Child born out of wedlock recognized as legitimate in Lebanon

Four months after it was issued, a court ruling from March has now come to public attention: a child born out of wedlock has been recognized as legitimate by the Fourth Civil Chamber of the Mount Lebanon Court of First Instance (Family Court), which handles personal status matters. The chamber is presided over by Judge Labib Salhab. The decision is based on Cypriot civil law, under which the child’s parents were married after her birth. It also relies on Lebanese law, which stipulates the application of foreign civil law when a marriage is conducted in accordance with that law. The ruling has sparked significant media attention in Lebanon, highlighting the gap between foreign civil law and local religious-based personal status laws. The former applies to civil marriages contracted abroad and recognizes the legitimacy of a child born...