Lebanon

Table of Contents

Introduction

Until 1943, Lebanon was administered by the French under a League of Nations mandate. After independence, Lebanon became a republic led by a president and a prime minister. Power in Lebanon is distributed among three sects - Maronite Christians, Sunni Muslims, and Shi’i Muslims.

History of the Constitution

• The first Lebanese Constitution was drafted in 1926 (English text, Arabic text), when the country was still subject to French administration under a League of Nations mandate. It declared Lebanon a democratic parliamentary republic. The 1926 constitution was amended several times – in 1929, 1943, 1947, and 1990. The constitution is supplemented by a 1943 power-sharing agreement referred to as al-Mithaq al-Watani (the National Pact). This agreement allocates the three top positions—that of the president, the prime minister, and the speaker of the parliament—to a Maronite Christian, a Sunni Muslim, and a Shi’i Muslim respectively.


• The most recent 1990 constitution (found here in English, Arabic, and French) includes changes required by the 1989 Ta’if Accord, also known as the Charter of Lebanese National Reconciliation (English text, Arabic text). The Ta’if Accord was an agreement signed by Lebanese sectarian leaders to end the country’s fifteen-year civil war. The changes transferred some governmental powers away from the Maronite Christians, who had been favored by the French and thus granted more political power in the original Constitution.


• The new constitution provides for an equal distribution of Christians and Muslims in both the cabinet and the parliament. Prior the agreement, Muslims were dissatisfied with the six-to-five Christian-Muslim ratio in parliament, particularly since Muslims are in the majority in Lebanon. This allocation of legislative power had been one of the issues associated with the Lebanese Civil War. While the agreement did not eliminate the allotment stipulation as Muslims had hoped, it did reapportion the seats to allow for equal representation in parliament.


• The 1990 changes also reduced the power of the Maronite president. Prior to the Ta'if Accord, the Sunni prime minister was appointed by and responsible to the Maronite president. In the new constitution, the prime minister is responsible to the legislature, as in a traditional parliamentary system.


• The constitution may be revised upon the request of the president or the parliament. A two-thirds majority of seats is needed to initiate amendment procedures (Articles 76 and 77).


• The constitution is also supplemented by the 2008 Doha Agreement (English text), which ended an eighteen-month political deadlock and eventual violent outbreak between the Western and Saudi-backed majority and its pro-Syrian opposition. The agreement stipulated the election of General Michel Suleiman as president and the reappointment of Fouad Siniora as prime minister. The agreement also granted the ruling coalition sixteen of 30 cabinet seats, the opposition eleven seats, and left the remaining three seats to be named by the president. The agreement also banned the use of weapons in internal conflicts.

State Institutions

The Lebanese constitution (found here in English, Arabic, and French) vests executive power in the president, the prime minister, and the Council of Ministers.

Executive Branch

The President

The president (official website in English, Arabic) is the chief of state and:

• Is elected by a two-thirds majority of the parliament. If no presidential candidate is able to meet the two-thirds majority requirement in the first round of voting, a second round of voting is scheduled in which absolute majority suffices.
• Serves a six-year term with consecutive terms forbidden. This law has been bypassed by one-time constitutional amendments twice in recent years (passed by a two-thirds majority in parliament): in 1995, President Elias Hrawi’s term was extended by three years, and in 2004 President Emile Lahoud’s term was also extended by three years.
• Appoints the prime minister in consultation with the parliament.
• Promulgates laws passed by the parliament.
• Can only issue decrees with the approval of the prime minister or other relevant ministers. The only exceptions are the decree appointing the prime minister and the decree accepting the resignation of the government.
• Negotiates and ratifies treaties in coordination with the prime minister.
• Can convene, in agreement with the prime minister, the Council of Ministers to an extraordinary session.
• Has the right to request that the Council of Ministers re-examine any decision it makes. However, the Council may decide to maintain its decision despite the president’s opposition.
• Can request the Council of Ministers to dissolve parliament before the end of its mandate only if the parliament fails to meet in two successive parliamentary sessions or fails to vote on the entire budget with the objective of blocking the government’s actions.
• Can pardon by decree.
• Is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

Based on the unwritten National Pact of 1943, the president is always a Maronite Christian. General Michel Suleiman became president on May 25, 2008.

The Prime Minister

The prime minister is the head of government and:

• Is appointed by the president in consultation with the parliament. Members of the parliament suggest candidates for the position.
• Heads the Council of Ministers and sets its agenda.
• Conducts the parliamentary consultations requisite to forming a cabinet.
• Must countersign all decrees proposed by the president of the republic, with the exception of the decree accepting the resignation of the government.
• Is required to sign off on international treaties.

Based on the unwritten National Pact of 1943, the prime minister is a Sunni Muslim. Saad Hariri is the current prime minister, having assumed the position in November 2009. He is the son of Rafik Hariri, who was assassinated in 2005. Hariri now heads his father’s party, the Movement of the Future.

