It’s hard to believe given our rules and regulations, but this couple, Khouloud and Nidal, did manage to wed by civil marriage in Lebanon after they got the necessary paperwork, which wasn’t an easy job for them by the way. You can check all about it in this article by Now Lebanon, or just read the below summary by Najib to know how did they accomplish that.
Step1: Strike out the mention of both Kholoud’s and Nidal’s sects from their respective IDs to prove before the law that they are not affiliated with a sect that forces them to marry before a religious court. They thus acquired the right to hold a civil marriage as per Article 60 L.R.
Step2: Obtain a form signed by the mayor proving that there are no objections to their marriage and put the marriage announcement up on a billboard 15 days before the wedding date to make sure that there were no objections to it. The announcement was supposed to be published in the Official Gazette or at least two newspapers, but in order to prevent any hindrances, Kholoud and Nidal just posted the announcement on the doors of their parents’ houses and on the door of their own house.
Step3: Obtain a legal document signed by a notary public after both parties chose the articles included in the marriage contract as well as a financial disclosure that guarantees the rights of each party to the marriage.
It’s worth noting that Khouloud and Nidal are still waiting for the Ministry of Interior to officially announce their marriage.
I don’t wanna sound like the Grinch, but this is not necessarily a good thing. (For reference, my wife and I had a civil marriage in Cyprus).
This might not be a good thing because in order to do it, you need to remove your “sect” from your ID and government records. This, as a lot of my friends have experienced, will lead to a lot of rights being taken away from you and your children (government jobs, etc).
My only fear is that the government will now come and say “Here, no need to change any laws, you can have a civil marriage now, as long as you remove your sect”, knowing that this will cause a lot of problems for the couple and their children.
“will lead to a lot of rights being taken away from you and your children”? please elaborate! that doesn’t seem to make sense to me, at all…
I was wondering Bilal, if i get married in Cyprus, what happens to my kids? and what about my “sect” ? what will happen to it?
And will my marriage be official in LEbanon?
Who can answer all my questions?