Rita Abi Nader

Occupation:

Country Expert on Lebanon and the Middle East — Lawyer and Human Rights Researcher

Summary

Lebanese lawyer and member of the Beirut Bar Association since 2016, with over ten years of litigation before all Lebanese courts. Covers religion and the confessional personal status system and its effect on women and children, civil registry and identity documentation, and the practical limits of state protection, in Lebanon and across the Middle East. Reads and verifies Arabic language court, civil registry and notarial documents, and works in English and French.

Countries of Expertise

Lebanon, with regional coverage of the Levant and the Gulf: Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Bahrain.

Details of Country Expertise

Country conditions analysis on Lebanon, with regional coverage of the Levant and the Gulf, for asylum and international protection claims.

Religion and the confessional system. The position of religious communities in Lebanon and the effect of confessional personal status law on marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance, and on the people who fall outside that framework.

Personal status, civil registry and identity documentation. Civil status and identity records, registration and document verification, including cases where civil status cannot be proved at all.

Justice system, courts and legal procedure. How the Lebanese courts and administrative bodies work in practice, based on ten years of litigation before all Lebanese courts, and the gap between formal protections and their availability.

Access to state protection and vulnerable individuals. The position of those unable to obtain effective protection through domestic institutions amid political and institutional instability, including women and children at risk within the personal status and family law framework and people affected by the economic crisis.

Regional coverage and Arabic language documents. Legal, court and civil registry documentation across the Middle East, and the position of individuals seeking protection from state institutions in the region.

Experience

Over ten years in legal practice and a member of the Beirut Bar Association since 2016. Litigation before all Lebanese courts: managing and overseeing disputes, conducting legal research, attending hearings, filing lawsuits and drafting pleadings and briefs. Legal Counsel since 2024, Senior Associate at Rasma Legal from 2020 to 2024, Junior Associate at Elie Helou Law Office from 2016 to 2020. Master of Laws with distinction and Bachelor of Laws with distinction, Lebanese University. Available for country conditions reports, document verification and authenticity assessment, and legal system analysis for asylum and protection work in the United Kingdom and the United States.

Languages

Arabic — Native
English — Full professional proficiency
French — Full professional proficiency

Political Groups Expertise

Individuals at risk in Lebanon in connection with their situation before the authorities and the justice system, and those unable to obtain effective protection through domestic institutions amid political and institutional instability.

Religious Groups Expertise

The confessional framework of Lebanon and its personal status system, and the position of religious communities within it, relevant to protection claims involving religion, personal status and civil documentation.

Other Social Groups Expertise

Vulnerable individuals relevant to protection claims, including women and children at risk within the personal status and family law framework, people affected by the economic and institutional crisis in Lebanon, and persons facing difficulties with personal status, civil registry and documentation.