The Council of Ministers or Cabinet:

The cabinet:

• Is appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the president and the parliament. Cabinet seats are allotted to sects in proportion to their numbers.
• Requires a vote of confidence from the parliament to remain in power. A vote of no confidence is rarely exercised in practice.
• Controls the armed forces.
• Proposes legislation.
• Submits the annual budget plan to parliament.
• Can dissolve the parliament upon request of the president if parliament, for no compelling reason, fails to meet during one of its regular periods and fails to meet throughout two successive extraordinary periods, each longer than one month, or if it rejects an annual budget plan with the aim of paralyzing the government (Article 65). This right cannot be exercised a second time if it is for the same reasons that led to the dissolution of parliament the first time.
• Usually makes its decisions by consensus but if consensus is impossible, it makes decisions by majority vote of members present at the meeting. Certain “national issues,” however, require the approval of two-thirds of all the members of the council. These include: amending the constitution, electoral laws, nationality laws, and personal status laws; declaring and ending a state of emergency; declaring war; signing peace agreements; signing international treaties; creating the annual government budget; proposing long-term development projects; the appointing of high-level government employees; the dissolving of parliament; and the dismissing of ministers.

The current cabinet was formed in November 2009 after months of disagreements over new ministry appointments. Negotiations led the government to agree on a 15-10-5 formula for the new cabinet–fifteen seats for the majority (supporters of the March 14 Movement and the prime minister’s Movement of the Future), ten seats for the opposition (Hezbollah and its Shi’i allies), and five seats for members of the Christian bloc loyal to the president (including former prime minister Michel Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement). The latter provision gives the president and his supporters the option of allying with the opposition and vetoing any decision by the ruling coalition.

These negotiations emerged out of a 2008 power-sharing agreement brokered by Qatar (and thus known as the Doha Accord) and intended to allow for the formation of a unity government. The agreement was made necessary by Hezbollah’s seizure of West Beirut the previous May, and ended an 18-month political impasse in the country.

Click here for a list of the current ministers and their political affiliations.

Legislative Branch

The Chamber of Deputies (Majlis al-Nuwwab) or the National Assembly

The Chamber of Deputies (Majlis al-Nuwwab):

• Is elected by popular vote for five-year terms on the basis of proportional representation for the various confessional groups.
• Proposes legislation.
• Levies taxes and approves the budget.
• Can impeach the prime minister and ministers for high treason or for serious neglect of their duties. The decision to impeach can only be taken by a two-thirds majority of the total membership.
• Can question ministers on policy issues.
• Can withdraw confidence from certain ministers.
• Can be dissolved by a joint decision of the president and the Council of Ministers if it fails to meet during one of its regular periods and fails to meet throughout two successive extraordinary periods, each longer than one month, or if it rejects an annual budget plan with the aim of paralyzing the government. New elections must be held within three months of dissolution.

The most recent elections for the Chamber of Deputies took place on June 7, 2009. In the elections, the March 14 Coalition won 71 seats, while the March 8 Coalition won 57 seats. Both coalitions were formed in the aftermath of the 2005 assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri. The March 14 Coalition is led by his son and the current Prime Minister, Saad Hariri. It is made up of Sunni Muslims and has been labelled pro-Western by the opposition. It is composed of the prime minister’s Movement of the Future, as well as the Progressive Socialist Party, the Christian Lebanese Forces, and the Christian Phalangist (Kataeb) party. Click here for detailed election results.

The March 8 Coalition includes supporters of the pro-Syrian Shi’i group Hezbollah, the Amal Movement headed by Speaker of the House Nabih Berri, and former interim Prime Minister Michel Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement.

The Ta’if Accord stipulates that a higher chamber or a Senate (Majlis al Shuyukh) must be established after the first parliament is elected on a national, non-confessional basis. This higher chamber is supposed to represent the various sects, while the Chamber of Deputies must be non-sectarian. This stipulation was incorporated into the constitution with the 1990 amendments (Article 22), but the chamber was never set up.

The Speaker of the Parliament

The speaker of the parliament:

• Is elected by the parliament.
• Has considerable power, because he can delay the presentation of draft laws to the parliament. This creates a situation in which the prime minister and the Council of Ministers are forced to bargain with the speaker to ensure that draft laws are placed, within a reasonable amount of time, on the agenda of the relevant parliamentary commissions.

Based on the unwritten National Pact of 1943, the speaker of the parliament is always a Shi’i Muslim. Nabih Berri, leader of the Shi’i Amal party, was re-elected on June 28, 2009 for a fifth consecutive term in office. He was previously elected in 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2005.

Judiciary

Lebanon’s constitution was written before extensive provisions for judicial bodies became common. While it has been amended, there has been no attempt to detail provisions for the judiciary. As amended in 1990, the Lebanese constitution has only two articles relating to the judiciary. Article 19 calls for the establishment of a Constitutional Council, and Article 20 states that “judicial power is to be exercised by tribunals of various levels and jurisdictions.” An additional article deals with trying ministers and presidents (Article 80).

