The Lebanese Code of Civil Procedure promulgated in 1983
Section One Arbitration
Part One Domestic Arbitration Rules
Article (762):
The contracting parties may include into the civil or commercial agreement, concluded between them, a clause providing that arbitration shall be the mechanism for settling all disputes, that could be settled amicably, which may arise from the execution or interpretation of such contract.
Article (763):
An arbitration clause is null and void unless it is set forth in writing in the main agreement or in a document to which that agreement refers. Subject to the same penalty, the arbitration clause must include designation of arbitrator or arbitrators either in person or in their capacity or provide for a mechanism for their appointment.
Article (764):
If, after the dispute has arisen, a difficulty arises in the appointment of the arbitrator or arbitrators as a result of the conduct of one of the parties or with respect to the implementation of the mechanism of appointment, the President of the Court of Grande Instance shall appoint the arbitrator or arbitrators.
If the President considered the arbitration clause is either manifestly void or inadequate for the purpose of appointing the arbitrator or arbitrators, he shall decide that and declare that no appointment can be made.
If void, the arbitration clause shall be deemed not to exist.
Article (765):
An arbitration clause is an agreement by which the parties to a contract accept to resolve the dispute, which can be settled amicably, through arbitration conducted by one or more persons.
Article (766):
An arbitration agreement shall be evidenced only in writing.
A submission agreement is void unless it sets forth the subject matter of the dispute and it must either specify the arbitrator or arbitrators either by name or by their capacity or provide for a mechanism for their appointment.
An arbitration agreement shall be considered null and void when an arbitrator whom it appoints refuses the mission entrusted to him.
Article (768):
The mission of arbitrator may only be entrusted to a natural person; If the arbitration agreement appoints a juridical person, such person only has the power to organize the arbitration.
An arbitrator must not be minor, an interdicted person or deprived from his civil rights or bankrupt unless he has been rehabilitated.
Article (769):
The arbitrator must accept his mandate and such acceptance must be made in writing.
If a ground for challenging an arbitrator exists, which concerns him; he shall so inform the parties. In such a case, he shall not accept the mission unless with the agreement of the parties.
Once he has accepted his mission, an arbitrator may not withdraw without serious reason under pain of being condemned to pay damages.
Article (770):
No arbitrator may be removed except with the approval of all the parties to the dispute. Arbitrators may not be disqualified except for reasons occurring or appearing after their appointment which should be based on the same grounds on which a judge may be dismissed.
A challenge must be brought before the Court of 1st Instance in the agreed place of arbitration; otherwise, it should be submitted to the Court of First Instance in Beirut. It must be submitted within five days from the date of acknowledgement of the challenging party become aware of the appointment of the arbitrator or later from the date of becoming aware of the reasons justifying the challenge.
Article (771):
When the parties appoint two arbitrators or an even number of arbitrators, an additional arbitrator must be appointed in accordance with the parties agreement, in the absence of such mechanism, by the appointed arbitrators or, in the absence of their agreement, by the President of the Court of First Instance.
Article (772):
When a natural or juridical person is designated to administrate the arbitration, the arbitral mission shall be entrusted to one or several arbitrators accepted by all the parties.
In the absence of such acceptance, the person responsible for administrating the arbitration shall invite each party to appoint an arbitrator and shall, if appropriate, proceed to appoint the arbitrator required to complete the arbitral tribunal. If the parties fail to appoint an arbitrator, such arbitrator shall be appointed by the person responsible for administrating the arbitration.
The arbitral tribunal may also be directly constituted in accordance with the preceding paragraph.
Article (773):
If the arbitration agreement, whether an arbitration clause or a submission, does not specify a time limit, the arbitrators must accomplish their mission within, at the most, six months from the day the last arbitrator accepted his mission.
The statutory or contractual time limit may be extended either by agreement of the parties or, at the request of either of them or of the arbitral tribunal, by the President of the Court of First Instance.
Article (774):
In the cases provided for in Articles 764, 771 and 773, the President of the Court of First Instance referred to in Article 770 (paragraph 2), shall issue his orders in expedited proceedings in accordance to a request by either party or by the arbitral tribunal. Such order shall not be subject to any recourse.
However, such order may be appealed when the President declares in the order that an arbitrator or arbitrators cannot be appointment for one of the reasons set forth in Article 764 (paragraph 2). The appeal court shall examine the challenge in expedited proceedings.
