SEEKING NATIONALITY THE JUDICIAL ODYSSEY OF APPLICANTS Associations. Here too, the cost varies between e Beirut Bar Association (which charges around 75,000 Lebanese Liras or $50 per power of attorney) and Tripoli Bar Association (which charges around 110,000 Lebanese Liras or $75 per power of attorney). Such authentication is repeated every time the lawsuit moves to a higher instance appellate and cassation courts and upon execution of court orders, and the client pays authentication fees all over again. Burden of Lawyers’ Fees Lawyers’ exaggerated fees constitute one of the major obstacles that discourage individuals willing to file registration or nationality lawsuits. Registration and nationality lawsuits are of unspecified value. Although legal representation is not mandatory in civil status lawsuits, the majority of the stateless persons are not aware that they may file a lawsuit on their own. But regardless, in reality almost all are not capable to prepare their legal file and handle the court proceedings by themselves. Article 16 of the Code of Ethics of the Law Profession66 stipulates that “attorneys shall specify, by means of a clearly written agreement, his/her fees in advance with the client, unless impeded by special circumstances,” and that the attorney shall “specify his/her remuneration moderately, taking into account the financial situation of the client and the effort he/she expects the lawsuit demands.” The findings of our study show that in most cases none of these principles are followed. For both registration and nationality lawsuits, lawyers charge fees that ranges between $5000 to $15,000. Sometimes, lawyers charge additional cost according to the number of individuals in the lawsuit. And none of the lawyers had a written agreement with the clients specifying her/his fees and the court proceedings costs or issue receipts for payments received. Clients find themselves sometimes not able to prove the amount they had paid the lawyers, particularly if needed in case the lawyers ask for additional payments without clearly explaining the reason and purpose, or if a disagreement arise between the lawyer and the client. A number of lawyers tend, unethically, suspend legal representation and consequently the court proceedings if their clients are late in settling due payment or the additional fees requested instead of proceeding with the lawsuit and then filing a claim to obtain the specified remuneration. They also deny their clients a copy of their judicial file unless they pay additional amounts which exceed the cost of photocopying by miles. Burden of the DNA Test cost In registration lawsuits DNA tests has become systematically ordered by the Single Judge in recent years. It involves, the laboratory fees, the court clerk transportation allowance to accompany the individuals to the laboratory when taking blood samples, photograph them, confirm their identities, and collecting the test results and delivering them to the court; and the cost of transportation of the Applicants themselves. Regardless of the conflict between the religious courts and civil jurisdictions on matters of personal status issues which is beyond our study here, we will limit our review to highlight the number of issues related to the cost of the DNA tests. First, the DNA test is high and almost unaffordable, particularly for the extremely poor stateless families. In general, the total cost of DNA test for a small family composed of a mother, father, and one child would be around 917,000 Lebanese Liras ($305). In reality, most families are made of at least five children as an average, the cost reaches around 1,673,000 Lebanese Liras (around $1115) excluding the fees of the forensic doctor. Although the DNA test aims to establish the paternal biological affiliation of the child in order to register her/him under the father’s personal civil event record, most courts require a DNA test with the mother too. This aims to confirm the veracity of the motherhood.67 In addition to the added cost of the DNA test, sometimes it complicates the matter if the mother is in hiding or lives in a place unknown to her family or outside Lebanon (if she is a foreign citizen deported to her country). Sometimes, if the father is deceased, the court orders the DNA tests to be conducted with two uncles to ensure scientific accuracy instead being satisfied with one only. One questions the scientific necessity of two uncles as this double twice the laboratory fees of already unbearable cost. Second, the courts limit the recognition of a few laboratories where DNA test to be done that are all located in Beirut. This incurs heavy additional transportation cost for individuals coming from outside Beirut, and more so for those coming from remote rural regions. Third, the laboratories do not have unified standardized prices for DNA cost. For examples, Rafik Hariri University Hospital and ATL laboratories charge 150$ per individual, and the Medical Genetics and Genomics Center at Saint Joseph University the cost is 225$. The cost doubles if the test is being done with the uncle or cousins. The Court of Cassation systematically request the DNA test to be done in the most expensive laboratory. Fourth, the allowance ordered by the Single judge to be paid by the Applicants to the court clerk to cover cost of her/his transportation to Although the DNA test aims to establish the paternal biological affiliation of the child in order to register her/him under the father’s personal civil event record, most courts require a DNA test with the mother too. SEEKING NATIONALITY | PART 3 FRONTIERS RIGHTS 76