Article 20 of the constitution provides for an independent judiciary. In practice, the judiciary is subject to political pressure, particularly in the appointments of key prosecutors and investigating magistrates.

The judiciary is governed by a series of laws such as the the Code of Civil Procedure (Law No. 90 of 1983), the Penal Code (Law No. 340 of 1943), and the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Judiciary Councils

• The Constitutional Council, created by the 1990 constitutional amendments, judges the constitutionality of laws and arbitrates conflicts that arise from presidential and parliamentary elections. It is composed of ten members, half of them selected by the Chamber of Deputies and the other half by the Council of Ministers. The president, the speaker of the parliament, the prime minister, and ten members of parliament have the right to consult the council on matters that relate to the constitutionality of laws. Officially recognized heads of religious communities have the right to consult the council concerning laws relating to personal status, freedom of belief and religious practice, and freedom of religious education. Click here for a detailed description of the council and the laws governing it.


• The Supreme Judicial Council, headed by the Chief Justice of the Court of Cassation, is in charge of judicial appointments, transfers, and training. However, in practice, the Ministry of Justice performs these functions to guarantee adequate representation for all confessional groups. The Ministry of Justice appoints all judges based on their religious affiliation. Its decisions are submitted to the Supreme Judicial Council for approval.

Courts

Lebanon’s court system is based on a combination of Civil law, Islamic law, and Ottoman law. Law No. 7855 of 1961 sets out the organization of the judiciary.

There is also a separate system of specialized confessional courts with jurisdiction over personal status matters (rules on marriage, divorce, and inheritance) in their respective communities. The shari’a courts are divided into Sunni and Shi’i units. There are also courts for the various Christian sects, Druze, and Jews. Click here to view the organization of the judiciary in Arabic.

Lower Courts

Courts of First Instance (mahakim bida’iyya) hear civil, penal, and personal status cases at the initial level, and the decisions of these courts can be appealed. Cases are heard by three judges, although minor civil and criminal cases may be heard by a single judge.

Courts of Appeal

Daira courts are grouped within each province under the jurisdiction of the provincial court (wilaya), which consists of panels of three judges, and they hear appeals from the tribunal courts. Forty-eight wilaya courts are organized regionally into four chambers: civil, criminal, administrative, and accusation.

Court of Cassation

The Court of Cassation in Beirut serves as the final court of appeal for all lower court cases in the regular court system. It also adjudicates in the event of judicial disputes between special and regular courts, or between two types of specialized courts.

Other Courts

• The Military Court: A military court system tries cases involving military personnel and civilians accused of security-related crimes (such as espionage, treason, weapons possession, and draft evasion). The Military Court has two tribunals—the permanent tribunal and the cassation tribunal. The cassation tribunal, headed by a civilian judge, hears appeals from the permanent tribunal. Defendants on trial in the military tribunal have the same procedural rights as defendants in ordinary courts. The Military Court, which consists predominantly of military officers with no legal training, does not observe international standards of criminal procedure.


• The Audit Court: Attached to the prime minister’s office, this court oversees cases related to the misuse of public funds. Click here for more information.


• The Judicial Council: A permanent tribunal of five senior judges that adjudicates national security related cases. The cabinet decides whether to try a case before this tribunal after consulting with the Minister of Justice. Verdicts from the Judicial Council are final and may not be appealed.


• In addition, there are several quasi-judicial or arbitration bodies for labor, real estate, and customs disputes.


• Lebanon has a separate administrative judiciary, which includes administrative tribunals and a Council of State or State Consultative Council (Majlis Shura al-Dawla). The latter acts as the highest court in the system. The Council of State (official website in English, Arabic, and French) was established in 1924 and is empowered to try disputes between individuals and the state. It also deals with administrative and jurisdictional disputes between state organs.

Reforms Under Discussion

• Beginning in 2008, the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) under USAID launched a project to Strengthen the Independence of the Judiciary and Citizen Access to Justice (SIJCAJ) in Lebanon. The project is designed to train judges, increase transparency, expand legal aid programs, and improve the overall efficiency of the judiciary. It also gives grants to local NGOs to support legal reform efforts in the country. Click here for more.

Military

Military service in Lebanon is voluntary and citizens may not be conscripted to serve. The Lebanese Armed Forces consist of the Lebanese Army (al-Jaysh al-Lubnaniya or LAF), the Lebanese Navy (al-Quwwat al-Bahriyya al-Lubnaniya), and the Lebanese Air Force (al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Lubnaniya).

Members of the military may not vote in elections.

President Michel Sleiman is currently the commander of the armed forces, and has served in the military since the 1970s.

Political Environment

Political Parties

Lebanon has numerous political parties, which are organized into political blocs. These alliances are usually based on confessional and local interests or on personal and family allegiance rather than on political affinities.

Coalitions are formed for electoral purposes by negotiation among clan leaders and candidates representing various religious communities. It is not unusual for a party to join an electoral ticket in one constituency while aligned with a rival party in another constituency.