Article (775):
The disputing parties may agree in an arbitration clause or a submission agreement that arbitration will be ("ordinary" or "liberal") and they may empower the arbitrator or arbitrators to rule as amiable compositeur.
Article (776):
In case of any doubt regarding the nature of the arbitration, it shall be considered ordinary.
In ordinary arbitration, the arbitrator or arbitrators shall apply the rules of law and standard rules of procedure except that which is not compatible with arbitration standards, particularly those which are set forth in this Section.
The disputing parties may exclude the arbitrator or arbitrators from applying all or part of the standard rules of procedure, provided that they are suitable to the arbitration standards, and that such exclusion does not include rules of public policy. Moreover, the exclusion must not include the principles mentioned in Articles (365), (368), and (371) to (374).
Such exclusion agreement can only be proven by a clear statement in the arbitration agreement or a separate agreement.
Article (777):
In "liberal" arbitration, the arbitrators are dispended from applying the rules of law and of normal court procedures and judge according to equity.
Article (778):
The dispute shall be submitted to the arbitrator or arbitrators either jointly by the parties or by the most diligent party.
Article (779):
Arbitration hearings shall be conducted by all the arbitrators unless the arbitration agreement authorizes them to delegate this task to one of them.
Arbitrators shall hear third parties without being sworn.
The arbitrators should request the judge or the President of the court which would have had jurisdiction had there been no arbitration to do the following:
1- Order any witnesses who refrain from attending or declines to reply, by inflicting the sanctions applicable under this law.
2- Order a rogatory commission.
Article (780):
When evidence is in the possession of one of the parties, the arbitrators can order that party to produce that evidence.
Article (781):
The arbitral proceedings shall come to an end, unless otherwise specifically agreed by the parties:
1. On the dismissal, death, or incapability of an arbitrator to perform his functions or on the loss of his capacity to exercise his civil rights;
2. On an arbitrator refusing to act or being challenged;
3. On the expiration of the time limit for arbitration.
Article (782):
The suspension of the arbitral proceedings is governed by the provisions of Articles (505) to (508).
Article (783):
Unless there is agreement to the contrary, the arbitrator is empowered to resolve questions of verification of person's writing in accordance with Articles (174) to (178).
In the case of an incidental claim for forgery of a document presented to the arbitration, the arbitrator shall suspend the arbitration proceedings until a judgment on the same has been passed by the competent court of First Instance that would normally have jurisdiction over the dispute if there was not agreement to arbitration. The time limit for the arbitration shall suspend until the arbitrators are notified that the incidental claim has been decided.
Article (784):
If, during the course of the arbitral proceedings, a matter falling outside the scope of the arbitral tribunal’s jurisdiction is raised, or if a document submitted to it is challenged, or if criminal proceedings are undertaken regarding its forgery or for any other criminal act that relates to the dispute, the arbitrators shall suspend their mandate and the time limit for the arbitration shall suspend until the arbitrators are notified of the final verdict on that matter.
Article (785):
If, before the arbitrator, one of the parties challenges the principle or scope of the arbitrator's jurisdiction, the arbitrator shall rule on that challenge.
Article (786):
Unless the parties agree otherwise, a third party cannot interfere in an arbitrated dispute.
Article (787):
The arbitrator shall fix the date upon which the case will be referred to consideration and deliberations before it is determined.
After this date, no claim, request, comment, nor any document presented, except at the request of the arbitrator or arbitrators.
Article (788):
If there were more than one arbitrator, the deliberations shall be confidential and the arbitral award shall be made unanimously or by a majority vote.
Article (789):
the arbitrators must decide the dispute in accordance to the specified rules in Article (776) unless the parties have empowered them in the arbitration agreement to rule as amiable compositeur, then they should follow the rules specified in Article (777).
Article (790):
The arbitral award shall include:
1– the name(s) of the arbitrator/arbitrators who made it.
2– the place where it was made and its date.
3– names of the disputing parties, their Tilts, capacities, and names of their representatives.
4- Summary of the parties requests, the facts and supporting evidences.
5- reasons for the award and the decisions.
Article (791):
The arbitral award shall be signed by the arbitrator or all the arbitrators issuing it.
However, if a minority among them refuses to sign it, the others shall mention the fact and the award shall have the same effect as though it had been signed by all the arbitrators.
The interpretation or correction or completion of the award by the arbitrator shall not be accepted unless if it is made within the defined time limit to decide on the dispute. Thereafter, the interpretation or correction of the award shall be carried by the court that has jurisdiction if there was not agreement to arbitration.
