International Parental Child Abduction Lebanon

Disclaimer:  The information in this circular relating to the legal requirements of specific foreign countries is provided for general information only. Questions involving interpretation of specific foreign laws should be addressed to foreign legal counsel.

December 2011

GENERAL INFORMATION:

Lebanon is not a party to the Hague Abduction Convention.
For information concerning travel to Lebanon, including information about the location of the U.S. Embassy, health conditions, currency and entry regulations, and crime and security, please see Country Specific Information for Lebanon.

LEGAL SYSTEM:

Lebanon implements a system of governance known as confessionalism and its legal system is based on Ottoman law, canon law, and French models.  Jurisdiction over family matters rests in religious courts.  Sharia Courts handle family matters for Sunni and Shia Muslims, as well as the Druze sect.  Ecclesiastical Courts hear family matters for the different Christian denominations and the Jewish community has its own court. 

Due to the absence of a civil marriage institution, Lebanese who are interested in a civil law marriage often conduct such marriages abroad. Lebanese courts uphold civil marriages provided they are duly registered at the Lebanese Personal and Family Status Department at the Ministry of Interior.  Divorce and custody cases involving spouses who had a civil marriage are handled by civil courts, unless the parties submit to the jurisdiction of a religious authority. In cases where both a civil marriage and a religious marriage are conducted, the first registered marriage receives priority. Moreover, pursuant to the Civil Procedural Law, the civil courts will have exclusive jurisdiction over marriage between a Muslim and a non-Muslim and between a Lebanese national and a non-Lebanese national.  However, the civil court will have to apply the law under which such marriages were conducted.

The Lebanese Internal Security Force (ISF) searches for missing children.  The ISF will act according to a judicial order and/or through a request to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  

Generally speaking, the father is the legal guardian of a child absent a court order to the contrary.  Under the Druze Code, a father has the right of guardianship of his children until they reach the age of majority at eighteen.  In the Sunni Hanafi school of law and the Shiite Jaafari school of law, the father is the guardian of his legitimate children.

Absent a court order, a mother will be granted guardianship of a child born out of wedlock; however, she cannot transmit Lebanese citizenship to her child.

RETAINING AN ATTORNEY:

The U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon posts a list of attorneys who specialize in personal status matters at:  http://lebanon.usembassy.gov/attorneys.html.

Lebanon offers free or reduced-fee legal aid services via the Justice Palace.  More information in Arabic can be found at: http://www.bba.org.lb/.

CITIZENSHIP & PASSPORT MATTERS:

Under Lebanese law, children born to a Lebanese father, whether the birth occurs inside or outside Lebanon, are considered citizens of Lebanon.  However, children born to a Lebanese mother and a non-Lebanese father may or may not be considered Lebanese citizens, depending on a variety of factors.  For more specific information concerning the law governing Lebanese citizenship, contact a properly qualified attorney or the Lebanese embassy at http://www.lebanonembassyus.org/.

Lebanon does not recognize dual nationality.  American/Lebanese dual nationals who carry Lebanese papers are treated as Lebanese nationals by security authorities.  Lebanese civil courts will apply Lebanese law to a child who is a dual American and Lebanese citizen.  

Up to three children may be carried on a parent’s passport.  A child may be included on a parent’s passport until the child is 16 years old; the child must then apply for his own passport.  Under Lebanese law, no child under the age of 18 can obtain a Lebanese passport without the permission of both parents.
 
A Lebanese child can travel to Syria on his/her Lebanese ID card; however, a travel hold placed on a child or spouse will likely lead to discovery of the child whether traveling on a Passport or an ID. 

EXIT PERMITS:

Border officials will prevent the departure from Lebanon of any individual whose passport lacks a "valid entry stamp and residency visa."  Officials will issue a valid entry stamp and/or a residency visa provided that the immigration authority's records indicate the bearer's "legal" status in Lebanon.
Lebanese parents of children under 18 years of age may legally prevent their children from leaving or being taken from Lebanon through an administrative procedure that does not require court involvement, commonly referred to as a “travel hold.”  Likewise, a Lebanese spouse may take legal action to prevent his wife/her husband from leaving the country, regardless of nationality. 

