Lebanon Law Online Database : novexcn.com

You are using Guest Account

Subscribe To This Law Only

Subscribe To All Law Contents

Print This Page

Back




	Social Security Law

	Law promulgated by Decree No. 13955 of26 September 1963 (including all modifications)


SUBJECT :
ISSUING DEPARTMENT :
ISSUE DATE :
IMPLEMENT DATE :
LENGTH :
TEXT :

FIRST ARTICLE

Enforcement shall be made of the urgent draft law, dealing with Social Security, referred to the Chamber of Deputies by Decree No. 12539 of 16 April 1963, and worded as follows:

BOOK I - ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATIONS AND FIELD OF ENFORCEMENT OF SOCIAL SECURITY

TITLE I - SOCIAL SECURITY NATIONAL FUND -ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATIONS

Article 1
1 - A Social Security National Fund shall be set up, referred to in the present law by the term "Fund". Its terms of reference shall be the management of the whole of the social security system including its various branches.
2 - The Fund shall be an autonomous institution of a social character, governed by the provisions of the present law. It shall be vested with corporate personality as well as with financial and managerial autonomy. Its registered office shall be in Beirut, and it shall be authorised to set up regional and local offices.
3 - Within the limitations set out in article 3 of the present law, the Fund shall be subject to :
A - The guardianship of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, through a Government Commissioner whose powers shall be specified by a decree of implementation emanating from the Council of Ministers;
B - The prior guardianship of the Council of Ministers;
C - The subsequent control of the Audit Office, to the exclusion of any prior control.
4 - The machinery of the Fund shall be made up of the Board of Directors, the Technical Commission and the Secretariat, the latter being subject to the authority of a Director General.
5 - The Fund shall be subject to the control of neither the Civil Service Council nor of Central Inspectorate. The provisions of Decree-Law No. 150 of 12 June 1959 shall not apply to the Fund.

Article 2 (as modified by Law No. 9/74 of25 March 1974, Law No. 12/78 of24 April 1978, (and the Law promulgated by Decree No. 1881 of5 April 1979
1 - The Board of Directors shall be composed of the following delegates:
A - Six delegates representing the State, which could be selected either among Civil Servants of Government administrations and public establishments, or elsewhere,
B - Ten delegates from professional organisations, which are most representative of employers as defined in paragraph I of article9 of the present law.
C - Ten delegates from professional organisations which are most representative of wage¬earners and salary-earners (workmen and employees) as defined in paragraph 1 of article 9 of the present law.
D - Delegates from agricultural organisations which would be most representative of employers and workers, their number and procedure of selection having to be determined by decree emanating from the Council of Ministers on the proposal of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs.

2 - The organisations mentioned under subsections Band C of the preceding paragraph, as well as the number of delegates for each of these organisations, shall be determined by decree emanating from the Council of Ministers, on the proposal of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, subject to the most extensive representation being reserved for existing sectors.
The organisations concerned will choose their delegates through elections which shall be approved by decree emanating from the Council of Ministers.
The Government may request any of these organisations to replace its elected delegate by another, whenever it deems such replacement necessary.

3 - The delegates shall be appointed for a period of four years. The delegate must be a Lebanese national and must be an expert in his field of activities.

4 - Upon the resignation or death of a delegate, his replacement shall be appointed for the remaining portion of tenure, according to the same procedure as used for the appointment of his predecessor.

5 - New delegates shall be appointed, or their election confirmed, at least two months before the expiration of the current tenure.

6 - The new Board of Directors shall be elected during the first meeting of the Office Committee constituted of the President, the Vice-President, two secretaries, and four members. This office shall include two delegates representing the State, three delegates representing the employers, and three delegates representing the workers.

7 - The duration of the Office Committee mandate shall be four years and shall be renewable, subject to the mandate of any member being automatically terminated upon the expiration of his tenure, or his deposition by the Board of Directors.

8 - Decisions shall be taken by the Board of Directors and by the Office Committee by absolute majority vote. Each delegate shall have one vote, and in case of a tie, the President's vote shall have casting power. The majority voting for the decision in the Board of Directors, must consist of the absolute majority of each group of representatives: Those for the State, those for the employers, and those for the workers. If this is not achieved during the first meeting, the Board shall be called for a second meeting to vote for the same decision by an absolute majority vote of all its members without any distinction, subject to the lapse of not less than a two-week period between the two meetings.

9 - The Office Committee must submit to the Board of Directors decisions taken during the first meeting.

10 - The Board of Directors shall lay down its Internal Regulations and shall fix dates for its meetings; it shall meet upon convocation from its Chairman once a month. Special meetings can also be held upon the written request of at least three members, or upon the request of five delegates at least, or of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, or of the Chairman of the Technical Commission, or of the Director General.

11 - The Office Committee shall fix dates for its meetings, and shall meet upon convocation by its Chairman once a week. Extraordinary meetings may take place upon the request of at least three members, or of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, or of the Chairman, of the Technical Commission, or of the Director General.

12 - The delegate shall be entitled to an allowance for his active participation to any meeting of the Board of Directors and of the Office Committee; the amount of such allowance and the maximum amounts he may be granted during a given month for his attendance to meetings of the Board of Directors and the Office Committee, whatever the number of meetings involved, shall be fixed by decree emanating from the Council of Ministers, on the proposal of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs.
The delegate shall not be entitled to any salary or allowance for any work performed by him for the benefit of the Fund.

13 - Members of the Board of Directors shall be personally liable, even towards third parties, for any fraudulent acts committed in the performance of their functions. They shall be individually and jointly liable for their activities as members of the Board and of the Office Committee, and for any damages to injured persons; shall be exempted however those members which opposed the contested decision, and whose opposition was registered in the minutes of the meeting.

14 - Proceedings in liability shall be subject to five years' limitation, as from the date of the contested decision.

Article 3 (as modified by Law No. 12/78 of24 April 1978)
Powers of the Fund's Board of Directors shall notably be the following:
1 - Without prejudice to any decree emanating from the Council of Minister:
A - organisation and nomination of the Financial Commission, in charge of the short-, medium- and long-term investments of the Fund's assets, in conformity with the provisions of article 64, paragraph 2, of the present law;
B - vesting the Director General with authority to acquire or part with each real estate exceeding in value the amount set in the Internal Regulations, when these assets are intended for the internal operation of the Fund or for social services under its immediate authority.

2 - Activities which require the approval of the guardianship Authority :
A - the issuance ofInternal Regulations for the Fund, personnel regulations, grading scales, and pay-scales for various departments of the Fund.
B - producing the administrative budget of the Fund as well as ancillary budgets.
C - closing the accounts of the administrative budget, the ancillary budgets, and various accounts of the Fund; producing: a balance sheet, reports, and explanatory memorandums as provided by the Fund regulations.
D - setting priorities for social investments.
E - laying down the ground-work for the creation of new local and regional offices.

3 - Activities within the competence of the Office Committee:
A - decisions which need not be submitted to the Council of Ministers according to law, and those which do not require prior approval by the guardianship Authority.
B - decisions which have to be taken, upon the strength of reports of the Technical Commission, or observations by the guardianship Authority, and which are of an administrative or technical character and need not be examined by the Council of Ministers or by the guardianship Authority.
C - the appointment of employees of the third and fourth categories, which have succeeded in a competitive test, as stipulated in article 6 of the present law.

4 - The Board of Directors shall submit, within eight days, to the guardianship Authority through the Government Commissioner and supported by his findings, those decisions referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of the present article accompanied by the relevant report.

5 - In case the guardianship Authority fails to communicate to the Board of Directors its motivated refusal within a time-limit of one month dating from the receipt of the decisions duly submitted, such decisions shall be considered, at the expiration of that time-limit, as duly approved.
It shall equally be so in respect of the Council of Ministers' decisions referred to In paragraph 1, subsection B, of the present article.

6 - The Board of Directors may petition the Council of Ministers to adjudicate any dispute that may arise between itself and the guardianship Authority.
SSLE511

Article 4 (as modified by Law No. 12/78 of24 April 1978)
1 - The Technical Commission is one of the permanent departments of the Fund. It performs the functions assigned to it by the present law and by the regulations of the Fund.

2 - The Technical Commission shall be made of a Chairman and two members.

3 - The President and the members of the Technical Commission shall be appointed by decree emanating from the Council of Ministers, on the proposal of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, subject to their fulfilling the following qualifications; and the general requisites of the Fund:
A - The Chairman of the Commission:
He must be a civil servant of the first category of the general administrative framework of the State, or some person entitled to promotion to such category.
Alternatively, he must be holder of a university degree, obtained after having passed the second part of the Baccalaureate or its equivalent; the degree must be for one of the following subjects: law, economics, finance, or commerce; he must have further acquired, in his field of specialisation, an experience of not less than ten years since his graduation.
B - Members of the Commission:
The member must be a civil servant of the second category of the general administrative framework of the State, or someone entitled to promotion to such category. Alternatively, he must be holder of a university degree requiring at least three years studies, after having passed the second part of the Baccalaureate or its equivalent; the degree must be for one of the same subjects as required for the Chairman of the Technical Commission, and he must have acquired in his field of specialisation an experience of not less than five years, since his graduation.

4 - A special category shall be created, outside the Fund's framework, consisung of two grades: that of Director-General and that of Chairman of the Technical Commission. The pay-scale for both grades is to be fixed by the Internal Regulations of the Fund. As for the two members of the Commission, the grading scale and the pay-scale of the first category shall apply to them.

