The first civil marriage in Lebanon: Launching a married life from the loophole to the marital and postmarital unknown

-
Flag of the Republic of Lebanon



Two Lebanese citizens were able to get "married" civilly. In Lebanon. The legal way for the Lebanese to get married civilly was and is to travel outside the country and marry civilly. 

The Minister of the Interior Marwan Charbel  has questioned the legality of this marriage and raised the key question of the legal vacuum that the couple would face had their marriage been a valid legal marriage under the laws of Lebanon.

The news of the "first civil marriage in Lebanon" was received with irrational exuberance as if this were the be all end all of all Lebanese agony. The supporters of civil marriage have it as an article of faith that needs no proof that civil marriage strengthens the national identity of the Lebanese.

There was no consideration of the implications of such a marriage if it were legal. Family law goes beyond the issue of the marriage itself. There are numerous related issues- birth and registration of the children, divorce, custody, marital property, etc. In Lebanon, all these matters are decided according to the relevant personal status laws of the different faith communities in Lebanon.  Many marriages end in divorce. Divorce is a reality if it were to happen that couple would find themselves in a legal vacuum. Under which law would they divorce each other, determine custody, support, alimony?  There is no civil law to deal with these real issues.

Also, there is the issue of probate law. In Lebanon, unlike in the US for example, probate of estates is considered a personal status matter that is under the jurisdiction of the various religious courts. Even though young people don't expect it but people die- at all ages. What happens if the husband, the wife or both die?

An optional civil marriage requires that the parliament pass laws dealing with all these issues  independently from the religious courts. Until then only the religious courts regulate the marital relationship and its consequences. It is highly unlikely that the parliament would write such laws.  

Even though the exuberant couple thought that they pulled a fast one on the Lebanese confessional system- the system has the last laugh.  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Response to Amer Zahr’s Sexual Harassment Column

-
Image
Rana Abbas, former ACRL executive director Amer Zahr, Rana Abbas's BFF Response to Amer Zahr’s Sexual Harassment Column The Imad Hamad saga has attracted a motley crew of individuals who joined in for two reasons: 1. To say, without any legal basis for personal knowledge, that the allegations are “true” for a variety of reasons.  2. To say that we basically need no investigation and that Imad should be fired because these two women have made these allegations. Allegation is the key word. Let’s look at the bright side of this sordid affair. Who knew that everyone in our community is a solid supporter of women’s rights? This is great! It really is. However, by God, people will prove it by piling on Imad Hamad before receiving all the facts. Let me make one thing clear. I am not stating these women were not harassed; nor am I stating they were. No one, other than Imad and the women, was in the room when the alleged harassment occurred.  No third party ...
Read more

The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict

-
The Lebanese secular al Safeer newspaper. The Lebanese leftist/ secular/communist Al Akhbar Both called the individual who attacked the Jewish religious school in Jerusalem a “shaheed” or martyr. When Arab seculars and communists, in addition to Islamists, call this person a martyr, it is further proof that the conflict is, not surprisingly, a political conflict between Jewish nationalism and Palestinian nationalism- not a religious conflict. Neither party in this conflict is respecting international law. It's a fact regardless of who has the big guns- and it's Israel who has the big guns here. Noncombatants continue to suffer.
Read more

The Lessons of the Wissam Allouche case: About lies, not terrorism

-
Image
Wissam Allouche arrested by the JTTF Flag of the Lebanese Shia Amal Movement The Lessons of the Wissam Allouche case: An American Lebanese Shiite Muslim caught in the government and media dog- and- pony show Wissam Allouche, a Lebanese Shia immigrant from Lebanon was sentenced to five years in prison for lying on his citizenship application and for lying to get a security clearance from the Department of Defense. The US government had asked for a ten- year sentence. Allouche’s criminal case began in 2013 and he was tried and convicted in 2015 in the Western District of Texas district court.  After conviction, the US Attorney for the Western district of Texas issued a press release that read in part: “Jurors found that defendant lied about his previous association with the Amal militia This afternoon in San Antonio, a federal jury convicted 45–year-old Lebanese–born Wissam “Sam” Allouche of knowingly lying to federal authorities on his U.S. citizenship p...
Read more