Adoption in Lebanon – Lebanese Lawyers Assistance in Children Adoption

Adoption in Lebanon can be made before spiritual courts in Lebanon.
Find Below some facts regarding the adoption:

The adoption is a ceremonial judicial agreement concluded between two persons and shall create civil relations between them for legitimate paternity and filiation.

The adoption is only allowed for the rightness reasons
and for the benefit of the adopter, after confirmation
of the good discipline of the adopter, with reserve to the provisions of the following:

Each secular person, a man or a woman shall have the right of adoption.

The adopted person can not be adopted by more than one adopter unless if he was adopted by one couple.

1-For the good adoption of the minor, he shall approve on the procedure, his parents or the one living of them or the guardian of the minor, in case his parents were separated due to permanent abandonment or annulment of the marriage.

2-In case they were either dead or they cannot show their opinion, then the Metropolitan of the Eparchy shall replace them.

Shall be void and with no value the following:

A-The parents’ adoption to their illegal children.

B-The adoption of the custodian to the one under his custody, and the keeper to the one under his safekeeping, and the one responsible of the management of his money, in case these persons were not definitively free and an accounting takes place before the court.

The adopted person shall have the family name of his adopter, and he shall also have the rights and the obligations regarding his father as if he was his legal son with reserve to the provisions of the following:

The adopted person shall remain a member of his original family, with all the rights and the obligations towards the same. However, the parent authority rights shall be restricted to his adopter in case he was still alive or enjoying capacity. On his death or if he lost his capacity, then he shall be replaced with the father of the adopter or his agent.

The original parents shall not be obliged to pay the pension to their adopted son, unless the adopter could not deliver the same.

1- If the adopter was dead without any descendants or offspring, then the adopted person shall inherit as if he was the legal son of the adopter.

2- If the adopter has descendants or offspring or sisters, then the adopted person shall inherit half of the legal son inheritance.

1- If the adopted person was dead without having legal descendants, he shall return what he received for the adopter to him or to his heirs. His other funds shall be distributed to his legal inheritors by virtue of public law.

2- The adopted’s right regarding the adopter’s inheritance shall be transferred to his descendants only, and shall be restricted to the adopter’s personal legacy. The adopted and his descendants shall not have any right in the legacy of the adopter’s parents or family.

The right adoption shall create a legal family relationship that abstain the marriage between:

A-The adopter and the adopted person and his descendants.

B-The adopter and his children born after the adoption process.

C-The adopter and his spouse and between the adopter and the spouse of the adopted person.

D-The adopted children by one adopter.

The adoption shall only be executed by virtue of a resolution issued by the ecclesiastic Tribunal ratified by the Metropolitan of the Eparchy.

The legitimate Tribunal authorized to decide the adoption shall be the Tribunal of the adopter’s residence. However, if the adopted person was minor, then the Tribunal of his residence shall have the right to do so also.

In all the cases, the Tribunal and before issuing its resolution shall listen to the declaration of the justice agent, and shall take into consideration the opinion of the adopted person’s parents.

1- The adoption shall be cancelled for dangerous reasons and with judicial judgment issued by the Tribunal after listening to the justice agent.

Shall be considered dangerous reasons that allow the cancellation of the adoption, the situation when the adopter misdeals the adopted person or vice-versa, when one of them shall cause moral or big financial damages, or when one of them behaves badly.

The right of filing the adoption cancellation lawsuit shall be restricted to the adopted person and the adopter only.

However, if the justice agent agreed that one of them can cause damage to the other or to his family or that he shall morally abstain him from the use of his freedom, then he shall also have the right to file the same.

1-The judgment to cancel the adoption shall eliminate all the effects related to this situation starting from the date of its execution.

2-In both cases of the issuance and the cancellation of the adoption, the Tribunal shall notify this to whom necessary in order to register the same next to the adopted person’s register in the baptism registers and in the civil census registers.

The adoption held in countries not having any specialization to the ecclesiastic Tribunals, shall be ruled according to its rightness or its cancellation according to the laws of these countries.