5 - The services of the Chairman or of any of the members of the Commission may be terminated by decree emanating from the Council of Ministers, for anyone of the reasons listed in paragraph A of article 5 of the present law, consequent to an investigation carried out according to the procedure and rules laid down in a special regulation to be formulated by the Board of Directors and approved by the guardianship Authority.

6 - The Chairman and the two members of the Technical Commission shall be prohibited from receiving any allowance, in compensation for any mission assigned to them by the guardianship Authority, the Board of Directors, or the Director General. Moreover, they may not be entrusted with any function within the Fund's Secretariat, during a period of two years following the end of their services in the Technical Commission.

7 - The Chairman of the Technical Commission shall manage all matters dealt with by employees of the Commission. In this respect, he shall enjoy the same prerogatives as the Director General.

8 - Employees shall be appointed to positions in the Technical Committee according to the same procedure as for members of the Secretariat, after they have succeeded in a competitive test staged by a special commission set up by decision of the Chairman of the Technical Commission, and subject to confirmation by the guardiaoship Authority.

9 - The Chairman aod members of the Technical Commission shall benefit of the provisions of the Social Security Law, at the conditions specified therein.

10 - The Chairman of the Technical Commission shall attend meetings of the Board of Directors. and of the Office Committee but shall have no right of vote; he may delegate one of the two members in his absence, to represent him.

11 - The provisions of paragraphs 13 and 14 of article 2 of the present law shall be applicable to the Chairman aod the two members of the Technical Commission.

12 - A - Credits accruing to the Technical Commission shall be embodied III the Fund's administrative budget.
B - Expenditure by the Technical Commission shall be initiated by the Chairman of the Technical Commission, or by whomsoever he delegates for the purpose.
C - Expenses of the Technical Commission shall be liquidated, certified and paid, according to the procedure laid down in the financial regulations of the Fund.

13 - The Technical Commission shall be in charge of:
A - Auditing operations and accounts of the Fund, according to a yearly or an exceptional schedule, or upon a specific assignment. The Commission produces a yearly work schedule before the end of the month of December of each year; it also works out exceptional work schedules whenever the necessity arises.
As for special expenditures, they are within the competence of any of the following: the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, the Chairman of the Board of Directors, the Director General, and the Chairman of the Technical Commission.
B - Submitting proposals aiming at improving working conditions or simplifying formalities. C - Within the scope of its activities, undertaking studies requested by the guardianship Authority, the Board of Directors, or the Director General of the Fund.
D - Producing the following general and special reports:
- An armual report on findings through auditing work performed throughout the previous year, which report is to be communicated to the following: The Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, the President of the Board of Directors, and the Director General; the report must be submitted before the end of the month of March of each year.
An annual report about plans to close the administrative budget and ancillary budgets, as per the provisions of the Internal Regulations of the Fund.

Special reports about working procedures and formalities, as well as about surveys and special assignments entrusted to the Technical Commission.

14 - The Commission may approach directly all units of the Fund and their employees; it is entitled to ask for and obtain any documents and files it may require in the performance of its activities, provided the Director of the Fund is informed thereof

Article 5
1 - The Fund's Secretariat shall be headed by a Director General. The latter shall be appointed by decree emanating from the Council of Ministers, on the proposal of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs after approval of the Board of Directors.
2 - Only a university graduate holding a recognised degree, and duly qualified in social, administrative or financial matters and with some banking and insurance experience may be appointed. The Director General may not sit on the Board of Directors as member or join the Technical Commission.
3 - The Director General shall be held for the implementation of the resolutions adopted by the Board, as well as for the management of the Fund's Secretariat. He shall prepare and put before the Board all documents and projects as may be necessary, relevant to the resolutions the Board has to adopt.
The Director General shall be required to attend the meetings of the Board or have himself represented by one of the directors. He may equally attend or delegate a representative at the sittings of the Technical Commission.
4 - The provisions of paragraph 12 of article 2 of the present law shall apply to the Director General and to the clerical personnel of the Fund's Secretariat.
5 - A - The Director General may be revoked for one of the following causes:
if he commits a crime or an offence
if he commits a grievous mistake in the discharge of his duties if he should prove incompetent or commits a serious negligence in the discharge of
his duties.
B - The Chairman of the Board of Directors shall file with the Minister of the guardianship his petition for revocation, with the following in support :
the report of the Board of Directors meeting relating to revocation - the government Commissioner's written and motivated approval the Technical Commission's motivated approval.
C - The Minister of the guardianship shall refer the petition to the Council of Ministers, together with the report of his own findings.
In the event of resignation, the petition shall be tabled before the Board of Directors for subsequent transmission, together with its findings, to the Minister of the guardianship, who shall then refer it to the Council of Ministers.

Article 6 (as modified by Law No. 12/78 ofl4 April 1978)
1 - A - The Fund's framework shall be made up of technicians and administrative agents.
B - All employees of the Fund up to the sixth category shall be selected by way of a competitive test.
Employees in the seventh category shall be selected by means of an examination. The conditions of both the competitive test and the examination, as well as the modalities for the selection of the examiners board, shall be fixed by the Board of Directors, on the proposal of the Director General.
C - Civil servants of the first category shall be appointed by the Board of Directors, those of the second and third category shall be appointed by the Office Committee, whereas the Director General shall select employees in other categories.
D - Local candidates shall have the right to choose the centre to which they wish to be assigned, provided vacancies are available, and in accordance with the provisions of the Internal Regulations.
E - Any employee may be transferred from one department to another, subject to the approval of the Directors of both departments concerned.

2 - The Fund shall be authorised to engage, for a time, Government civil servants, due regard being taken of the implementation of articles 50 and 51 of Decree-Law No. 112 of 12 June 1959, with the assent of the Ministers concerned. The service period which these civil servants shall complete at the Fund shall be assimilated to the service periods effected for the State, on condition that the said civil servants continue to pay in their contribution to the pension scheme on the basis of the salaries they would have collected in their original scale.

3 - Remuneration of the Fund's personnel, as well as their conditions of work, shall be determined by the Fund's regulations governing personnel.

4 - All the Fund's agents, irrespective of their classes, shall be subject to the provisions of the Code of Labour, except those civil servants referred to in paragraph 2 of the present article.

5 - A medical commission permanently attached to the Fund shall be appointed by decree emanating from the Council of Ministers, on the proposal of the Minister of Public Health, in accordance with the findings of the Board of Directors. Powers of this commission shall be specified in the Fund's Internal Regulations.

TITLE II - STAGES AND FIELD OF ENFORCEMENT OF SOCIAL SECURITY

Article 7
Social Security shall comprise the following branches:
A - Sickness-maternity insurance
B - Labour accidents-occupational diseases insurance C - Family allowance regime
D - End-of-service indemnity regime.
It shall be applied in three stages (I) (2) (3)

Article 8
The first stage shall be initiated 18 months at the latest following the publication of the present law in the Official Gazette. A decree emanating from the Council of Ministers, on the proposal of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, in accordance with the findings of the Board of Directors, shall determine the date on which the enforcement of each of the branches referred to in the preceding article is to start.
The second stage shall be initiated two years at the latest following the enforcement of the last branch of the first stage.
The third stage shall begin at least two years following the enforcement of the second stage.

Article 9 (as modified by Law No. 15/69 of 14/5/1969, Law No. 20172 of23/12/1972, (Law No. 16175 of 11/4/1975, Law No. 3/82 of28/1I1982,
(Law No. 7/86 of 11/2/1986, and Law No. 27/88 of 15/6/1988
Firstly - Shall be subject to the provisions of the present law, as from the first stage, on condition that activity is exercised on the Lebanese territory :
(I) Article 1 of Decree No. 1519 of24 April 1965 stipulates:
The date of enforcement of the end-of-service indemnity branch as provided by article 7 of the Social Security Law is set at 1 May 1965.
(2) Article 2 of Decree No. 2957 of20 October 1965 stipulates:
The date of enforcement of the family allowances branch provided under article 7 of the Social Security Law (Draft law promulgated by Decree No. 13955 of26 September 1963) is fixed at 1 November 1965.
(3) Article 1 of Decree No. 14035 of 16 March 1970 stipulates:
The insurance branch covering sickness and maternity referred to in subsection A of article 7 of the Social Security Law, regarding the provisions of medical services in the event of sickness and maternity, as well as the allowance of funeral charges, shall be enforced as follows:
A - 1 November 1970 : Due dateforcontributions. B-1 February 1971 : Due date for services.

