Originally from Arbitration in the MENA

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[1] INTRODUCTION 

Lebanon was one of the first Arab countries to enact a legislation that governs arbitration. Hence, in the first Code of Civil Procedure issued under the French mandate in 1933, the Lebanese legislation dealt with arbitration in a few provisions. Like the majority of Lebanese laws at the time, the Lebanese Code of Civil Procedure was drafted by a French jurist, Professor Barrault, and was modeled on French Law. In 1983, a new Code of Civil Procedure was issued, and it devoted a complete section to arbitration. The new arbitration law of 1983, the 1983 Arbitration Act, was also modeled on the French arbitration law, with a division between domestic and international arbitration regulated in two separate sections. Despite apparent similarities, the Lebanese legislation departed from French arbitration rules in several important respects, especially with regard to the provisions governing domestic arbitration. The 1983 Arbitration Act presently remains in force and is still considered one of the most arbitration-friendly acts in the region. 

[2] SOME ONTOLOGICAL PRELIMINARIES

[2.1] In General 

Lebanon has not developed a wide practice in institutional arbitration, as the only arbitration center that officially exists in the country is the one created within the Lebanese Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture in Beirut and Mount Lebanon (the “CCIABML”).

[2.2] Institutional Framework

There are no other officially recognized arbitration centers.  Conversely, ad hoc arbitration is widely spread in the country, and Lebanese arbitration practitioners have become leaders in the field, on both the national and international levels.