Qortbawi Refers Civil Marriage Draft Law to Cabinet
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Caretaker Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi referred on Thursday the optional civil marriage draft law to the cabinet.
"If the law is put into effect, then civil marriage becomes applicable as an optional law in Lebanon,” Qortbawi told LBCI television.
“Then people will no longer have to travel to conduct the nonreligious unions abroad,” he added.
The minister pointed out that according to this draft law, the couple chooses the civil marriage law of a foreign country to govern all matters related to the union.
However, LBCI remarked that a part of the fees payed in return of this marriage will be given to religious authorities currently governing matters of personal affairs in Lebanon.
Legal expert Talal Husseini slammed this clause in the draft law, comparing it to “paying money in exchange for freedom.”
In April 2013, the Higher Committee for Consultations at the Justice Ministry responded to inquiries submitted by the Interior Ministry on the legality of civil marriage in Lebanon.
The committee reiterated its support for civil marriage in Lebanon.
The Interior Ministry had sent the inquiries to the Committee at the request of Qortbawi.
The Lebanese Supreme Council in the Ministry of Justice took an unanimous decision in February to consider legal all civil marriages conducted in Lebanon by people that do not have any religious affiliation.
The debate surrounding civil marriage was last year after Kholoud Succariyeh and Nidal Darwish announced in January that they had wed as a secular couple by having their religious sects legally struck from their family registers under an article dating from the 1936 French mandate.
Legalizing civil marriage has sparked debate among the country's political and religious authorities with President Michel Suleiman advocating it and caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati and Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani rejecting it.
30 January 2014, 21:17
38
Good progress. Nice going ya Qortbawi. Now 1-start giving rights to women who get beaten by their husbands, 2-repeal the humiliating homophobic laws, and 3- start introducing laws to humanely slaughter animals. At that point, we will be half way towards an advanced civil society.
30 January 2014, 21:21
04
However, LBCI remarked that a part of the fees payed in return of this marriage will be given to religious authorities currently governing matters of personal affairs in Lebanon
What a sickening country we live in... christians and muslims "leaders" alike did all they can to stop such a law from seeing light...if this whole world continued believing in Zeus it would have been a much better place.
On that note i wish Qortbawi luck... would be nice to see ANYTHING civil in this country.
31 January 2014, 08:05
02
Laws like this help break down sectarian lines. I hope and pray (yes, pray) it goes through.
31 January 2014, 13:17
22
Its time to put an end to religious influence on society in Lebanon. Influence that gives birth and legitimacy to sectarian political parties such as Hezbollah and other extremist organisations including christians. Its unacceptable that political parties are lead by religious figures distorting religious values to achieve their political goals.
Religion, politics and civil life cannot mix ! Religions are obsolete and laws must replace religious heresy where corrupt men monopolise the "divine", the "good" and the "bad"!
Religions can no longer decide how we live our lives, marry, divorce, die, inherit. They are the oldest mafias that need to be eliminated or at least readjusted to their original purpose : promoting a set of universal values (peace, do not kill, do not lie, do not steal ...) and giving people faith and hope when all else fails.
