SEEKING NATIONALITY THE JUDICIAL ODYSSEY OF APPLICANTS This is the case of a divorcee woman who remarried a second time. The second marriage was concluded by a Muslim Sheik. However, her divorce in the Sharia court was not executed in her civil records, hence she is still married. In this situation, her second marriage could not be validated by the religious court in order to executed it in her civil records. Her children born from the second “marriage” became stateless. In another case, a Muslim Sheik concluded a marriage of a divorcee woman a week after her divorce from the first marriage took place. Considering that a divorcee must wait a certain period before she remarries (Iddah), the woman’s second marriage could not be validated in the religious court; hence could not register her marriage in the civil records and the children became stateless. Other wrong advices are related to marriages between different religions. Considering a Christian man must convert to Islam if he wants to marry a Muslim woman, a few Muslim Sheik concludes the marriage based solely on grounds that the Christian man converted orally in front of him to Islam. Considering that the conversion of religion should first be registered in the man’s civil records before getting married, his second marriage could not be registered nor register administratively his children born this marriage. Costs Beyond Means The cost of pre and during judicial proceedings is one of the main reasons that hinders stateless individuals from seeking to access judicial solutions to end their statelessness. Sometimes they file the lawsuits but do not continue in the middle of the proceeding due to their inability to bear the costs. This is common in both registration and nationality lawsuits. The high cost of judicial proceeding is not limited to the official rates or fees. In reality and practice the cost and fees are sometimes doubled or tripled beyond any justification. This is unofficial cost is widespread horizontally and vertically in the Lebanese society and commonly known in Lebanon as “bartala” (additional side fees/bribe) paid for civil servants and local authorities to submit files or accelerate processes. Such additional costs are not supported by any receipts. This is added to the cost of transportation and absenteeism from work in order to carry out the different procedures, reviews, follow-ups, sometimes with the same authority. If a person decides not to pay these “unofficial” costs, her/the documentation needed for his file will never be provided, nor the court’s proceedings will start or continue. Based on our review of the cases, the average cost of the lawsuits is US$500 excluding the lawyer’s fees and the DNA test cost. This figure is higher if the lawsuits involve a large number of family members and/or a nationality lawsuit. The pre-judicial proceedings cost involves building the judicial file for submission, such obtaining the necessary documentation from the Mukhtars, a proof of marriage and kinship from the religious courts, and original copies of their civil records from the civil status departments (in case of registration lawsuit). Sometimes, they have to obtain birth notifications from the midwives or hospitals. In addition, the private lawyers’ fees and of the power of attorney are beyond their means. During the judicial proceedings, the costs are mainly related to cost of filing the lawsuit, and the notification of the court’s decision to the different parties; and in the case of registration lawsuit, there is the high cost of the DNA tests. The execution of the courts’ decisions or judgements is an additional cost. SEEKING NATIONALITY | PART 3 FRONTIERS RIGHTS Unlawful Mukhtars’ fees The documents required to file a registration or nationality lawsuit usually include attestations, certificates, and other related papers issued or authenticated by the Mukhtar of the place of residence, the place of birth of the Applicant, the location in which the parents of the Applicant got married, or the place of the parents’ registration and records. Such documents are deemed necessary either to prove the identity of the Applicant or to put an end to his/her status as unregistered. The Law on Mukhtars and Mukhtar Councils63 stipulates clearly the type of documents that should be issued by Mukhtars, free of charge, and small fees documents specified by a decree,64 and Decree no. 2262 sets the Mukhtar’s fees for issuing an original certificate at 500 Lebanese Liras (about 33 cents). 72