Article (792):
Issuing the award brings an end to the arbitrator's jurisdiction over the dispute.
However, the arbitrator remains to have the power to interpret the award, to rectify clerical errors and omissions affecting it, and to complete it when he has failed to rule on one of the requests. In this relation Articles (560) to (562) shall apply.
The interpretation, correction or completion of the award shall not be valid unless it is made during the time limit for issuing the award; thereafter, the jurisdiction to interpret, correct or complete the award shall be vested in the court which would have had jurisdiction had there been no arbitration.
Article (793):
To acquire an enforcement order for the award, an arbitrator or the diligent party must deposit the original award with the clerk of the court of First Instance, referred to in Article 770(2), accompanied by a copy of the arbitration agreement, authenticated by the arbitrators or a competent authority or the chief clerk having acknowledged the original award.
The clerk of the court shall evidence such deposit in the Court's Records.
Article (794):
Once it is made, the arbitral award is res judicata in relation to the dispute it resolves.
Article (795):
The arbitral award shall not be enforced unless the same has been granted an enforcement order from the President of the Court of First Instance of the place with which the original award was filed; provided that he review the arbitration agreement and the award. The request must be made by the concerned parties.
Article (796):
The enforcement order is affixed to the original of the submitted arbitral award and to the original of the request that has been submitted by the party seeking the enforcement order, the original copy shall return to the latter.
An order refusing to grant enforcement order to the arbitral award must contain reasons, further, such refusal is possible only for the grounds of annulment under Article 800.
Article (797):
The rules on provisional enforcement of judgments are applicable to arbitral awards. In the case of an appeal or an a recourse for annulment, the President of the court of appeal, of which the challenge is submitted, may grant enforcement order for the arbitral award with provisional execution. The court of appeal may also decide to grant provisional execution in accordance to the conditions and circumstances foreseen in Article (575).
Article (798):
An arbitral award may not be subject to a challenge or of a petition to vacate.
It may be the subject of third party opposition proceedings before the court which would have had jurisdiction had there been no arbitration, subject to the provisions of Article (681) (paragraph 1).
Article (799):
An arbitral award may be appealed unless the parties waived their right to appeal in the arbitration agreement. However, it may not be appealed where the arbitrator has been empowered to rule as amiable compositeur, unless the parties expressly reserved the right to do so in the arbitration agreement, in this case the Court of Appeal shall decide the case as an amiable compositeur arbitrator.
Article (800):
Where, in accordance with the distinctions made in Article 1482, the parties have waived their right to appeal or have not expressly reserved such right, an action to set aside the arbitral award what is characterized as an arbitral award may nonetheless be brought, notwithstanding any provision to the contrary. It is available only in the following cases:
1. Where the arbitrator ruled in the absence of an arbitration agreement or on the basis of an agreement that was void or had expired;
2. Where the arbitral tribunal was irregularly constituted or the sole arbitrator irregularly appointed;
3. Where the arbitrator ruled without complying with the mission conferred upon him or her;
4. When due process has not been respected;
5. In all cases of nullity envisaged in Article 1480;
6. Where the arbitrator has violated a rule of public policy.
Article (801):
When a court seized of an action to set aside the arbitral award, it shall rule on the merits of the case within the limits of the arbitrator's mission, unless otherwise agreed by all the parties.
Article (802):
Appeals and actions to set aside shall be brought before the Court of Appeals of the place where the arbitral award was made.
These forms of recourse are admissible immediately after the making of the award; they are no longer admissible if they have not been exercised within thirty days of the official notification of the award bearing an enforcement order.
Article (803):
Unless enforcement of the arbitral award was under expedite procedures, the time limit to appeal or recourse to set the award aside shall have suspensive effects on the enforcement of the arbitral award. Enforcement shall also be suspended by a challenge within the time limit.
Article (804)
Appeals and actions to set aside shall be brought, heard and decided in accordance with the rules relating to procedure in litigation before the Court of Appeals.
The description of the form of recourse made by the parties at the time when the it was made may be modified or clarified at any time until the elapse of the time limit of the recourse.
Article (805)
an order granting enforcement of an award is not subject to any form of recourse.
However, an appeal against or a recourse to set aside an award shall, within the limits of the jurisdiction of the court of appeal, be deemed to constitute recourse against the decision granting enforcement of the award or to bring an end to jurisdiction of the judge who has issued it.
