LEBANON Law and Practice Contributed by: Nayla Comair-Obeid, Ziad Obeid and Zeina Obeid, Obeid & Partners
before the court of appeal, pursuant to the same Article. That said, it is worth noting that requests for interest, arrears, rent dues, and other entitle - ments that have become due since the issuance of the judgment, as well as claims for compensa- tion for damages arising from the judgment are not considered new claims. They may therefore be raised on appeal as additional claims. 10.5 Court-Imposed Conditions on Granting an Appeal The courts may not impose conditions on grant- ing an appeal other than those stated by the law. As set out in 10.1 Levels of Appeal or Review to a Litigation , all judgments issued by the courts of first instance may be appealed, unless pro- vided otherwise by law. 10.6 Powers of the Appellate Court After an Appeal Hearing After hearing an appeal, the court of appeal either validates or invalidates the court of first instance’s judgment. In this regard, if the court of first instance’s judg- ment is overturned, then the court of appeal shall re-examine the merits of the case. The appeal decision may be subject to appeal to the Court of Cassation ( pourvoi en cassation ) provided that certain conditions are met (Article 708 of the LCCP). 11. Costs 11.1 Responsibility for Paying the Costs of Litigation In principle, a losing party bears the costs of the successful party. These costs include court fees,
witness and expert fees, procedural expenses and attorney fees. It is worth noting that lawyers’ fees are not typically reimbursed in full. Typically, costs are borne by the losing party, as per Article 541 of the LCCP. That said, the court may order the successful party to bear all or part of the costs if: • the losing party had acknowledged the right before the lawsuit was filed; or • the successful party caused unnecessary or additional costs due to its mistake, or if it withheld decisive documents or their con- tents from the opposing party. It is also worth noting that the court may allocate the costs between the parties as it deems appro- priate if each party is found partially unsuccess- ful in its claims. Regarding the mechanisms for challenging the amounts of allocated costs, an objection may be submitted to the court clerk within three days of the notification of the judgment or the state- ment of costs. The court that issued the judg- ment will review the objection in chambers, after summoning the parties or the objecting party to appear, with a 24-hour notice if such summons is deemed necessary (Articles 548-550 of the LCCP). 11.2 Factors Considered When Awarding Costs The court has discretionary power when award- ing costs, considering the specific circumstanc- es of the case and the parameters outlined in 11.1 Responsibility for Paying the Costs of Litigation .
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