1 - In what concerns the whole set of branches mentioned in article 7 :
A - Lebanese wage-earners and salary-earners, permanent, temporary, apprentices, seasonal, and trainees, working for the account of one or several Lebanese or foreign employers, whatever may be the duration, kind, nature, form or validity of the contracts binding them to their employ.er, and irrespective of the form or nature of their earnings or their wages, even if these earnings or these wages are given wholly or partially. by way of commissions, profit -sharing, or piece work, whether this is paid by the employer or by third parties.
B - Lebanese wage-earners and salary-earners unattached to any particular employer, and who work in the maritime sector, ports, enterprises, building, transport and unloading, as well as Lebanese wage-earners and salary-earners unattached to any particular employer, whatever be the form, the nature or the means of their earnings of their wages (1).
C - Members of the teaching staff in LBe higher education establishments mentioned in the law regulating higher education of 26/12/1961, and in the technical institutes mentioned in article 12 of Organic Decree No. 7880 of25/7/1967
Dates of the implementation of each of the security branches in all the sectors and categories specified in sections Band C above of the present subsection I shall be set by decrees emanating from the Council of Ministers on the proposal of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, following the decision of the Fund's Board of Directors; conditions of adherence of the two categories of wage-earners and salary-earners, the temporary and the seasonal, mentioned in section A of the present paragraph, shall likewise be fixed.
D - Lebanese nationals who work for the account of the State or Municipalities or any other Administration, Public Establishment or Autonomous Office, whatever be the duration, kind, nature, form or validity of their appointment or contract, including contributors to the Ministry of Information.
(1) Article 1 of De cree No. 3624 of7 July 1972 stipulates:
The date of the enforcement of the sickness and maternity insurance branch, mentioned in Article 7 of the Social Security Law, for Lebanese salary- and wage-earners only, designated by Law No. 15/69 of 14 May 1969, working in the maritime and harbour sector, whose average earnings amount to the equivalent of one hundred and sixty working haurs a month, is fixed as fallows:
A - 1 February 1972: Due date for contributions.
B- 1 May 1972 : Due date for services.
SSLE511

The above mentioned persons shall be subject to the end-of-service indemnity branch, and contributions therefor, in case they should be compulsory, shall be paid as from the date of their engagement. Persons engaged before I May 1965 and still on the job, shall have the option to choose to adhere to the end-of-service indemnity Fund in the course of six months dating from the publication of the present law in the Official Gazette, in conformity with the procedure and conditions set out in Law 27/740f25/9/1974.
But in what pertains to the family allowances and sickness-maternity indemnities branches, no benefit actually paid to the persons in question and no contribution actually paid for them, for the account of these two branches, shall be refunded; excluding this, there shall be no retroactive effect.
The permanent State civil servants designated in paragraph 2 of article 1 of the Decree-Law No. 112 of 12/6/1959 shall be excepted from the provisions of the present section D.

Lebanese persons who work for Municipalities shall be excepted from the enforcement of the regulations mentioned in the present paragraph above, and they shall be subject to the sickness-maternity, family allowances, and end-of-service indemnity branches, according to the following provisions:
1 - For the sickness-maternity and family allowances:
Contributions for them shall be due as from 1/4/1982, without retroactive effect.
2 - For the end-of-service branch:
Contributions for them, whatever the date of their engagement, shall be due as from the set date (114/82), on condition that these persons should have continued to work up to the said date.
The Municipalities have to settle indemnities prior to that date, according to the provisions of article 53, and to inform the Fund of the settlement accounts within four months as from the enforcement of the present law. These accounts shall be blocked with Municipalities until the request for settlement of indemnity in one of the cases mentioned in the law.

When indemnity is payable, payment of the prior period account shall be made together with the equalisation amount resulting from the settlement, according to legal provisions, within one month as from the request for payment sent to the Fund.

No contribution paid to the Fund according to the provisions of Law No. 16/75 shall be repaid to Municipalities, and no allowance paid effectively by the Fund in pursuance of the law in question shall be recovered.

Lebanese persons working for the National Council of Scientific Research are excepted from and not subject to the provisions of the present article, but they are subject to the sickness-maternity, family allowances and end-of-service indemnity branches, as follows:
1 - For the sickness-maternity and family allowances branches:
Contributions relating thereto are due as from 1/1/86 without any retroactivity.
2 - For the end-of-service branches:
Contributions relating thereto, whatever the date of the beginning of their work, are due as from the above-mentioned date (1/1/86), provided that these persons have continued to work until this date.

The National Council of Scientific Research is bound to settle their previous indemnities in conformity with the provisions of article 53, and to inform the Fund about the settlement accounts within four months from the date of enforcement of the present law.

These accounts shall remain frozen with the National Council of Scientific Research until the settlement of indemnities is requested in one of the cases provided for in the law. When this indemnity is due, the payment of the account for the previous period is to be effected with the equalisation amount resulting from the settlement, in conformity with legal provisions, with a period of one month from the date of the request for payment addressed to the Fund.
No contribution paid to the Fund in conformity with the provisions of Law No. 16/75 will be refunded to the Council in question and no service paid effectively in implementation of the said law will be returned.
E - Decrees emanating from the Council of Ministers on the proposal of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, following the decision of the Fund's Board of Directors, and in accordance with the conditions relating thereto, shall designate the categories of taxi-drivers, craftsmen, and all categories of taxi-drivers, craftsmen, and all categories of Lebanese persons not mentioned in the present article, whose adherence shall prove necessary as from the first stage, for certain or all the social security branches.

2 - In what pertains to health services (and benefits) in case of sickness, maternity, labour accidents and occupational diseases:
A - Permanent State civil servants, designated in section D of subsection 1 above of the present paragraph (firstly), excepting military personnel and members of the Inland Security Forces and of General Security.

The State Civil Servants Cooperative shall continue providing those services (or benefits) that the Security Fund does not grant to its subscribers, on condition that the rate of State contribution to the State Civil Servants Cooperative be fixed by decree emanating from the Council of Ministers.
B - Members of the teaching staff in all private schools, whether on the strength or not.
3 - In what pertains to medical services solely in case of sickness and maternity:
A - Lebanese students or students of no determined nationality, or whose nationality is under examination, who attend higher education establishments and technical institutes.
B - Foreign students residing in Lebanon, in conformity with bilateral agreements concluded between Lebanon and the countries whose nationals they are.

Conditions governing adherence to the categories mentioned in the present subsection 3 as well as services (benefits) shall be specified by decrees emanating from the Council of Ministers on the proposal of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, and in accordance with the decision of the Fund's Board of Directors.
4 - In what pertains to the health services (benefits), wholly or partially:
In the event of sickness and maternity:
- Physicians approved by the Fund in conformity with the provisions of the Security Law and its Internal Regulations, by virtue of a decree emanating from the Council of Ministers on the proposals of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, and following the decision of the Fund's Board of Directors.
Lebanese wage-earners and salary-earners bound by contract, in Lebanon, with an establishment having (in Lebanon) a head office or a branch office, and working abroad, shall neither be submitted to nor draw benefit from all or certain branches, in case they should be subject to and enjoy in the countries where they work such services (benefits) as may be at least similar to services (benefits) provided for in the Social Security Law. Proof shall be supplied by the employer.

In all cases, the wage-earners and salary-earners in question, who have initiated their work in Lebanon and who have been assigned for work abroad, or who are bound by contract to work abroad and who have been brought back to Lebanon for work, shall be subject to the provisions of the end-of-service indemnity branch. In this case, their contributions shall be assessed on the basic earnings of wages minus such premiums as may be paid to them during or on the occasion of their work abroad.
1 - Foreign wage-earners and salary-earners, working on the Lebanese territory, . attached to one or several employers, and employers who engage them, shall be subject to all the obligations included in the Social Security Law and the conditions relating thereto, in what pertains to the sickness and maternity insurance branch, the family allowances scheme and labour accidents and occupational diseases insurance. Such employers shall be subject to the obligations pertaining to the end-of-service branch solely if the said wage¬earners and salary-earners are entitled to benefit from the services (benefits) of that branch.
2 - The said foreign wage-earners and salary-earners shall have the benefit of the social security services (benefits), on condition that they hold a work permit, in conformity with the laws and regulations in force, and that the State whose nationals they are grants Lebanese nationals the principle of equal treatment with its own nationals in social security matters.
3 - States who grant reciprocity to Lebanese nationals in what pertains to social security and certain or the whole set of its branches, as well as the conditions accorded to their nationals, shall be set out by decisions emanating from the Fund's Board of Directors, following consultation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants.
4 - Members of the foreign insured's family, who do not reside permanently on the Lebanese territory shall not derive benefit from Social Security except in what pertains the end-of-service indemnity.
5 - The provisions of this paragraph (thirdly) shall not apply to the wage-earners and salary-earners designated in section B of subsection 1 of paragraph (firstly) of the present article, since the benefit of the section in question accrues solely to Lebanese wage-earners and salary-earners.
Foreign wage-earners and salary-earners working in Lebanon by virtue of contracts concluded abroad with foreign establishments shall not be subject to the provisions of the Social Security Law, if their employer produces evidence that in the country where the contract was concluded, or in the country whose nationals they are, they benefit from social services (benefits) at least similar, on the whole, to services (benefits) provided for in the Social Security Law.

1 - The journalists designated in articles 10 and 11 of the Press Law of 14 September 1962 shall be subject to all the branches of social security; all provisions of Law No. 56/65 relating thereto shall be abrogated.
2 - In what concerns these journalists, the following provisions shall apply in what pertains to the end-of-service indemnity branch:
The employer shall be required to establish, for the journalists on his staff, the indemnity account owing to each of them for the continuous work period they have passed from their engagement to the day when the present law was enforced.
3 - Accounting this indemnity shall be made in conformity with the provisions of the Code of Labour; the employer shall be required to remit to the Fund the indemnity account within a time-limit of one month dating from the enforcement of the present law, and he shall have to notify copy of same to the journalist; in case he should fail to establish this account within a time-limit of one calendar month, the National Social Security Fund shall be entitled to establish it, as a matter of course, on the basis of information at its disposal and the journalist's declaration; the account established by the Fund shall be notified to the employer through one of the legal channels, such account becoming final after one month has elapsed following notification, in case objection thereto such as mentioned in article 53 of the Social Security Law has not been raised.
4 - The end-of-service indemnity, established in the statement of account mentioned in the preceding section, shall be deemed taxable when the present law is enforced; time-limits and modes of payment of the amounts due by the employer shall be assessed in conformity with the provisions of the Fund's Internal Regulations.