The largest political parties are confessional-based. During the civil war most parties had militias.

Main parliamentary groups

• Movement for the Future (Tayyar al-Mustaqbal) is led by Saad Hariri, the son of former Prime Miniser Rafik Hariri who was assassinated in 2005. In the 2009 legislative elections, the party was the main faction in the March 14 Coalition, which won 71 of the 128 seats in parliament. While it is a secular party with membership from the country’s various religious denominations, the movement's members are mostly Sunni Muslims.


• The Lebanese Forces group is officially secular, but in practice has been supported almost exclusively by Christians, especially Maronites. Its activities were severely restricted by the pro-Syrian government until the withdrawal of Syrian troops in 2005. It also formed part of the Rafik Hariri Martyr List that won the 2005 parliamentary elections. The Lebanese Forces group is led by Samir Geagea, who was arrested in 1994 on charges of attempting to undermine government authority by “maintaining a militia in the guise of a political party,” of instigating acts of violence, and of committing assassinations during the Lebanese Civil War. He was pardoned on July 18, 2005. In the 2009 elections, Lebanese Forces allied with the March 14 Coalition and won five of the Coalition’s 71 seats in parliament.


• The Kataeb Party (Hizb al-Kataeb), or the Phalangist Party, is a secular social democratic party mainly supported by Maronite Christians. It is vocally anti-Syrian and anti-Iranian following the 2005 withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon after former prime minister Rafik Hariri’s assassination. Its younger members oppose the 1989 Ta’if Accord for forcing an Arab identity on Lebanon. In the 2009 elections, it joined with the March 14 Coalition and won five of the Coalition’s 71 seats in parliament.


• The Progressive Socialist Party (Hizb al-Taqadummi al-Ishtiraki) was founded in 1949 and is led by prominent Druze leader Walid Jumblatt. The movement is ideologically secular and officially non-sectarian, but in practice is mainly Druze. It was founded in 1949. In the 2009 elections, it joined with the March 14 Coalition and won four seats in parliament. It has since broken ranks with the March 14 Coalition.


• The Democratic Left Movement (Harakat al-Yassari ad-Dimuqrati or HYD) was founded in September 2004 by leftist intellectuals who had split from the Lebanese Communist Party. It advocates a European-style social democracy to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor without compromising freedom or economic productivity. The DLM is one of the few parties in Lebanon that calls for a secular, non-confessional state. In the 2009 parliamentary elections, it joined with the March 14 Coalition and won one seat.


• The Amal Movement (Harakat Amal) is one of the two main Shi’i parties in Lebanon. Its historical objectives are to achieve respect for Lebanon's long-alienated Shi’i population and a fairer distribution of resources for South Lebanon. Unlike Hezbollah, it does not call for an Islamic state in Lebanon. The Amal Movement is a strong supporter of Syria and has endorsed Syria's military presence in Lebanon in recent years. It has been represented in parliament and government since 1990, and is led by the speaker of the parliament, Nabih Berri. The Amal Movement allied with the March 8 Coalition in the 2009 parliamentary elections, and won twelve of the Coalition’s 57 seats in parliament.


• The Free Patriotic Movement (Tayyar al-Watani al-Hurr) is led by General Michel Aoun, the former commander of the Lebanese army. After the end of the Lebanese Civil War, Aoun led the movement from Paris until he returned to Lebanon in May 2005. The party’s constituency is mainly Christian, but also has a considerable Muslim support base. The FPM claims to be the only prominent secularly based party in Lebanon. The FPM joined forces with the March 8 Movement in the 2009 elections and won ten of its 57 seats in parliament.


• Hezbollah (official website in English and Arabic) is a Muslim Shi’i political party. It contains a military wing established to fight the Israeli occupation of south Lebanon. One of the main objectives of Hezbollah at the time of its establishment in the early 1980s was to spread the Iranian Revolution. Since then, the party has publicly declared a suspension of its attempts to create an Islamic state in Lebanon. It is regarded by many in the Arab world as a legitimate militant political party and by many in the United States, Europe, and Israel as a terrorist organization. Hezbollah has come under increasing international pressure to disarm after UN Security Council Resolution 1559 of September 2, 2004 called for the disarmament of all militias in Lebanon. It joined the cabinet for the first time in 2005 when Hezbollah member Mohammad Fneish became energy minister. Hezbollah allied with the March 8 Coalition in the 2009 elections, and won 10 of its 57 seats in parliament.


• The Syrian Social Nationalist Party (al-Hizb al-Qawmi al-Ijtimai al-Suri) is a nationalist political party that advocates the establishment of a greater Syrian national state. It supports the current Syrian government. In 2009, it allied with the March 8 Coalition and won two seats in parliament.

