Law No. 81/2018, Part V, health, genetic identity and sexual-life data

Law No. 81/2018, Arts. 91 and 97(3) (health, genetic identity and sexual-life data)

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What follows is LexLint's own research summary of this law, not legal advice.

In force since 31 March 2019.

A sensitive categories rule binding public and private bodies.

As of 19 September 2026.

What it requires

Do not collect or process data that reveals, directly or indirectly, the health status, genetic identity or sexual life of a person in Lebanon.
Rely on one of the four exceptions only: the person made the data public or explicitly agreed to the processing and no legal impediment applies, the processing is necessary to establish a medical diagnosis or provide medical treatment by a healthcare professional, a right is being proved or defended before a court, or you hold a licence under Article 97.
Apply to the Minister of Public Health for that licence before processing health, genetic-identity or sexual-life data, and treat silence for two months from the application as a refusal.
Treat a voiceprint, a faceprint or any other biometric identifier as ordinary personal data under the Article 95 permit rule: Lebanon's special-category list names only health status, genetic identity and sexual life, and the act sets no heightened biometric standard.
Treat a child's personal data as ordinary personal data as well, since the act sets no age threshold, no parental-consent rule and no children's design duty.

What it reaches

Obligation class

Prohibition, Consent, Licensing

What this law does

Drafted with AI from the cited sources under the direction of UnGovr staff. UnGovr holds editorial responsibility for this page.

Article 91 prohibits collecting or processing any data that reveals, directly or indirectly, the health status, genetic identity or sexual life of the person concerned, and admits four exceptions and no others: the person made the data public or explicitly agreed to its processing and no legal impediment stands in the way; the collection or processing is necessary to establish a medical diagnosis or to provide medical treatment by a healthcare professional; a right is being proved or defended before a court; or a licence has been obtained under Article 97.

Article 97(3) is that licence, issued for cases of health, genetic identity or sexual life of persons by a decision of the Minister of Public Health, and Article 97 gives the Minister two months from the application, after which the licence is deemed implicitly denied.

That list is the whole of Lebanon's special-category law: it names no biometric data, no racial or ethnic origin, no political opinion, no religious belief and no trade union membership, and the act contains no rule at all about a child's personal data, so a voiceprint, a faceprint or a minor's data is governed by the ordinary permit regime of Articles 94 to 96 rather than by a heightened standard.

Article 136 makes the law effective three months after its publication in the Official Gazette, so these provisions bind today.

When LexLint raises it

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Read the law

official English translation of the Official Gazette text, hosted by SMEX

Every line above is drawn from the primary source linked here, read on the date shown. This is a research summary, not legal advice.

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