Absent a travel hold, a minor child in possession of a passport is assumed to have parental permission to travel and thus exit Lebanon.

During a custody dispute or divorce proceedings, either party can request an injunction to prevent the other's departure from the country.  Once such legal orders are in place, the U.S. Embassy is unable to lift the travel restriction.

MEDIATION:

The Juvenile Court is in charge of mediating any matters relating to the child.  Currently, there are no known government agencies or non-governmental organizations that offer mediation services for custody disputes.

HAGUE ABDUCTION CONVENTION:

Lebanon is not party to the Hague Abduction Convention. 

However, there is a Memorandum of Understanding on Consular Cooperation in Cases Concerning Parental Access to Children between the United States and Lebanon.

CIVIL REMEDIES:

Lebanon has three levels of jurisdiction: courts of first instance, courts of appeal, and the court of cassation. Except in some rare cases, lower courts’ orders can be appealed and are not enforceable unless they become final and unsusceptible to any recourse, such as appeal.

As a general rule, Lebanese law permits the enforcement of foreign court orders, for which the Appellate Court is responsible.  To be enforceable in Lebanon, foreign court orders must not be subject to any ongoing litigation, and may not contravene any imperative rule of law or rule of public order.  In practice, if a child is in the physical custody of his or her Lebanese father, it is difficult to enforce foreign custody orders that would return the child to the mother.

In Lebanon, custody disputes, like issues involving marriage and divorce, are resolved in accordance with the laws of each religious community.  In general, religious courts usually award custody of boys to the mother until age seven and of girls until age nine, after which custody is transferred to the father, if he so wishes.  Courts applying doctrine supported by the Christian Maronite church theoretically would award custody of a child younger than two to the mother. 

If a Lebanese citizen marries outside of Lebanon, to a non-Lebanese, in a civil ceremony the civil courts in Lebanon would have jurisdiction in any custody matters.

With respect to older children, custody decisions are made in the best interests of the child.  This general rule applies in each religious community provided that the custodial parent is deemed fit to raise his or her children by the court. 

Lebanese courts usually address in the custody decree the conditions under which the children concerned may travel outside Lebanon.  In the absence of an explicit reference to those conditions in such a decree, the authorities will require the authorization of both parents before issuing a Lebanese passport for the child.  Once a child has a passport, children generally may travel with either parent unless a court orders otherwise. 

Either parent can request that a custody decision be reviewed and amended by the Lebanese courts at any time based on changed circumstances.
Lebanon has codified custody laws (both civil codes and religious codes).  However, there are no official versions available in English. 


CRIMINAL REMEDIES:

Parental child abduction is a criminal offense in Lebanon.  If the act occurs in Lebanon, the ISF will act according to a judicial order and/or through a request to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs based on the Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Lebanon.

The United States does not have an extradition treaty with Lebanon, or any other bilateral treaty that that includes extradition for international parental child abduction. 

Lebanon is part of the Interpol Agreement. Therefore, the General Attorney of the Supreme Court has the authority to take action for both the child and the parents based on an Interpol notice. Generally speaking, however, Lebanon does not extradite its own citizens subject to an Interpol arrest notice.  Lebanese authorities may act to enforce international red notices for non-Lebanese citizens (e.g., they may confiscate a passport). 

VISITATION/ACCESS:

There are no generally applicable rules concerning visitation.  Courts hearing custody disputes have broad discretion to issue corresponding orders depending on the facts of each case.

Either the religious courts or the civil courts may determine visitation and access rights based upon the marriage of the parents. According the law, decisions about visitation and access are made with regards to the best interest of the child and are generally enforced.
 

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