After the end of the civil war, several political parties joined together to form the Qornet Shehwan Gathering. It was a loose coalition of Christian, mainly Maronite, groups. It opposed any alignment between the Lebanese and Syrian governments, reflecting widespread post-war disenfranchisement among the Lebanese Christian community. The Phalangist or Kataeb Party (Hizb al-Kataeb) was one of its members, and it was supported by the head of the Maronite Church, Patriarch Cardinal Nasrallah Butros Sfeir. In the 2009 election, many of these groups allied with the March 14 Coalition.

Other parties include:

• Baath Arab Socialist Party
• Christian Democratic Party
• Congress Party
• Democratic Socialist Party
• Federation of Popular Leagues and Committees
• Islamic Amal Movement
• Islamic Charitable Projects Association (also known as the al-Ahbash faction)
• Islamic Group
• Lebanese Communist Party
• Lebanese Democratic Movement
• Lebanese Movement
• Lebanese People's Front
• Lebanese Popular Congress
• Lebanese Republican Party
• Movement of Change
• Najadeh Party
• Nasserite Unification movement
• National Bloc
• Popular Nasserite Organization
• Ramgavar Party
• Social Democrat Hunchakian Party
• Dashnak Party (Armenian Revolutionary Federation)
• Kurdish Democratic Party

Click here for a complete list of political parties in Lebanon.

Recent Violence between Political Parties

On August 24, 2010, supporters of the Shiite militant group Hezbollah sparred with supporters of the Sunni-offshoot Islamic Charitable Projects Association (also known as the al-Ahbash faction) in downtown Beirut. What began as a small clash escalated to such a level that the two groups exchanged gunfire and rocket- propelled grenades. The Lebanese military dispelled the fighting.

Election Results

Elections for the National Assembly or Council of Deputies on June 7, 2009:

The 2009 parliamentary elections witnessed a standoff between the March 14 Coalition and the March 8 Coalition. Both coalitions were formed in the aftermath of the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The March 14 Coalition is led by Rafik Hariri’s son and current Prime Minister Saad Hariri. It is mostly Sunni Muslim and has been labelled pro-Western by its opposition. Several political parties make up this grouping, the most significant of which are the prime minister’s Movement of the Future, the Progressive Socialist Party, the Christian Lebanese Forces and the Christian Phalangist or Kataeb party.

The March 8 Coalition includes supporters of the pro-Syrian Shi’i group Hezbollah, the Amal Movement headed by Speaker of the House Nabih Berri, and former Prime Minister Michel Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement.

In the elections, 128 seats were filled in 26 districts. The March 14 Coalition won 71 seats, while the March 8 Coalition won 57 seats. Voter turnout was 54 percent of registered voters.

Party	Number of Seats
March 14 Coalition	71
Future Movement	28
Progressive Socialist Party	11
Independents 14 de March	11
Lebanese Forces	8
Kateab or Phalangist Party	5
Social Democrat Hunchakian Party	2
Jamaa al-Islamiya	1
Armenian Democratic Liberal Party	1
Democratic Left Movement	1
National Liberal Party	1
March 8 & Reform and Change Coalition	57
Free Patriotic Movement	19
Hezbollah	13
Amal Movement	13
Marada Movement	3
Lebanese Democratic Party	2
Armenian Revolutionary Federation	2
Syrian Social National Party	2
Arab Socialist Baath Party	2
Solidarity Party	1
TOTAL	128

Click here for a detailed breakdown of the parliamentary election results.

Results of municipal elections in May 2010:

• Lebanon’s government is highly centralized. Lebanon is divided into governorates (muhafazat). Each governorate is administered by a governor appointed by the council of ministers based a proposal from the Ministry of the Interior.


• The governorates are further subdivided into districts (qadat), each of which is presided over by a district chief (qa’em maqam). Municipalities (communities with at least 500 inhabitants) elect their own councils, which in turn elect mayors and vice mayors. Despite the fact that they have elected councils and that Municipal Law 118 of 1997 makes them financially autonomous, municipalities have very little power.


• Municipal Council elections have been held every six years since 1998. The 2010 municipal elections were held in four stages–one each for Mount Lebanon and Beirut, Bekaa, South Lebanon, and North Lebanon. Although the Ta’if Accord necessitated electoral reform in 1989, a new electoral law was drafted but was not passed by parliament in time for the elections. Thus, they were held under the purview of the old electoral law. Click here for a detailed description of the municipal election process and its limitations from the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES).


• The 2010 elections filled seats in 964 municipalities, 22 percent of which were uncontested. Voter participation averaged 74 percent over the four governorates.


• In the elections, the southern districts were dominated by a newly formed Shi’i alliance between Hezbollah and the Amal Movement. Such an alliance is new on the municipal level, and the two parties had previously opposed each other during the 2004 elections. The alliance took advantage of southern resentment against Israel and ran under the slogan "confronting the Israeli enemy," claiming that other candidates would only serve the interests of Israel.


• In the Mount Lebanon region, the elections showed a decline in popularity for Michel Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement. Instead, voters supported the Lebanese Forces, the Phalangist (Kataeb) Party, and other members of the March 14 Coalition. In Beirut, the March 14 Coalition dominated the municipal elections, gaining all 24 seats in the capital.