1 - State pensioners, including Army pensioners, retired members of the Inland Security Forces and General Security, as well as policemen seconded to the Chamber of Deputies, shall be eligible to medical service (benefits) in the event of sickness and maternity. The State's and the insured's contributions, as well as the starting date of execution, shall be specified by decrees emanating from the Council of Ministers, on the proposal of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, and the Minister of Finance, in accordance with the decision of the Fund's Board of Directors. For the implementation of the provisions of this paragraph, the word "pensioner" means every civil servant who concludes or has concluded his period of service, and who has served during the minimum period required for obtaining the pension, whether he chooses to benefit from the end-of-service indemnity or from the pension.
The pensioners in question shall be entitled to no medical service (benefits) if medical service (benefits) accrues to them by virtue of the laws and regulations concerning them.

2 - State pensioners, including pensioners from the Army, the Inland Security Forces, and General Security, subject to the family allowances branch, shall not be entitled to the benefits of this branch if they receive such benefits from the State.

Article 10
All Lebanese salary-earners and wage-earners, workers, employees, apprentices, and trainees, working on the Lebanese territory in an agricultural concern for the account of one or several employers, Lebanese or foreigners, shall be subject to the provisions of the present law, in its second stage.
Should the said salary-earners and wage-earners be foreigners, they shall be subject to the provisions of the present law solely within the framework of conditions stipulated in paragraph 4 of the preceding article.

Article 11
In each of the first three branches designated in article 7 above, a section of voluntary insureds shall be created. Each section shall have a separate accounting and shall be required to achieve its own financial balance.
May accede thereto, as from the first stage:
A - persons who perform work, or hire out their services, for the account of their spouse or of their ascendants of direct lineage, upon their employer's request;
B - persons who no longer qualify to be subject to sickness-maternity, labour accidents and end-of-service Funds, on condition that they reside on the Lebanese territory and file in their application within three months dating from the end of compulsory subjection.
May accede thereto, as from the second stage:
A - agricultural employers and labour corresponding to the classes designated in paragraphs A and B above;
B - non agricultural independent employers and labour, unless the Council of Ministers accepts their accession as from the first stage, on the proposal of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs and according to the findings of the Fund's Board of Directors.

Article 12
A special law shall determine the conditions under which the Social Security regime, or one or several of its branches, shall apply, as a matter of obligation, as from the third stage, to persons who are not already affiliated to the Fund as from the first and second stages (unsalaried workers, independent workers, employers, etc.).

BOOK II - SERVICES

TITLE I - SICKNESS-MATERNITY INSURANCE
CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions

Article 13
1 - A sickness-maternity insurance fund shall be created. Its regulations shall be set down in the present Title and its revenue in Chapter 3, Title I, Book III of the present law.
2 - Cases covered include:
A - any disease that is not due to a labour accident, or that is not viewed as an occupational accident;
B - maternity (pregnancy, delivery and post delivery);
C - temporary inability to work, resulting from sickness or maternity and having entailed suspension of the insured's earnings;
D - death that is not due to a labour accident or an occupational disease.

Article 14 (as modified by Law No. 220 of 29/512000 (and Law No. 483 of 12/12/2002
1 - Insurance protection covers the insured and members of their family. The word "insured" in the present article means the insured man and the insured woman, equally and without discrimination.
2 - Persons who live under the insured's roof and are his dependants shall be deemed members of his family in what follows:
A - the insured's parents, of over 60 years of age, or who, owing to physical or mental disability, are unable to earn their livelihood;
B - the insured's legal wife and, in case of several wives, the first one;
C - the insured's husband, of at least full 60 years of age or who, owing to physical or mental disability, is unable to earn his livelihood;
D - the insured's legitimate or adopted children, up to the age of full 18 years. Such age limit shall be extended up to 25 years in the case of children who are unable to earn their livelihood because they are wholly engaged in studies.
E - The insured woman's legitimate or adopted children, if she is in charge of their livelihood because of the husband's disability, in conformity with the conditions mentioned in paragraph "D" of article 14 of the Social Security Law.

Article 15
1 - Sickness-maternity insurance services shall comprise:
A - Preventive and curative medical services;
B - In the event of maternity, medical examination and care before delivery, the necessary services during delivery and care after delivery;
C - In the event of temporary inability to work stemming from sickness or maternity, sickness or maternity benefit;
D - In case of death, funeral allowance.

2 - Sickness-maternity insurance services shall be due to the insured solely in case he is not entitled, for the same occurrence, to service stemming from labour accidents-occupational diseases insurance.

3 - Services required in the event of pathological pregnancy or following pathological delivery, shall be deemed sickness services starting from the day when morbid condition has been established by the Fund's supervising medical officer.
Article 16 (as modified by the Law promulgated by Decree No. 2653 of 13/1/1972 and (Law No. 312 of 6/412001
1 - In order to be entitled to sickness and maternity benefit, the insured shall be required to prove that he has been under insurance cover for at least three months of the six-month period before disease has been medically established or the date of death.
To this end, shall be deemed insurance month the month in which the salaried person has been under insurance throughout its course and during which contributions have been paid in or supposed to have been paid in by the employer.
In case the salaried person has not been under insurance cover uninterruptedly, the total of all the periods equal to 25 days or to four weeks, for which contributions have been paid or supposed to have been paid, shall be accounted as one insurance month.
Periods during which the insured has been recognised unfit for work as a result of sickness, maternity or labour accident shall be assimilated to insurance periods.
2 - Furthermore, in order to claim maternity benefit, the insured woman shall be required to prove that she has been under insurance cover at least 10 months prior to the presumed date of delivery.
3 - The provisions of paragraph 1 of the present article shall not apply when disease or death is the outcome of an accident other than a labour accident, provided that the insured is already registered at the time of the accident.

4 - The insured who no longer meets the conditions required for his adherence to sickness
insurance shall be entitled to sickness benefit, not only when diseases have appeared before the termination of his submission to insurance but also when the onset of disease is evidenced within the time-limit of three months subsequent to that date, as well as to maternity benefit when delivery is expected to occur within the three-month period following the termination of submission to insurance.
5 - In order to enable the insured to establish his title to benefit, the employer shall remit to all his employees duly enrolled with the Fund a statement of salaries (and wages) in accordance with the form laid down by the Fund or acceptable by it.

CHAPTER 2 - Medical Services
Article 17 (as modified by the Law promulgated by Decree No. 2653 of 13/111972)
1 - Medical service shall be accorded to any person submitted therefor to sickness-maternity insurance, or who would be entitled to sickness or maternity benefits, as well as to those members of the family referred to in paragraph 2 of article 14 above.
2 - Medica! service shall comprise at least:

A - In case of sickness:
1 - Medical examination, X-rays, laboratory tests and analyses.
2 - Attendance by GP doctors, including the necessary "at home" visits and care by specialists, within the framework of conditions set out in the Fund's Internal Regulations.
3 - Dental care, following the issue of a special decree emanating from the Council of Ministers, on the proposal of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs in conformity with the findings of the Board of Directors, authorising the service and setting down its modalities.
4 - The medicines and pharmaceuticals required, provided that they are duly on the Fund's approved list and have been prescribed by a doctor of medicine, or, if the case so requires, a dentist.
5 - Hospital treatment (upkeep, medical care and surgical operations) in a hospital or another medical institute belonging to the State or the Fund, or approved by the Fund, when such treatment is deemed necessary by a doctor of medicine.
6 - Provision of orthopaedic and prosthesis aids mentioned in the list compiled by the Fund, subject to the approval of medical Control.

B - In maternity cases:
1 - Care and tests before delivery, care during and after delivery given by a graduate or approved midwife, or by a doctor of medicine.
2 - The necessary medicines and pharmaceuticals, provided they are on the list approved by the Fund and that they have been presfribed by a doctor of medicine or by a graduate midwife.
3 - Lying in hospital (upkeep, medical care and surgical operations), a maternity or another medical institute belonging to the State or the Fund, or approved by the Fund, when deemed necessary by a doctor of medicine or a graduate midwife.
3 - In case the permanent cash reserves are in excess of the threshold mentioned in article 66 of the present law, the Board of Directors may decide, following the Council of Ministers' approval and on the proposal of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, either to reduce the rate of contributions, or to increase services (benefits).

