Lebanon
2026
- GOVERNMENT
- parliamentary republic
- CONSTITUTION
- May 23, 1926, amended several times, last in 1990
- LEGAL SYSTEM
- there are norms of civil law and Ottoman, canon, and Napoleonic law
- LEGISLATIVE SYSTEM
- unicameral, National Assembly (Majlis Alnuwab)
- JUDICIAL SYSTEM
- four Courts of Cassation; Constitutional Council (decides on the constitutionality of laws); Supreme Council (judges accusations against the President and Prime Minister)
RELIGIONS
59.7% Muslim; 39% Christian; 1.3% Other
From the country
AUGUST 11, 2026LebanonDEATH PENALTYLebanon becomes first Middle Eastern country to abolish the death penalty
FEBRUARY 24, 2026LebanonDEATH PENALTYLEBANON: HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE APPROVES DRAFT TO ABOLISH DEATH PENALTY
Lebanon’s human rights committee has approved a draft to abolish the death penalty.
- FEBRUARY 15, 2026LebanonDEATH PENALTY
AMB. MARCELLI, IMPORTANT TO ARRIVE AT LAW AGAINST DEATH PENALTY IN LEBANON
Italy's ambassador to Lebanon, Fabrizio Marcelli, met with the chairman of the parliamentary committee on human rights, Michel Moussa, who is working on the bill to abolish the death penalty.
- JANUARY 21, 2026LebanonDEATH PENALTY
LEBANON REVIEWS DEATH PENALTY FOR 84 PRISONERS
Lebanon is facing a critical debate over the death penalty, as 84 prisoners remain under sentences frozen for decades.
JULY 29, 2025LebanonDEATH PENALTYLEBANON: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH OVER KILLING OF IRISH SOLDIER SEÁN ROONEY
A man has been sentenced to death in Lebanon over the killing of an Irish soldier on a UN peacekeeping mission, BBC News reported on July 29, 2025.
DECEMBER 19, 2022LebanonDEATH PENALTYLEBANON: DEATH SENTENCE UPHELD FOR KILLER OF BRITISH WOMAN
A Lebanese court has upheld the death sentence for an Uber driver convicted of killing a British woman who worked for the U.K. Embassy in Beirut five years ago, the embassy said on December 16, 2022.
FEBRUARY 23, 2021LebanonDEATH PENALTYLEBANON: MILITARY COURT CHARGES 35 TRIPOLI PROTESTERS WITH TERRORISM
The Lebanese Military Court on 22 February 2021 charged 35 protesters from the northern city of Tripoli with terrorism and theft, which carries a maximum penalty of death, attorney Ayman Raad said in a statement.
DECEMBER 20, 2020LebanonDEATH PENALTYUN: FOR THE FIRST TIME LEBANON VOTED FOR A RESOLUTION AGAINST DEATH PENALTY
According to Lebanon’s UN representative Amal Mudallali, Lebanon for the first time in history has voted against the death penalty in a United Nations session.
FEBRUARY 21, 2020LebanonDEATH PENALTYLEBANON: DEATH SENTENCE OF RAPIST, MURDERER OVERTURNED
A judge in Lebanon’s highest court on 20 February 2020 overturned the death sentence of Tarek Houshieh, who was convicted of raping and murdering British embassy employee Rebecca Dykes in December 2017.
- JANUARY 1, 2020LebanonDEATH PENALTY
Lebanon reinstated the death penalty in 1994 in a bid to stem a rise in violent crime following the 1975-90 civil war.
Lebanon reinstated the death penalty in 1994 in a bid to stem a rise in violent crime following the 1975-90 civil war.
NOVEMBER 5, 2019LebanonDEATH PENALTYLEBANON: UBER DRIVER SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER OF UK WOMAN
A Lebanese court on 1st November 2019 sentenced an Uber driver to death for the murder of a British embassy worker in Beirut nearly two years ago, the country’s National News Agency reported.
NOVEMBER 4, 2019LebanonDEATH PENALTYLEBANON: EIGHT PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE FOR DOUBLE ATTACK IN 2013 ARE SENTENCED TO DEATH
The Justice Council of Lebanon, the highest court in the country, sentenced to death eight people responsible for the double attack on the al Takwa and al Salam mosquesin the Lebanese city of Tripoli in 2013, which resulted in 47 civilians killed and 500