Lebanon (country)

B

Judiciary

Lebanon has no single Supreme Court. Under the constitution of the country, a council of state hears administrative cases, and a five-member special court of justice deals with matters of state security. The judicial system also includes single-judge courts of first instance, three-judge courts of appeal, and courts of cassation. Religious courts have jurisdiction over personal matters such as marriages, deaths, and inheritances.

C

Local Government

In theory, Lebanon is divided into five governorates, each administered by a governor, who represents the central government. In practice, the Iranian-backed Hezbollah controls parts of the south of the country and Syria controls much of the Bekaa Valley. Throughout the 1980s much of Beirut was under the control of Syrian armed forces. In many villages, local elders and clan members wield considerable influence.

D

Health and Welfare

During the late 1960s and early 1970s a comprehensive social security code was introduced, under which the bulk of the payments were to be made by employers and the government. It provided for sickness, accident, and disability insurance, maternity pay, extra allowances for large families, and severance pay. The weakening of central government authority during the 1970s and 1980s left to the militias and to private voluntary agencies the task of providing health and welfare services, prior to the restoration of the government in the 1990s. Life expectancy at birth in 2007 was 71 years for men and 76 years for women, a substantial increase since the early 1990s, when it was 61 years for men and 69 for women. In 1994 there were 683 people per doctor and in 2007 the infant mortality rate was 23 deaths per 1,000 live births.

E

Defence

In 2004, Lebanese government forces had 70,000 army personnel, a navy of 1,100, and an air force of around 1,000. Also present in Lebanon during the same period were some 3,000 Hezbollah militia troops and some 2,500 troops of the South Lebanese army, as well as some 40,000 Syrian troops. A UN force patrols the border with Israel.

F

International Organizations

Lebanon is a member of the United Nations (UN), the Arab League, and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).