Document #1151628
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Author)
According to a representative of the
Embassy of Lebanon in Ottawa, matters of personal status such as
marriage, divorce and child custody fall under the jurisdiction of
religious courts (20 July 1993). The representative added that
there are no civil marriages in Lebanon (Ibid.). In order to
obtain a civil marriage a couple must go abroad, usually to Cyprus,
and they must return there if they want to divorce (Ibid.).
Once the divorce procedures are completed the divorce must be
registered at the local Embassy of Lebanon in Cyprus
(Ibid.). The procedures for divorce are the same for couples
married in any other country (Ibid.). In such cases child
custody would be handled in a Lebanese civil court, which would use
private international law and domestic Cypriot laws in accordance
with the principles of the Lebanese civil code (Ibid.).
Additional and/or corroborating information
on this subject is currently unavailable to the DIRB in Ottawa.
Embassy of Lebanon, Ottawa. 20 July
1993. Telephone Interview with Representative.