• Women’s participation in local elections is limited due to the patriarchal and confessional sentiment prevalent in Lebanese politics today. Although they are allowed to run and vote in elections, their participation only reached 5 percent in 2010. The new electoral draft law aims to address this issue by implementing a 20 percent quota for women in municipal council elections.


• The 2010 municipal elections resulted in sectarian violence in the Sidon region of southern Lebanon. Nearly 20,000 Lebanese security personnel were deployed to maintain order after violence erupted between supporters of Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s party and those of local power broker Osama Saad. Hundreds of people were arrested in the aftermath of the clashes.

Civil Society and Nongovernmental Actors

Lebanon enjoys one of the most active and least restrained civil societies in the Arab world. There are more than 1,000 NGOs registered in Beirut alone.

The strength of Lebanon’s NGO sector stems from the major role NGOs played during the 1975-1990 civil war. Organizations filled the vacuum of state authority and compensated for the breakdown in public services.

Reflecting the confessional nature of Lebanese society, most NGOs are organized by religious affiliation, but they often reach across these lines to provide services for many peopleoutside their confessional communities. There are also many professional associations and advocacy groups that cross confessional lines.

The Lebanese NGO Forum and the Collective of Lebanese Voluntary NGOs coordinate social development work.

Several women’s rights organizations exist in Lebanon. These include: the Lebanese Council to Resist Violence against Women, the Committee for Political Rights of Women, and the Working Women League in Lebanon. The Lebanese Women's Council (LWC) is an umbrella organization that encompasses 140 women’s rights groups.

The Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections (LADE) was formed in 1996 to monitor elections, educate voters, and to suggest improvements in Lebanese electoral laws.

Several local human rights groups operate freely without overt government restriction. The largest human rights group is the Institute for Human Rights in Lebanon, which is part of the Beirut Bar Association. It focuses on strengthening and implementing laws relevant to freedom of expression and association. Other groups include the Lebanese Association for Human Rights, the Foundation for Human and Humanitarian Rights, and the National Association for the Rights of the Disabled. Amnesty International was given a regional office in Beirut in 2000 by the Lebanese authorities.

Lebanon has several licensed trade unions. However, these unions face interference from government authorities, particularly when they stage strikes and demonstrations that may cause instability in the country. In the past, the Lebanese government has placed its own members on trade union boards to convince the union not to oppose government policies.

The major trade unions include:

• The General Confederation of Lebanese Workers (CGTL), which is the main labor union federation. It is the only organization recognized by the government as a representative of workers. Its activities are mainly limited to negotiating wages and other social benefits.
• The International Chamber of Commerce in Lebanon (ICC).
• The Beirut Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIB).
• The Association of Lebanese Industrialists (ALI).

A number of professional organizations also exist in Lebanon, including:

• The Lebanese Engineers Association
• The Lebanese Press Association
• The Lebanese Bar Association
• The Lebanese Physicians Association
• The Lebanese Dentists’ Association
• Click here for an extensive list of Lebanese syndicates

Civil and Political Rights

Personal Liberties

• The Lebanese constitution guarantees freedom of assembly and association “within the limits established by law.” However, these rights are restricted in practice. Public demonstrations are not permitted without prior approval from the Interior Ministry, which is arbitrary in its decisions. Until the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in February 2005, security forces routinely beat and arrested citizens demonstrating against the Syrian presence in Lebanon.


• The constitution provides for freedom of conscience and the free exercise of all forms of worship, as long as it does not disturb the public. State recognition is not a legal requirement for religious worship or practice, and denominations that are not recognized officially are allowed to practice their faith without government interference. However, their personal status provisions are not legally recognized. Click here for a 2009 report on religious freedom in Lebanon from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.


• Torture is not specifically prohibited by the constitution. There are reports that security forces often torture detainees and use physical force to extract confessions. Although the government promised to publish a report on these practices under the Convention Against Torture in 2001, it has not yet produced such a report. See section 1C of the 2009 Human Rights Report for Lebanon by the U.S. Department of State for a detailed description of torture use in Lebanon.


• Lebanese security forces are required by law to obtain warrants before making arrests, but arbitrary arrests and detentions are commonplace. Intelligence forces are not required to obtain a warrant before arresting suspects in cases related to national security.


• The Code of Criminal Procedure (English text, Arabic text) provides legal protection to suspects, including the right to a lawyer, to a medical examination, and to inform next of kin. According to the law, police must either charge suspects within 48 hours of their arrest or release them. However, lengthy pre-trial detention and long delays in trials remain problems. In May 2009, there were an estimated 5,122 persons in prison and more than 3,200 people had not yet been tried.


• Although the state does not provide lawyers for indigent defendants, the Beirut Bar Association does.


• Articles 473 and 474 of Lebanon’s penal code make public blasphemy and publicly insulting any religion a crime punishable by a maximum of one year in jail.


