided they are not rendered through so-called contentious proceedings abroad (Article 1012 of the LCCP).
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