WUNRN
http://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/politics/94419abf-dd26-40e6-b641-2c6705d9dcfe
LEBANON DEBATES INTRODUCING CIVIL MARRIAGE
Cyprus is a popular destination for Lebanese couples of
mixed religious backgrounds to marry [AFP]
By: Abdel
Rahman Urabi - 4 February, 2015
Analysis:
If Lebanese couples of mixed religious backgrounds decide to marry, then they
have to fly to Cyprus to have their union recognised - but perhaps not for much
longer.
Following
mounting pressure from activists, civil marriage is set to be discussed by the
Lebanese cabinet, said the country's interior minister. Activists want an end
to obstacles to civil marriage contracts put in place by the ministry of
interior.
Ziyad Baroud, the former minister of interior, said the justice ministry's
advisory body endorsed civil marriage contracts in 2013 - but that 40 requests
for civil marriages are still waiting official registration.
The vast majority of marriages in Lebanon go through religious courts,
following a law from the era of the French mandate. This makes it difficult for
civil unions to be enacted or mixed sect and religous marriages to be
validated.
When questioned about the law, Lebanon's Interior Minister Nohad Machnouk
responded: "Cyprus isn’t far away."
The Mediterranean island is a well-known destination for Lebanese couples
who want to obtain a civil marriage.
However, if couples don't belong to a religious group in Lebanon, then their
marriages are legally treated as civil issues, although this has happened only
rarely.
Nidal Darwish, a Shia Muslim, married his wife, Khaloud Sukkarieh, a Sunni
Muslim, in the middle of 2013. They were the first Lebanese couple to register
their civil marriage in the country, after months of wrangling in the courts.
Darwish and Sukkarieh's case became a massive victory for secular campaigners
and many couples have followed suit.
However, the win for the couple was short-lived and other Lebanese lovers are
still awaiting a signature from the registrar to validate their marriages.
"The minister has decided to refer the issue to the cabinet, shirking his
responsibilities because Lebanese law allows for civil marriages to be
registered if the sect is not recorded," said Darwish.
Receiving a
civil status for the marriage will also allow partners to register their child
with the state without submitting a sect.
Those unable to register their marriages cannot have their children legally
recognised by the authorities.
This ultimately means that they cannot obtain official documents that are
needed for work, housing and travel. In the eyes of the state, they do not
exist.
Former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri refused to sign a bill ratifying civil
marriages until a parliamentary majority agreed to it in 1999. He said at the
time: "The general situation in the country is not conducive for the
instatement of civil marriages."
Both Christian and Muslim religious authorities oppose the institution of civil
marriages.
Lebanon's former grand mufti, Mohammad Rashid Qabbani, took a clear line on the
issue. "Any Muslim official that agrees to civil marriages is stepping out
of the faith," he said.
Prime Minister Saad Hariri said that civil marriage was a "feature… that
the Future Movement is calling for".
Former President Michel Suleiman also called for civil marriages to be
permitted, saying the law was about far more than matrimony. "Personal
freedom is one of the steps towards getting rid of sectarianism and living
together," he said.