• Palestinian refugees living in Lebanon face restrictions on working, building homes, and purchasing property. According to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), 425,640 Palestinian refugees were registered in Lebanon in January 2010. Most live in self-governed refugee camps. In June 2010, the Lebanese parliament tabled a motion to offer basic rights to Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. Several Christian parties–including the Phalanges Party and the Lebanese Forces–opposed the measure, arguing that it was a step toward naturalizing Lebanon’s Palestinian population. Since most of the Palestinians are Sunni Muslims, their naturalization would tip the balance of power away from the Christians. Nevertheless, in August 2010 the parliament did vote to loosen restrictions on the jobs available to Palestinian workers, even granting them social security benefits.


• Women have gained personal freedoms in recent years, but still face some legal discrimination. Until recently, children could only inherit nationality from their male parents. In June 2009, a landmark court ruling allowed Lebanese women to pass citizenship to their children. However, in April 2010 Lebanese authorities appealed this decision, asking the appeals court to overturn the 2009 ruling. After the announcement, Amnesty International published a petition urging Lebanese authorities to withdraw their appeal.


• The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor of the U.S. Department of State provides a comprehensive 2009 Human Rights Report exploring personal freedoms in Lebanon.

Legislation Regulating the Exercise of Rights

Political Party Laws

• Political parties in Lebanon are governed by the 1909 Law of Associations (found here in Arabic), which applies to both political and non-political organizations.


• According to this law, all associations are required to inform the government of their establishment and by-laws.


• The cabinet is responsible for licensing political parties.

Electoral Law

Parliamentary Elections Law:

• The Lebanese parliament approved a new electoral law (Law No. 25 of 2008) on September 30, 2008. The text of the law can be found here in English and Arabic. The new law is a modified version of the 1960 election law but with different district divisions, as agreed upon during the Doha talks. It allocates the 128 parliamentary seats among 26 electoral districts rather than the fourteen used in the 2000 and 2005 elections. The mapping of the districts is based on administrative boundaries and replaces the previous system, which lacked formal criteria for districting.


• The new law also seeks to regulate the maximum expenditure allowed for campaigning and sets regulations for media use by candidates. Other provisions include banning opinion polls ten days prior to the election and excluding military personnel from voting.


• Click here for a detailed report on the implications of the new electoral law in the 2009 parliamentary elections.

Municipal Elections Law:

• In late 2009, the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities proposed an electoral reform bill for municipal elections. Descriptions of the proposed law can be found here in English and Arabic. Prime Minister Hariri had hoped that the bill would be passed before the 2010 Municipal Elections in May. However, the proposal was only passed by the cabinet on March 4, 2010, and the parliament was subsequently unable to pass the bill in time due to inconclusive discussions by relevant parliamentary committees (the Administration and Justice, Financial, and Defense and Interior committees).


• Elections are monitored by the Ministry of the Interior. There is no independent election commission to oversee them.


• In February 2010, the Lebanese parliament voted against a proposal to lower the voting age from 21 to 18. The voting was starkly divided along confessional lines – most Muslim parliamentarians supported the bill, while their Christian counterparts opposed it. Muslims tend to support lowering the voting age because of the large population of young Muslims in Lebanon whose enfranchisement would give extra votes to Muslim politicians.

Law on Associations

• The constitution provides for freedom of association. While the government does not interfere with most organizations, it does impose limits on this right.


• Technically, associations in Lebanon are subject to the 1909 Ottoman Law on Associations (found here in Arabic). This law requires only that any “association” (defined as “a group composed of several individuals who unite their information and efforts in a permanent fashion and do not aim to divide profit”) inform the Ministry of Interior of its existence. No permits or licenses are needed to form associations. However, the Ministry of Interior sometimes violates this law by transforming the notification procedure into an approval process. The ministry sometimes also sends notification to security forces who then conduct inquiries regarding the organization’s founding members.


• Organizations must invite Ministry of Interior representatives to any general assembly where votes are held for by-law amendments or elections are held for the board of directors. The Ministry of Interior also requires every association to obtain approval before changing its by laws. Failure to do so could result in the dissolution of the association.

Media Laws

• Article 13 of the constitution guarantees freedom of the press. However, the government limits this right in practice by intimidating journalists and broadcasters.


• A 1991 treaty between Syria and Lebanon includes an explicit pledge by Lebanon to ban all political and media activity that might harm Syria. This treaty allows judges to censor foreign publications and to indict journalists for critical reporting on Syria, the Lebanese military, the security forces, the judiciary, and the presidency. In practice, such laws rarely result in the imprisonment of journalists or the closure of media outlets. Permanent closure of licensed media outlets was rare until the closure of Murr Television (MTV) from 2002 to 2009 for violating a law on election broadcasting in Lebanon. The closure was widely believed to be a political move by the then Syrian-backed government to restrict anti-Syrian sentiment on Lebanese television. Since the Syrian withdrawal, Lebanon has seen an increase in media freedom.


• Strict defamation and security laws prohibit criticism of top leaders.


