LEBANON Law and Practice Contributed by: Nayla Comair-Obeid, Ziad Obeid and Zeina Obeid, Obeid & Partners
• the defendant’s domicile; • the defendant’s residence; or • the assets subject to execution.
• 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). Once the exequatur is granted, the foreign judg- ment becomes enforceable in Lebanon. The competent Enforcement Bureau will then pro- ceed with its execution, in accordance with the provisions of the LCCP governing enforcement. This involves pursuing the judgment debtor’s movable and immovable assets. 10. Appeal 10.1 Levels of Appeal or Review to a Litigation Article 639 of the LCCP provides that all deci- sions issued by the court of first instance may be subject to appeal, except those that are exclud- ed by the law. According to Article 640 of the LCCP, the decisions adjudicating a dispute of an amount not exceeding LBP150 million cannot be subject to appeal. However, the decisions issued by the Labour Arbitral Council are not subject to appeal but only to cassation. 10.2 Rules Concerning Appeals of Judgments The appeal is governed by Articles 638–667 of the LCCP. As stated in 10.1 Levels of Appeal or Review to a Litigation , all judgments issued by the courts of first instance may be subject to appeal, unless provided otherwise by law (Arti- cle 639 of the LCCP). Furthermore, the appeal is filed at the court registry and shall be signed by a lawyer and include the appealed judgment
If none of the above-mentioned scenarios applies, the request shall be submitted to the President of the Beirut 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 exequa- tur is granted to a foreign judgment that satisfies the following conditions. • The judgment should be rendered by compe- tent 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 by two/ in the name of two different jurisdictions but in relation to the same subject matter and among the same opponents, the Enforcement Order is granted to the judgment that is in conformity with the rules of the Lebanese law pertaining to international competence. • The judgment should be enforceable and should have acquired the force of res judi- cata in the country where it was rendered. Nevertheless, the Enforcement Order can be granted to provisional and ex parte decisions that have become enforceable in the country concerned. • The losing party should have been duly noti- fied of the lawsuit that resulted in the judg- ment and the right of defence should have been duly accorded/provided to them. • The judgment should be rendered in the name of a country whose laws allow the enforceability of Lebanese judgments on its territories after scrutinising them or after giv- ing them an exequatur.
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