Article (806)
An order refusing to grant enforcement may be appealed within thirty days of its notification. In that case, the Court of Appeal shall, at the request of the parties, rule on the grounds which they could have raised against the arbitral award, whether on appeal or in an action to set aside as the case may be.
Article (807)
Rejection of an appeal or of an action to set aside in whole or in part shall be deemed to be an enforcement order with respect to the arbitral award or those of its terms that have not been included in the nullification or set aside of the award.
Article (808)
An action to revise the arbitral award is available in the same reasons and under the same conditions as those available for court judgements.
It shall be brought before the Court of Appeal that has jurisdiction over the award.
Part Two
INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION
First: General Provisions
Article (809)
Arbitration is international when it involves the interests of international trade.
The State and all public legal persons have the right to refer to international arbitration.
Article (810)
The arbitration agreement may, directly or by reference to arbitration rules, appoint the arbitrator or arbitrators or provide for a mechanism for their appointment.
If a difficulty arises in the constitution of the arbitral tribunal in an arbitration which takes place in Lebanon or which the parties have agreed to apply the Lebanese procedural law, the most diligent party may, in the absence of a clause to the contrary, apply to have the appointment made in accordance to a decision by the President of the Court of First Instance in accordance with the procedures of Article 774. If arbitration is conducted abroad, the Beirut court shall substitute the court of the place of arbitration when applying rules of international commercial arbitration is required.
Article (811)
The arbitration agreement may, directly or by reference to arbitration rules, determine the procedure to be followed in the arbitral proceedings; it may also submit the proceedings to a specified procedural law.
If the agreement is silent, the arbitrator shall determine the procedure, if need be, either directly or by reference to a law or to arbitration rules.
Article (812)
Where the international arbitration is governed by the Lebanese law, the provisions of Articles (762) to (792) shall only apply in the absence of a specific agreement, and subject to Articles (810) and (811) .
Article (813)
The arbitrator shall resolve the dispute in accordance with the rules of law chosen by the parties; or in the absence of such a choice, in accordance with the rules of law he considers appropriate.
The arbitrator shall rule as amiable compositeur if the agreement of the parties conferred this mission upon him.
Second: Recognition and Enforcement of Arbitral Awards Made Abroad or International Arbitration
Article (814)
Arbitral awards shall be recognized and enforced if their existence is proven by the party relying on the award and if such recognition is not manifestly contrary to international public policy.
The existence of an arbitral award is established by the production of the original of the award together with the arbitration agreement, or of authenticated copies of such documents issued by the arbitrators or from a competent authority. .
If such documents are written in a foreign language, it shall be translated by a accredited translator.
Article (815)
The provisions of Articles (797) or (793) are applicable to the arbitral award. If arbitration was conducted abroad, to deposit the award to have an enforcement order, it shall be acceptable to present a copy of the award that is verified against the original copy.
Third: Recourse against arbitral awards made abroad or in international arbitration
Article (816)
A decision which refuses recognition or enforcement of an international arbitral award or an award made abroad may be appealed.
Article (817)
An appeal against a decision which grants recognition or enforcement is available only in the following cases:
1° the award was made in the absence of an arbitration agreement or on the basis of an agreement that was void or had expired for the elapse of its time limit;
2° the award was made by arbitrators who have not been appointed in accordance to the law;
3° the award exceeds the mission conferred upon arbitrators;
4° When due process has not been respected;
5° the award is contrary to international public policy.
Article (818)
The appeal provided for in the previous two articles shall not be permitted if it was made after 30 days of the notification of the court of First Instance decision.
Article (819)
An international arbitral award made in Lebanon may be subject to an action to set aside in the cases as set
forth in Article (817).
No form of recourse is available against an order granting enforcement of such an award. However, an action to set aside shall, within the limits of the jurisdiction of the court of appeal, be deemed to constitute recourse against the decision granted for enforcement or to bring an end to the jurisdiction of the judge who issued the order.
An action to set aside shall be brought before the Court of Appeal that has jurisdiction over the award.
Such action is admissible immediately after the making of the award; it is no longer admissible if it has not been brought within 30 days of the notification of the award granting an enforcement order.
Article (820)
Unless enforcement of the arbitral award was under expedite procedures, the time limit to challenge the award to set it aside shall suspend enforcement of the arbitral award. Enforcement shall also be suspended by a challenge within the time limit.
Article (821)
Articles (804)(1) and Article (805)(2) shall be applicable to this Part exclusively over other Articles which concern the methods of recourse in domestic arbitration.
Law number 73/67 of 19 December 1967, Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards.
