Lebanon Consumer Protection Law — Law No. 659 of 2005

Lebanon's consumer-protection framework is Law No. 659, issued on 4 February 2005, published in Official Gazette No. 6 on 10 February 2005 and in force from 10 May 2005, three months after publication (Article 132). It has since been amended by Law No. 79 of 2010, Law No. 224 of 2012 and Law No. 265 of 2014. It defines a consumer broadly as any natural or legal person who buys, rents, utilises, or benefits from goods or services for non-professional purposes (Article 2). Its contract rules also apply to banks, insurers and the liberal professions where their own laws do not conflict (Article 17). The law requires that consumers always be fully informed about a product's nature and not be misled or deceived by advertising or packaging. It is administered by the Ministry of Economy and Trade's Consumer Protection Department. Lebanon's separate product-standards regime, administered by LIBNOR, sits in a distinct instrument — see the LIBNOR reference.