Mediating in Lebanon: From old to new?

Abstract

Mediation is an ADR method yet to incorporate into the Lebanese legal system: there is no statutory framework governing or providing for mediation procedures in Lebanon, although a draft law on judicial mediation has been submitted in 2009 by the Government to the Parliament for approval. As such, mediation is only governed by the general provisions governing any civil transactions within the Lebanese Code of Obligations and Contracts. By the same token, having few cases on the subject, this tends to show that either mediation is rarely used or that it leads to very few controversies, which is a sign of success. Despite the absence of (statutory or case) law in that field, mediation has been practiced in Lebanon for many years now and is today evolving as a recognized means of effective dispute resolution. As a sign of this trend, several centers for mediation have been established in Lebanon, endowed with their own mediation rules.