Chapter First: General Provisions

Article 7

An action is the right that belongs to every party with a claim to present it to the courts for judgment on its merits. For the defendant, it is the right to present grounds of defense or pleas aimed at refuting that claim. The right to sue and the right to defend belong to every natural or legal person.

Article 8

The Public Prosecution has the right to prosecute in the cases specified by the law, and in cases related to public order when facts or acts occur that may prejudice it.

Article 9

1. Actions shall be permissible for anyone having a vested legal interest, or for anyone who aims to establish a right whose existence is denied, or to take precautionary measures to prevent imminent or future harm, or to secure a right whose evidence is feared to be lost in the event of a dispute, except in cases where the law restricts the right to submit a request, challenge, or defend a particular interest to persons of a specific capacity. 2. No request, challenge, or defense shall be accepted if it emanates from or is directed against a person lacking the requisite capacity.

Article 10

The right to sue and the right to defend are restricted by their proper exercise; any claim, defense, or plea presented abusively shall be rejected and expose the party presenting it to compensation for the damage caused.

Article 11

1. The court shall, of its own motion, sentence the vexatious litigant to a fine of not less than forty thousand Lebanese pounds and not more than two million Lebanese pounds.

Article 12

1. Capacity to sue is determined by the law of the plaintiff's country. 2. The law of the country of the person lacking capacity, partially capacitated, or missing shall apply with regard to their supervision and representation.

Article 13

The court shall, at every stage of the trial, verify the capacity to sue and the validity of the representation of those lacking capacity, partially lacking capacity, or missing persons.

Article 14

If the personal status law applicable to one party requires that representatives of incapacitated, partially incapacitated, or missing persons obtain authorization from the courts to litigate, the court where the action must be brought may grant such authorization.

Article 15

1. The proceedings may be modified if a lawsuit is filed against a person lacking capacity or with diminished capacity, or against a missing person who has no legal representative, or if a lawsuit is filed against a claimant who is found to be deceased or dies during the trial and it is impossible to identify their heirs. In such cases, the court hearing the case may carry out notifications through publication in the Official Gazette and in two local daily newspapers to be designated by it. 2. After the lapse of two months from the last publication, the court shall appoint a special representative to act in place of the legal representative or the heirs if no legal representative appears on behalf of the heirs or the person lacking capacity or the missing person. The special representative shall retain this capacity throughout all stages of the trial and before the enforcement courts until a legal representative is appointed or the heirs are identified. 3. The special representative shall not have the right to acknowledge, waive, abandon, or conclude a settlement or acquiesce. 4. The fees of the special representative shall be determined by a decision of the court that appointed him, and they shall be considered as part of the costs of the lawsuit.

Article 16

The nature of an action is determined by the right it protects: it is personal if the right is personal, real if the right is real, and mixed if its subject matter concerns both rights or if it aims at enforcement of a contract based on a real right or its cancellation or termination.

Article 17

Claims shall be considered movable if the subject matter of the right it aims to protect is movable, and shall be considered real estate when related to a real right over a property or its possession.

Article 18

1. Real estate in rem actions are classified, according to their intended purpose, into actions of right and actions of possession.

Article 19

1. The classification of lawsuits is subject to the provisions of the Lebanese Law.