Mrs. Marie-Claude NAJM KOBEH

Faculty of Law and Political Science

Professor
Dean Of The Faculty Of Law And Political Science

(+961) 1 421 000 ext 4425 marieclaude.najm@usj.edu.lb

Born in Beirut on April 6, 1971, Marie-Claude Najm, a former student of the Notre Dame de Nazareth College in Beirut, holds a law degree from the Panthéon-Assas University (Paris II) the Saint-Joseph University of Beirut (USJ).After completing her DEA in private law, she defended a doctoral thesis in Private International Law at the University of Paris II under the supervision of Professor Yves Lequette, which was awarded the Emile Tyan Prize and the thesis prize of the University of Paris II and published by competition by Dalloz editions. Upon succeeding at the French “Concours d’agrégation de droit privé et sciences criminelles” in 2005, she was appointed professor at the Faculty of Law and Political Science at the USJ. She subsequently chaired the Private Law Department (2013-2021) and directed the Centre of Legal Studies and Research for the Arab World (2015-2022), before being elected Dean of the Faculty in September 2022. For many years, she also served as a Visiting Professor at the Université Panthéon-Assas (Paris II) and the Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris I). Her publications focus mainly on conflicts of laws and jurisdictions, particularly in pluralist legal systems: Principes directeurs du droit international privé et conflit de civilisations. Relations entre systèmes laïques et systèmes religieuses (Dalloz, Paris, 2005) “Lebanon- Country report on Private International Law”, Basedow / Rühl / Ferrari / De Miguel (eds.), Encyclopedia of Private International Law, Edward Elgar (2016); “The Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Lebanese Private International Law”, Yearbook of Private International Law, Vol. 17 (2015/2016), p.463; Filiation and the Protection of PareBorn in Beirut on April 6, 1971, Marie-Claude Najm, a former student of the Notre Dame de Nazareth College in Beirut, holds a law degree from the Panthéon-Assas University (Paris II) and the Saint-Joseph University of Beirut (USJ). After completing her DEA in private law, she defended a doctoral thesis in Private International Law at the University of Paris II under the supervision of Professor Yves Lequette, which was awarded the Emile Tyan Prize and the thesis prize of the University of Paris II and published by competition by Dalloz editions. Upon succeeding at the French “Concours d’agrégation de droit privé et sciences criminelles” in 2005, she was appointed professor at the Faculty of Law and Political Science at the USJ. She subsequently chaired the Private Law Department (2013-2021) and directed the Centre of Legal Studies and Research for the Arab World (2015-2022), before being elected Dean of the Faculty in September 2022. For many years, she also served as a Visiting Professor at the Université Panthéon-Assas (Paris II) and the Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris I). A lawyer at the Beirut Bar since 1994, she has been practicing legal consulting activities since 2005. Her publications focus mainly on conflicts of laws and jurisdictions, particularly in pluralist legal systems: Principes directeurs du droit international privé et conflit de civilisations. Relations entre systèmes laïques et systèmes religieuses (Dalloz, Paris, 2005); “Lebanon- Country report on Private International Law”, Basedow / Rühl / Ferrari / De Miguel (eds.), Encyclopedia of Private International Law, Edward Elgar (2016); “The Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Lebanese Private International Law”, Yearbook of Private International Law, Vol. 17 (2015/2016), p.463; Filiation and the Protection of Parentless Children: Towards a Social Definition of the Family in Muslim Jurisdictions, N. Yassari, L.-M. Moller & M.-C. Najm Kobeh (eds.), T.M.C. Asser Press, The Hague, 2019. Long-time involved in civil society initiatives, including the “Khalass” campaign » in 2007, Marie-Claude Najm participated in the non-sectarian popular uprising of October 2019. She was appointed Minister of Justice in 2020 in the Diab government – the first in Lebanons history to include 6 women ministers. During her tenure, Marie-Claude Najm defended the adoption of a law on the independence of the judiciary in a version that complies with international standards, and requested the opinion of the EU Venice Commission to that effect, fought against the sectarian allocation of judicial positions, participated in the drafting and/or adoption of an arsenal of laws and administrative measures aimed at combating corruption and ensuring transparency in public life, and openly protested against the blocking of the financial rescue plan and audits adopted by her government. She also participated in the drafting and/or adoption of laws aimed at strengthening the protection of human rights, such as the laws enhancing rights of defense and due process in police custody procedures, protection against domestic violence or the criminalization of sexual harassment and denounced the obstruction of justice in the investigation into the Beirut port explosion and in financial investigations.ntless Children: Towards a Social Definition of the Family in Muslim Jurisdictions, N. Yassari, L.-M. Moller & M.-C. Najm Kobeh (eds.), T.M.C. Asser Press, The Hague, 2019.A lawyer at the Beirut Bar since 1994, she has been practicing legal consulting activities since 2005. Long-time involved in civil society initiatives, including the “Khalass!” campaign » in 2007, Marie-Claude Najm participated in the non-sectarian popular uprising of October 2019. She was appointed Minister of Justice in 2020 in the Diab government – the first in Lebanon's history to include 6 women ministers – she resigned six months later following the Beirut port explosion. During her tenure, Marie-Claude Najm defended the adoption of a law on the independence of the judiciary in a version that complies with international standards, and requested the opinion of the EU Venice Commission to that effect, fought against the sectarian allocation of judicial positions, participated in the drafting and/or adoption of an arsenal of laws and administrative measures aimed at combating corruption and ensuring transparency in public life, and openly protested against the blocking of the financial rescue plan and audits adopted by her government under the aegis of the IMF. She also participated in the drafting and/or adoption of laws aimed at strengthening the protection of human rights, such as the laws enhancing rights of defense and due process in police custody procedures, protection against domestic violence or the criminalization of sexual harassment, and denounced the obstruction of justice in the investigation into the Beirut port explosion and in financial investigations.