Article 18 (as modified by the Law promulgated by Decree No. 2653 of 13/1/1972)
1 - Medical care should be directed towards preserving or recovering the insured's health, as well as his ability to work.
2 - Doctors of medicine shall be required, in drawing up their prescriptions, not to deviate from such strict economy as may be consistent with efficient treatment.
3 - In order to exercise control over the insureds' health, the Fund may, depending on the modalities that the Board of Directors may specify, refer the insureds to the medical examination of a doctor that the Fund shall appoint, acting if the case so requires in conjunction with the resident doctor of the concern by whom the insured is employed.
4 - The Fund's Internal Regulations shall determine the number and nature of prenatal and postnatal examinations to which the expectant mother deriving benefit from insurance shall be submitted, together with the conditions under which these examinations shall be carried out.
5 - The organisation and operation of the medical control Service shall be determined by decree emanating from the Council of Ministers, on the proposal of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs and according to the findings of the Board of Directors. Allocations of medical care and the rules to be observed in this connection by the insureds, doctors and dentists, midwives and medical or pharmaceutical establishments, shall be set out in the Internal Regulations laid down by the Fund's Board of Directors.
Article 19 (as modified by the Law promulgated by Decree No. 2653 of 13/1/1972)
1 - Medical care shall be provided in each case of sickness for a maximum period of 26 weeks.
2 - If, at the expiration of the aforementioned period of 26 weeks, the supervising doctor of the Fund finds that the disease can be cured, thanks to a further treatment period of 13 weeks, the Fund shall authorise such service up to the expiration of the latter period.
3 - When the disease is of a nature that has been recognised by the Board of Directors as requiring medical attendance for a period in excess of 39 weeks, the maximum period of such care may be fixed by the Board at one year. At the expiration of that time-limit, the Board of Directors shall bring the case of the party concerned to the attention of Public
Assistance institutes.
4 - In the case of chronic or incurable diseases, that do not entail stoppage of work, regulations shall determine the conditions governing the provision of care and medicines at the expiration of the third period referred to in the third paragraph of this article.

Article 20
1 - A decree emanating from the Council of Minister shall determine, on the proposal of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, and in accordance with what may have been found by the Board of Directors, to what extent persons insured shall be required to contribute to the cost of the medical services provided, in the event of sickness and maternity, in conformity with the provisions of article 17, paragraph 2.
2 - However, in case of the insured's temporary inability to work, he shall be exempted from contributing to the cost of medical services, as from the sixth week of disability (1) (2).
Article 21 (as modified by the Law promulgated by Decree No. 2653 of 13/1/1972)
I - Medical care shall be provided by doctors of medicine, dentists, midwives (graduates or duly approved), hospitals, dispensaries, and other medical or pharmaceutical institutes approved by the Fund.
Provided they abide by the regulations of the Fund, doctors, dentists, midwives, practising in conformity with the rules of their profession, as well as hospitals, dispensaries and other medical and pharmaceutical institutes legally authorised, shall be deemed approved as of right.
They shall be remunerated in accordance with the general conditions laid down by the Fund in respect of medical care, following consultation with the professional associations concerned.
2 - However, in case recognised serious and urgent, patients who are not in a position to apply to those persons and establislunents designated in the preceding paragraph, may resort to a person or an establislunent non-approved by the Fund, within the framework of conditions set out in a decree emanating from the Council of Ministers.
(1) Article 1 of Decree No. 3685 of22 June 1993 stipulates:
Due account being taken of the provisions of article 20 (paragraph 2) of the Social Security Law, the participation to the cost of medical acts calculated according to the tariff set by the National Social
Security Fund, is determined as fallows: .
- 90% (ninety per cent) contribution of the Fund to hospitalisation cases and 80% (eighty per cent) to all kinds of medical care costs.
- 10% (ten per cent) contribution of the insured in all cases of hospitalisation, and 20% (twenty per cent) to all kinds of medical care costs.
(2) Article 1 of Decree No. 7431 of 16 March 1974 stipulates:
The participation of the insured to the cost afmedical acts in the case of maternity is abrogated; however, this participation remains in force for the cost of hospital care, and for the operating theatre and other expenses.

3 - The Fund shall periodically compile a list, per region, of the persons and medical or pharmaceutical establishment that have been approved to provide care to insureds. Such list shall be established following consultation with professional organisations and medical institutes, and shall be revised in accordance with the same procedure (1).

Article 22 (as modified by the Law promulgated by Decree No. 2046 of6/10/1971, and (the Law promulgated by Decree No. 2653 of \3/1/1972
I - Within the framework of the investments provided for in article 3 of the present law, the' Fund may build, establish or operate for its own account dispensaries and other medical or pharmaceutical institutes by complying with the legal provisions governing the medical and pharmaceutical professions.
2 - The Fund may import direct from abroad pharmaceuticals as well as surgical and medical supplies it may need.
It shall be entitled, following approval by the Council of Ministers, to distribute those pharmaceutical brand products and those medical and surgical supplies, at cost, to public establishments or establishments of public utility.
3 - The Board of Directors may, following agreement, entrust the provision of medical service, totally or partially, to the employer or any other natural or corporate person duly equipped with such means and installations as may be deemed satisfactory by the Board.

(1) Decree No. 4989 oJ28 February 1973 stipulates:

Article 1 :
The present decree determines the necessary conditions Jar benefiting from the provisions oJparagraph 2 oj article 21 of the draft law enJorced by Decree No. 13955 oJ26 September 1963 (Social Security Law).

Article 2 :
The patient, who has recourse to a medical practitioner or to an establishment that are not accepted by the Fund, must get, from him whom he has recourse to, a certificate detailing the state, seriousness and urgency of his sickness.
This certificate shall be presented within 48 hours to the Medical Control oj the Fund centre to which the patient is attached. The Medical Control shall scrutinise the certijicate, and the Fund shall decide whether to payor not its share of the charges by a motivated decision based on the advice oJthe Medical Control.

Article 3 :
The Fund shall pay its share according to the tariff established, Jar accepted doctors oj medicine and establishments, or according to the actual cost ifit is less than the tariff. The insured must present to the Fund a detailed invoice emanating from the medical practitioner or from the establishment.
Article 4 :
The present decree shall be published and notified wherever there shall be need.

CHAPTER 3 - Sickness Benefit
Article 23
1 - The insured who, as a result of disease, is inflicted with temporary inability to work, duly established by an approved doctor and having entailed suspension of earnings, shall be entitled, as from the fourth day of disability, to a sickness benefit, for each working or non working day, of disability.
2 - Sickness benefit shall be assessed on the basis of average daily earnings by dividing by 90 the total of earnings, defmed in article 68 and subsequent ones of the present law and that have been levied by the party concerned in the course of the three-month period prior to the disease. A threshold to earnings may however be determined by decree emanating from the Council of Ministers, on the proposal of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs and the findings of the Board of Directors, account being taken of legislation governing minimal wages.
3 - During the first thirty days subsequent to disability, the amount of sickness benefit shall be equal to 50% of the average day's earnings and to 30% of such earnings in case the patient is under hospital treatment.
These rates shall be raised respectively to 75% and 50 % as from the thirty-first day of disability, provided that the need to extend disability has been certified by the Fund's medical officer.
In no case may the amount of the benefit be in excess of the maximum threshold of earnings subject to contribution referred to in paragraph 2 of article 68 of the present law.

Article 24
1 - Sickness benefit shall be paid over a maximum period of 26 weeks to each case of temporary disability.
2 - The Board of Directors may, when the conditions stipulated in paragraph 3 of article 17 of the present law have been met, extend the maximum period wherein sickness benefit is paid to 39 weeks at the most, in these cases referred to in paragraph 2 of article 19 and to one year at the most in those cases referred to in paragraph 3 of the same article. Should disability extend beyond this time-limit the Fund shall bring such cases to the attention of Public Assistance institutes.
3 - Sickness benefit shall be paid over by weekly instalments, when falling due. Derogations to this rule may be provided for in the Fund's Internal Regulations.

Article 25
1 - With due regard to all other rights, the Fund may suppress sickness benefit and demand, if the case so requires, refund of the benefits duly paid in the following cases:
A - when the party concerned has obtained or attempted to obtain by fraudulent means services to which he was not entitled;
B - when disease is the outcome of a crime or offence committed by the party concerned, or of wilful mistake of his own designed to obtain services.
2 - The Fund may suspend payment of services (benefits) or reduce the amount thereof:
A - when the party concerned refuses to submit to the medical and administrative controls and tests provided for by the Fund's regulations or, having obtained a stoppage of work, he should fail to comply with medical prescriptions;
B - as long as the party concerned remains abroad, barring provisions to the contrary in the Internal Regulations;
C - as long as the party concerned is going through a penalty depriving offreedom.

CHAPTER 4 - Maternity Benefit

Article 26
1 - Any insured woman shall be entitled to maternity benefit over the period of 10 weeks in the course of which delivery occurs, on condition that she abstains from working and collects no earnings throughout such period.
2 - The amount of maternity benefit shall be equal to two thirds of the average day's earnings determined in paragraph 2 of article 23 of the present law and which, at the time when the party concerned abstains from work, would have been taken as basis for the assessment of sickness benefit.
3 - The provisions of paragraph 3 of article 24 and of paragraph 2 of article 25 of the present law shall apply by analogy to maternity benefit.
CHAPTER 5 - Funeral Allowance

Article 27 (as modified by Law No. 20/88 of 4 May 1987)
The amount of funeral allowances will be fixed at 150% of the official minimum wage in force and shall be paid:
1 - To the insured himself, should a member of his family die, as purported in paragraph 2 of article 14 of the present law.
2 - To rightful claimants designated in paragraph 2 of article 14, in case the insured himself dies.