• The government may prosecute offending journalists and media outlets in the Publications Court, a special tribunal empowered to try such matters. The Sûreté Générale, part of the state security apparatus, is authorized to censor all foreign magazines, books, and films before they are distributed in Lebanon.


• Lebanon enjoys a diversity of media outlets. It has dozens of newspapers and hundreds of periodicals, many of which publish regular criticism of politicians. All of Lebanon’s national daily newspapers are privately owned, many by political interests. There are six major television stations and over 40 radio stations, most of which are privately owned.


• Internet access is broadly available and mostly unrestricted, although the Sûreté Générale and the Ministry of the Interior sometimes block pornographic and religiously provocative websites.


• According to the 2009 Worldwide Press Freedom Index by Reporters without Borders, Lebanon ranks 61 of 175 countries. The index runs from 1 (most press freedom) to 175 (least press freedom).

Personal Status Law

• Each of Lebanon’s eighteen recognized religious groups has a right to establish its own courts for personal status issues such as marriage, divorce, child custody, and inheritance. Fifteen personal status codes are used throughout the country.


• Some areas of women’s personal status are governed by the civil code. This code guarantees that women can own businesses and that their testimony will be given equal weight to men’s in court (this does not apply to Shari’a courts).


• There is no law that permits civil marriage, although civil ceremonies performed outside the country are recognized by the government.


• Until 2009, a Lebanese woman could not pass citizenship to her children. A landmark court case in 2009 gave women this right. However, in April 2010 Lebanese authorities sought to overturn this decision by appealing the case. Amnesty International has published a petition urging Lebanese authorities to withdraw their appeal.

Labor Law

• The 1946 Labor Law (English text, Arabic text) provides for the right of association and the right to organize, strike, and bargain collectively. All workers except public sector employees may join unions with the permission of the government. The Ministry of Labor oversees all trade unions. Currently, the General Labor Confederation (GLC) is the only organization officially recognized as an interlocutor between Lebanese workers and the Lebanese government. The government may dissolve trade unions for security reasons.


• The Labor Law stipulates a maximum 48-hour work week with 24 hours of rest per week. They may report abuses of the law or harsh working conditions to the General Labor Confederation, the Ministry of Labor, or the National Social Security Fund. However, many workers do not report such violations out of fear of deportation or employer retribution. Lebanese employers are not often found guilty of employee mistreatment.


• Foreigners working in Lebanon must have sponsors who are responsible for them while they are in the country. The Ministry of Labor regulates local employment agencies that place foreign workers with Lebanese sponsors. Foreigners may change sponsors if they obtain a “release paper” from their original employer. A court may force an employer to sign such a document, but this is rare in practice.


• The Labor Law does not protect foreign domestic workers, who are often abused by their employers. Click here for a 2008 Human Rights Watch report on domestic worker abuse in Lebanon. Human rights organizations in Lebanon have called for reforms to the labor law that would protect domestic workers.


• In 2005, the Ministry of Labor lifted some restrictions on those Palestinians who were born in refugee camps in Lebanon. Lebanon has a population of 400,000 Palestinian refugees, many of whom were born in refugee camps after their parents fled the 1948 and 1967 Arab-Israeli wars. These refugees lack acceptable living conditions, health care, and may not own property or obtain Lebanese citizenship despite their long-term residency in the country. The Lebanese government has substantial concerns about their role in the country, as they played a part in initiating the 1975-1990 civil war. Christians in parliament also fear the possibility of Palestinian naturalization, which would add strength and numbers to the Muslim presence in Lebanese politics.


• The 2005 decision states that if they register with the Ministry of the Interior, Lebanese-born Palestinians may work in 50 of 72 professions normally forbidden to foreigners. In August 2010, the Lebanese parliament further loosened employment restrictions on Palestinian refugees, even granting them social security benefits. Nonetheless, like other foreigners, Palestinian refugees are still barred from entering certain unionized professions such as engineering, law, and medicine. They are also not permitted to join the army or the police force.

Recent Government Initiatives Affecting Rights

• Lebanese authorities have recently appealed a 2009 court ruling allowing Lebanese women to pass citizenship to their children. Amnesty International has since published a petition urging Lebanese authorities to withdraw their appeal.


• The Lebanese parliament loosened employment restrictions on Palestinian refugees in August 2010, expanding the list of professions these refugees are permitted to join. It also granted Palestinian workers social security benefits.


• In June 2010, the Lebanese government sent 5,000 additional troops to join the 12,000 UN peacekeeping soldiers and civilian police in southern Lebanon after reports of clashes between UN forces and civilians in the area. Tensions rose amid Israeli accusations that Hezbollah was preparing for fighting.

Ratification of International Conventions

• The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR) on November 3, 1972.
• The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) on November 3, 1972.
• The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) on October 5, 2000.
• The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) November 12, 1971.
• The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) on April 16, 1997. Click here for reservations.
• The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) on April 16, 1993 and also the conventions on trade union freedom of association and collective bargaining (both in 1962).