TITLE II - LABOUR ACCIDENTS - OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES INSURANCE

CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions
Article 28 (as modified by Decree-Law No. 116 of 30/6/1 977)
An insurance fund covering labour accidents and occupational diseases shall be set up. Its organisation is set forth in the present Title, and its revenue in Chapter 3, Title I, Book III of the present law.
Labour accident shall be taken to mean:
A - the accident occurring to an insured while performing his job or on the occasion of such job;
B -the accident befalling an insured on his way from home to the work site, or vice versa, in case the journey has not been interrupted or deviated by a cause independent of work;
C - the accident befalling the insured in the course of or on the occasion of rescue operations effected in the establishment where the insured performs his job;
D - the accident befalling the insured outside the Lebanese territory in the course or on the occasion of job performance.
The date of enforcement of the present paragraph and its terms of application shall be set forth by decree emanating from the Council of Ministers on the proposal of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs and following advice of the Fund Board.
Article 29 (as modified by Decree-Law No. 1160f30/6/1977)
1 - The provisions of the present law relating to labour accidents shall apply to occupational diseases.
The date of the first medical establishment of the disease shall be assimilated to the date of the accident, with due regard to the right of control by the medical control authority of the Fund.
2 - The list of morbid symptoms deemed as occupational diseases, applicable to workers usually exposed to the action of noxious agents or to particular conditions inherent to their occupation, shall be set forth by decree emanating from the Council of Ministers, on the proposal of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs following advice of the Board of Directors. This list may single out certain operations likely to cause these diseases.
3 - Occupational diseases which usually break out only after the worker is no longer exposed to the action of noxious agents shall be chargeable on the Fund solely during the period indicated on this list.
This list may be revised or completed by decrees issued in the same form.

Article 30
The labour accidents-occupational diseases insurance branch shall meet the following risks, when they are due to a labour accident or to an occupational disease:
A - any morbid condition of the insured;
B - a temporary inability to work having entailed suspension of earning; C - the insured's permanent disability, whether total or partial;
D - the insured's death.

Article 31
1 - Persons deriving benefit from the provisions of the preceding article shall comprise the insureds and, in the event of death of one of them, his rightful claimants.
2 - The rightful claimants of a deceased insured shall be :
A - the persons defined in paragraph 2 of article 14 of the present law;
B - the insured's father and mother, as well as his brothers and sisters under age who, at the time of his death, were his dependants.

Article 32 (as modified by Decree-Law No. 116 of30/6/1977)
Benefits and services covering labour accidents and occupational diseases shall provide the following:
A - medical care;
B - ilol.demnity for temporary disability to perform work;
C - disability pension or lump sum indemnity, in the event of permanent, total or partial disability;
D - pension of the rightful claimants designated in article 39 of the present law and funeral allowance, in the event of decease of the insured.

CHAPTER 2 - Medical Care

Article 33 (as modified by Decree-Law No. 116 of 30/6/1977)
1 - Medical care shall comprise:
A - medical services stipulated in subsection A, paragraph 2 of article 17 of the present law; B - the provisions, maintenance and renewal of prostheses, the granting of eye glasses and other medical or surgical supplies unprovided for in the preceding subsection, on condition that these items and supplies are deemed necessary by the medical control authority due to the relevant accident or the occupational disease.
2 - The provisions of articles 21 and 22 shall apply to medical care provided in the event of a labour accident or an occupational disease.

CHAPTER 3 - Labour Accident Benefit
Article 34 (as modified by Decree-Law No. 116 of30/6/1977)
1 - The insured who, as result of a labour accident or an occupational disease, is inflicted with temporary disability to perform work, duly established by a doctor approved by the Fund, shall be entitled to an indemnity for temporary disability to earn his wages, per each working or non-working day of disability, starting from the eleventh day following work stoppage. Wages for the first ten days of disability shall be chargeable on his employer. In cases that shall be determined by decree emanating from the Council of Ministers on. the proposal of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs following advice of the Fund Board, depending on the types of professional activities of establishments, the employer shall equally bear, wholly or partially, the difference between the disability indemnity such as stipulated in paragraph 2 of the present article and the average daily wage set forth in paragraph 3 of the present article, for such period as shall be determined by the same decree.
2 - The amount of the temporary disability indemnity shall be equal to three-fourths of the average daily wage and to one half of that wage in case the insured is hospitalised.
3 - The average daily wage worked out by dividing by 360 the total wages defined in articles 68 and subsequent ones of the present law and which are levied by the party concerned in the course of the 12-month period prior to work stoppage shall be taken as basis for the assessment of the indemnity for temporary disability. However, if the insured has not been working during the 12-month period, or if the start of his work goes back to less than 12 months, the wages which would be taken as basis for the assessment of the average daily wage shall be those which the insured would have drawn if he had been working in the same conditions during the period in question.
In case the annual earning taken as basis for the assessment of indemnity is in excess of double the maximum annual threshold set forth in article 68 of the present law, it shall be levelled down to that limit.
The Council of Ministers may fix a minimum threshold for the daily indemnity due to temporary disability by decree emanating from the Council of Ministers on the proposal of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs following advice of the Board of Directors, due account being taken of the minimum salary legislation and allowances for the higher cost of living.
4 - Temporary disability indemnities shall be paid up to the insured's recovery or up to the date when pension for permanent disability falls due such as stated in paragraph 6 of article 35 hereinafter.
5 - Provisions of article 24, paragraph 3, and of article 25 of the present law shall apply to indemnities for labour accidents.
6 - The implementation of the paragraphs hereinabove shall be governed by the Fund's regulations.

CHAPTER 4 - Disability Pension

Article 35 (as modified by Decree-Law No. 116 of30/6/1977)
1 - The insured who, following a labour accident or an occupational disease, is inflicted with permanent and total disability, duly established by the Fund's medical control, shall be entitled to a disability lifetime pension amounting to an annual two-thirds of his yearly earnmg.
2 - The insured who, following a labour accident or an occupational disease, is inflicted with permanent and partial disability, duly established by the Fund's medical control, shall be entitled:
A - when disability is rated to be at least 30%, to a disability pension the amount of which shall be - depending on the disability rating - proportional to the pension to which he would have been entitled in the event of permanent or total disability.
B - When disability is rated at under 30%, to a lump sum indemnity paid up in one instalment the amount of which shall be equal to three annuities of the partial disability pension to which the insured would have been entitled if such pension had been due to the rate of disability with which he is inflicted.
3 - The rate of permanent disability corresponding to the various injuries shall be determined in conformity with the schedule that shall be laid down by decree emanating from the Council of Ministers, on the proposal of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, following advice from the Board of Directors.
4 - The holder of a permanent disability pension who should be in need of the sustained assistance of a third person, shall be entitled to a supplementary indemnity as the (Fund's) Regulations shall determine.
The annual earning taken as basis for the assessment of the disability pension shall be equal to 360 times the average daily earning, such as defined in paragraph 3 of article 4 of the present law, or, in case it should prove to be to the insured's advantage, to the income he has actually earned during the twelve consecutive months immediately preceding the month in which the accident occurred or the disease broke out.

The provisions relating to the minimum threshold and to the ceiling stipulated in article 34 of the present law apply to the disability pension, and to the annual earning taken as basis for the assessment of the disability pension.
6 - The disability pension shall be due, at the latest, as from the first day of the thirteenth month following the one in the course of which the accident occurred or the occupational disease broke out. Such timing may however be further extended to a maximum period of one calendar year at the request of the attending doctor and following agreement of the Fund's medical control.
7 - The disability pension shall be paid in advance, and its terms of payment shall be set forth in the (Fund's) Regulations.

Article 36 (as modified by Decree-Law No. 116 of30/6/1977)
1 - The Fund shall be required to review the pension, either by its own accord, or at the recipient's request, in the event when, following the liquidation of the disability pension, a worsening or an important reduction of disability has duly been established. Review shall also be effected in case the beneficiary resumes work.
2 - However, when two years have elapsed since liquidation of the pension, such pension may not come up for review except at one-year intervals at least. This rule shall not apply if, in the meantime, a new curative treatment is being pursued, or if a fleeting worsening resulting from the labour accident or occupational disease happens to disappear, or in case the beneficiary resumes work.

Article 37
Should the recipient of a disability pension be once again victim of a labour accident or an occupational disease, pension shall be re-assessed by taking into account all the injuries sustained as a whole. If at the time of the last labour accident or the last disease, the insured's annual earnings are higher than the annual earnings taken as basis for the assessment of the previous pension, the new pension shall be calculated in the light of the higher earnings.

Article 38 (as modified by Decree-Law No. 116 of 30/6/1977)
1 - The pension relating to a labour accident or an occupational disease shall be withdrawn and the indemnities paid without justification shall be refunded, if any, in the following cases:
A - when the party concerned has fraudulently obtained or attempted to obtain services and benefits to which he is not entitled.
B - when the disease or the accident is the outcome of a crime or offence committed by the party or of a mistake made by him with purposeful intent.
2 - The Fund may suspend payment of indemnities or reduce their amount:
A - when the party concerned refuses to submit to control and to such administrative and medical check-ups as may be provided by the (Fund's) Regulations, or if he fails to comply with medical advice in case he has been authorised to discontinue work.
B - so long as the party concerned should remain abroad, except as otherwise provided by the (Fund's) Regulations.
C - so as long as the party concerned is under penalty depriving ofliberty.

CHAPTER 5 - Pension of Rightful Claimants following Insured's Decease

Article 39 (as modified by Decree-Law No. 116 of30/6/1977)
In the event of the insured's decease, following a labour accident or an occupational disease, the persons designated in the Law promulgated by Decree No. 8496 of2/8/1974, shall be entitled, to the exclusion of all others, to have the benefit of pension devolving on rightful claimants set forth in article 40 hereinafter, in the priority order and the proportions therein indicated.

Article 40 (as modified by Decree-Law No. 116 ofJO/6/1977)
1 - This pension shall amount to two-thirds of the annual earnings set forth in paragraph 5 of article 35 above.
2 - In case there should be a single rightful claimant, this pension shall be reduced to 50% of the earning in question.
Article 41 (as modified by Decree-Law No. 116 ofJO/6/1977)
In case the insured should leave behind several legal widows, the latter shall share equally the allowance provided for the widow.

Article 42 (as modified by Decree-Law No. 116 of30/6/1977)
Pension of the rightful claimants shall be due:
A - in the event of decease of the insured beneficiary of a disability pension, as from the first day of the month following that in which he died.
B - in the event of decease of an insured who has not yet benefited from a disability pension, as from the date of death.
C - pension shall be due as from the two specified dates above if application for pensioning is filed within the six months following the date of death. In other cases pension shall be due from the first day of the month following that in which application is submitted.

Article 43 (as modified by Decree-Law No. 116 ofJO/6/1977)
Pension of the rightful claimants shall be paid in advance, and the modes of payment shall be set forth in the (Fund's) Regulations.
Article 44 (as modified by Decree-Law No. 116 of30/6/1977)
The right to pension shall be extinguished with the death of its holder or on the date when the widow or widower marries again. In the latter case, the widow or widower shall be entitled to a sum equal to three annuities of the pension.
The right of other beneficiaries to the pension of rightful claimants shall be extinguished if the conditions to which they are subject are no longer met; extinguishment shall take effect as from the end of the month during which the conditions are no longer met.
In case the right of one of the beneficiaries lapses for the reasons hereinabove stipulated, his share shall be distributed among the other beneficiaries, account being taken of the enforcement of the provisions of paragraph 2 of article 40.

CHAPTER 6 - Allowance to Defray Funeral Charges

Article 45 (as modified by Decree-Law No. 116 of 30/6/1977)
In the event of the insured's death due to a labour accident or an occupational disease, a lump sum shall be paid to the rightful claimants mentioned in article 39 of the present law; the amount of that lump shall be fixed by decree emanating from the Council of Ministers on the proposal of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs and following advice of the Fund's Board of Directors.

TITLE III-FAMILY ALLOWANCES

Article 46
A family allowances fund shall be set up. Its organisation shall be fixed by the present Title and its revenue by Chapter 3, Title I, Book III, of the present law.
1 - Family allowances shall be granted to salary- and wage-earners designated in paragraph 1 of article 9, and in article 10 of the present law, to recipients of benefit due to sickness, maternity or labour accident, as well as to labour invalids, as purported in article 35, when the degree of disability is in excess of 50%.
2 - Family allowances shall be due:
A - for each infirm dependant child, with no age limit, such as defined in subsection C, paragraph 2, of article 14;
B - for each dependant infirm child, with no age limit, as well as for each non salaried single daughter, up to the age offully 25 years;
C - for each legitimate wife living at home, when she has no remunerated occupation.

Article 47
1 - Each child shall entitle to a single family allowance, in pursuance of the preceding article. If several persons should, towards the same child, meet the conditions required to claim rights, in pursuance of the provisions of the preceding article, family allowances shall be paid:
A - to the father, when the father and the mother both fulfil the aforementioned conditions, unless custody of the children has been exclusively awarded to the mother;
B - to foster parents or to guardians, when these fulfil, at the same title as the father and mother, such conditions.
2 - Family allowances shall be paid only to five children at the most, per family head.

Article 48 (as modified by Decree-Law No. 116 of 30/6/1977)
I - The monthly amount of family allowances and their mode of payment shall be fixed by decree emanating from the Council of Ministers, on the proposal of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs and in accordance with the findings of the Board of Directors (I)
2 - Family benefits shall be paid monthly by the employer to beneficiary salary- and wage¬earners, for the Fund's account. Family benefit claims shall be deemed preference claim, ranking next to Treasury claims, legal costs and compulsory mortgages, even in the event of insolvency.
3 - Family allowances, paid directly by the employer to his salaried staff in conformity with the procedure set forth in the (Fund's) Regulations shall be barred by time limitation if the employer fails to account these allowances with the Fund within one calendar year dating from the end of the time-limit of matured contributions for the same period for which the said allowances are due.
4 - The prescription time-limit governing family allowances due to insureds shall be two years, dating from maturity, such as stipulated in the (Fund's) Regulations.
5 - The prescription time-limit governing allowance unjustifiably levied shall be two years, as from the date when the Fund becomes aware of the fact that such allowances are not due.

(1) Decree No. 2950 of 20 October 1965, amended by Decree No. 7621 of 13 April 1974, by Decree No. 3358 of8 August 1980, by Decree No. 2225 of24 January 1985, by Decree No. 4252 of 16 October 1987, and by Decree No. 1348 of 13 June 1991, stipulates:
Article 1 :
The monthly amount offamily allowances mentioned in articles 46 to 48 of the Social Security Law is fixed asfollows:
A - for the wife
B - for the children
: 20% (twenty per cent) of the official minimal wage.
: 11% (eleven per cent) of the official minimal wage for every child being under the charge of the beneficiary, up tofive children only.

Article 2 :
The family allowances mentioned in Title 111, Book II, of the Social Security Law are payable at the end of each month. These allowances shall be paid to the beneficiary worker only if he has worked during the month elapsed or if he is in a situation entitling him to such allowances in conformity with the rules and conditions mentioned in the Internal Regulations of the Fund.
Article 3 :
The present decree shall be published and notified wherever there shall be need.
(see also Decree No. 5103 of 24/312001)

TITLE - END-OF-SERVICE INDEMNITY
Article 49
1 - Pending the institution of an old age insurance scheme, an end-of-service indemnity Fund shall be set up. Its organisation (regulations) shall be set out in the present Title, and its revenue in Chapter 3, Title I, Book III of the present law.
2 - The end-of-service indemnity scheme instituted in the present Title, shall be compulsory relative to all salary- and wage-earners, such as defined in paragraph 1 of article 9 and in article 10 of the present law, who shall be hired by an employer after the date at which this insurance branch has been enforced.
3 - Salary- and wage-earners on an employer's service at that date shall be entitled to opt for one of the following two situations:
A - to remain beneficiaries of the provisions of the Code of Labour in respect of the dismissal indemnity;
B - to choose the end-of-service scheme established in the present Title, within a maximum time-limit of two years, as from the date referred to in paragraph 1 of this article.
In such a case, they shall be required to file a written application with the Fund's Director General, with copy addressed to the employer. In no case will the employer be able to object to the salary- or wage-earner's application.
The term "voluntary insureds" used in the present Title shall apply to salary- and wage-earners who would have opted for the end-of-service scheme.

Article 50
1 - Right to the end-of-service indemnity shall be recognised to every salary- or wage-earner, whether voluntarily or compulsorily insured, who meets one of the following conditions:
A - totalise at least 20 years service, by adding the period of contributions to the Fund to the years spent on the service of the employer who employed him at the time when this branch was enforced on his category;
B - be afflicted with a disability of at least 50% rendering him unable to retain his job or to be on a similar job, account being taken of his professional qualifications;
C - such disability shall be duly established by the Medical Commission referred to in paragraph 1 of article 35 of the present law;
D - in the case of a salary- or wage-earning woman, to be married and to have left her job in the course of the twelve-month period following the date of her marriage;
E - to have attained 60 years of age.
2 - In the event of a salary- or wage-earner's death, whether on a voluntary or compulsory insurance, the rightful claimants referred to in paragraph 2 of article 31 above shall be entitled to the end-of-service indemnity.

Article 51
The end-of-service indemnity shall be assessed as follows:
1 - A - It shall be equal, per each service year, to the salaries or wages collected by the party concerned during the month preceding the date of entitlement to indemnity;
If salary or wage is assessed wholly or partially on a commission basis, it shall be equal, per service year, to the twelfth of the sums actually collected by the party concerned during the twelve-month period preceding the date referred to above.
If salary or wage is assessed otherwise, the Fund's Internal Regulations shall specify, in each case, the amount that shall be taken as basis for the assessment of indemnity, per service year.
In all cases, the wage upon which indemnity is to be assessed shall be one that has been defined in paragraph 1 of article 68, hereinafter.
B - For each of the service years following the twenty years, the insured who should attain 60 years of age (or 55 for a woman) shall be entitled to a supplementary indemnity equal to half a month. Such supplementary indemnity shall be due only over the period during which contributions shall have been due by the employer to the Fund.
2 - The amount of indemnity shall at least be equal to 20 months in those cases provided for in subsection B, paragraph 1 of article 50.
3 - The provisions of paragraph 2 of article 54 of the Code of Labour regarding the amount of indemnity, shall remain applicable to employers designated therein, for the service period prior to accession to the scheme of end-of-service indemnity.
4 - Special provisions regarding the amount of indemnity may be taken by the Council of Ministers, on the proposal of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs and in accordance with what may be found by the Board of Directors, in respect of what concerns the salary¬and wage-earners referred to in article 72 of the present law.
5 - In the event of the wage-earner's death, end-of-service indemnity shall be assessed, according to the provisions of one of the paragraph above, in the light of the number of service years computed until the date of death. In all cases, such indemnity shall be at least equal to six months earnings.
6 - With due account being taken of the financial position of the Fund instituted by article 49 of the present law, the account of indemnity may be subsequently raised by decree issued by the Council of Ministers on the proposal of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs and according to the findings of the Board of Directors.

Article 52
The salary-or wage-earner, whether on a voluntary or compulsory insurance, shall be entitled solely to a reduced indemnity in the following cases:
1 - If he should leave of his own free will the concern wherein he has been apprenticed before the expiration of two calendar years following the termination of apprenticeship, or if, being voluntarily insured, he should of his own free will leave his job before the expiration of twelve months following the date of his accession to the scheme instituted by the present Title, such indemnity shall be equal to one third of the end-of-service indemnity determined in article 51 above.

2 - If he should prove that he has definitely given up salary- or wage-earning status, indemnity shall be equal to :
- 50% of the said end-of-service indemnity, if he has totalled a maximum 5 years contribution (to the Fund);
65% of the said indemnity, in case he has totalled more than 5 years contribution and 10 years at most;
75% of the said indemnity, if he has totalled more than 10 years contributions and 15 years at most;
85% of the said indemnity, if he has totalled more than 15 years contributions and less than 20 years.

Article 53
1 - The employer shall be required to establish, at the time of the voluntary accession of his salary- and wage-earners to the end-of-service indemnity scheme, the account of their indemnity for the continuous service period elapsed from the salary- or wage-earner's hiring to the date of his application for accession to the scheme.
This account shall be established in conformity with the provisions of the Code of Labour relative to dismissal indemnity.
The employer shall be required to notify salary- and wage-earners, in writing, of the account referred to in the preceding paragraph, mentioning (in that notification) service period and average earnings.
Should a dispute arise over that account, the salary- or wage-earner may, within a time-limit of six months starting from the day when notification of his account came to hand, counter it before a Labour Court.
The Fund's regulations shall determine what documents and evidence employers shall be required to present to the Fund at the time of the voluntary accession of their salary- and wage-earners to the end-of-service scheme.
2 - When the salary- or wage-earner has worked with several employers during the service period entitling to indemnity, his account shall be made up by the total of his accounts frozen at each change of job plus the indemnity due by the last employer. Such account shall remain frozen at the Fund and carry interest at the rate fixed by the Fund's Internal Regulations.
3 - The indemnity to which is entitled the salary- or wage-earner under voluntary insurance shall remain in trust with his employer, up to the time when it falls due by virtue of the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 of article 50 and in those cases designated in the next paragraph.
4 - When a salary- or wage-earner under voluntary insurance and totalling less than 20 years service leaves his job, whatever be the reason of service termination, the employer shall be required to pay into the Fund the indemnity determined in article 51 or 52 above, for the continuous service period elapsed from the salary- or wage-earner's hiring to the date of his application for accession to the scheme. This indemnity, increased by interest at the rate set down in the regulations, shall remain frozen until one of the eventualities provided for in article 50 above has been achieved. It shall equally be so in case the compulsorily insured should leave his job of his own free will before totalling 20 years' service.
5 - The Fund's regulations shall provide for time-limits which it is possible to grant employers, with or without interest, for the payment of indemnities left in trust with them and falling due. Regulations may also provide for payment by annual instalments of indemnities not yet due, in consideration of a rebate, if the case so requires. The same regulations shall specify the limits and modalities of declarations which the employer and salary- or wage-earner shall effect in the event of end-of-service, the conditions of adjustment with the provisions of the present law of agreed schemes already in force on the publication of the present law in the Official Gazette, when they are more favourable to salary- or wage-earners relatively to end¬of-service indemnity, as well as the liquidation of the employer's likely claims on salary- and wage-earners in his employ.
6 - The Fund shall have direct action in recovery of those indemnities referred to in the preceding paragraph, such claim to have preferential character ranking next to the Treasury's.

Article 54 (as modified by Law No. 15/69 of 14/5/1969,
(the Law promulgated by Decree No. 6110 of5/1O/1973, and (the Law promulgated by Decree No. 8496 of 2/8/1 974

1 - Against the end-of-service indemnity, a loan shall be granted by the Fund to any salary- or wage-earner, whether under compulsory or voluntary insurance, who may be unwillingly unemployed (redundant), head of a family or with dependants, when he can establish that he has contributed three years to the Fund. The loan referred to above which may be granted only once to each salary- or wage-earner, shall be in proportion to the salary- or wage¬earner's service period, at the rate of one month per service year, such loan never to exceed three months of the last wages. It shall be payable at the rate of half wages per month, up to the maximum amount indicated.

2 - (abrogated)

3 - In those cases referred to in subsections A, B, and C of paragraph I and in paragraph 2 of
"",article 50, the end-of-service indemnity shall be liquidated at the request of the salary- or wage-earner or his rightful claimants. Liquidation shall be effected as a matter of course in the cases referred to in subsection D, paragraph 1, of the same article. In those cases referred to in subsections A and C, paragraph I, of the aforementioned article, salary- and wage-earners shall have to file with the Director General of the Fund a written application calling for the liquidation of their account. Copy of such application shall be addressed to the employer. The Fund shall have a maximum three-month time-limit to effect liquidation. In all cases, loans paid by virtue of the preceding two paragraphs, shall be deducted from the interested party's account who in this case shall receive only the balance of this account.

4 - At the time of liquidation of the salary- or wage-earner's account, when he is under voluntary insurance, the employer shall have to remit the Fund a sum equal to the total of indemnities calculated in accordance with what has been prescribed in article 51 above, minus the amount of the salary- or wage-earner's account with the Fund. This amount shall be constituted by all the employer's payments into the Fund, increased by interests at the rate set in the Fund's Internal Regulations.

When the account of a salary- or wage-earner under compulsory insurance is being liquidated, the employer shall pay into the Fund only the difference between the indemnities calculated in accordance with the prescriptions of article 51 above and the total of payments he has duly effected at the Fund, increased by the interests at the rate set in the regulations. Payments referred to in the preceding two subsections shall be those effected by virtue of the preceding paragraph or of articles 71 to 76 of the present law.

5 - The end-of-service indemnity to which the salary- or wage-earner who has attained 60 years of age (55 for women) is entitled may, at the salary- or wage-earner's request, serve to create a life annuity, in accordance with the modalities set out in the Fund's Internal Regulations.

TITLE V - PROVISIONS COMMON TO THE VARIOUS SERVICES (BENEFITS)

Article 55
In order to be entitled to the services ( and indemnities) available under the sickness-maternity insurance, the periods of employment or apprenticeship completed by the insured before he has been subjected compulsorily to that insurance shall be added to the periods under insurance.

Article 56 (as modified by Decree-Law No. 116 of30/6/1977)
Benefits and services attaching to sickness-maternity insurance and to labour accident¬occupational diseases insurance, shall be extinguished by time limitation within six months dating from maturity.
Benefits and services stemming from permanent disability or death shall be extinguished by time limitation within two years dating from their maturity. No arrears of the disability pension covering a period beyond six months shall be paid.

Article 57
Services (and indemnities) in cash may not be the object of any transfer, counterclaim or commitment whatsoever: They shall not be subject to seizure except in implementation of legal alimony obligations, in which case they may be seized up to 50 per cent of their amount.
Article 58 (as modified by Decree-Law No. 116 of30/6/1977)

1 - In the event of a labour accident or an occupational disease, the employer shall be required to advise the Fund accordingly within a maximum time-limit of 48 hours, dating from accident.
In the event of a labour accident or an occupational disease, the employer shall be required to take such measures as may be deemed appropriate to prevent the worsening of the victim's condition.

2 - The employer shall be required to transfer the salaried to another job in tune with his health condition, when the Fund's medical control has established that the insured has been a victim to a labour accident or an occupational disease which is likely to progress or worsen if he should retain his former job, such measure being eventually taken in collaboration with the establishment. .

Article 59 (as modified by Decree-Law No. 116 of 30/6/1977)
1 - The Fund shall participate in the measures taken in co-operation with the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs and the Minister of Public Health, as well as with such workers' or employers' associations, and with individual establishments, aimed at preventing diseases and accidents.
A Higher Prevention and Hygiene Commission shall be set up to this effect; its competence and formation shall be set forth in the (Fund's) Regulations.
2 - The employer shall take such measure of safety and hygiene as are likely to ensure that the premises of the work site are in good condition. The Fund may determine in its Regulations certain compulsory measures for the follow-up and control of the workers' health and for the installation of means of prevention in the premises.
3 - The Fund shall cooperate with the doctors attached to establishments for the laying down of measures designed to prevent labour accidents and occupational diseases, and eventually for the establishment and implementation of measures imposed by virtue of paragraph 2 above, as well as for the guidance of the insureds from the sanitary viewpoint.

Article 60
The Fund may extend to victims of a labour accident or occupational disease the benefit of professional rehabilitation methods in anticipation of a more appropriate job. Employers shall be required to cooperate in this field with the Fund, within the framework of conditions laid down in the Fund's Internal Regulations.

Article 61 (as modified by the Law promulgated by Decree No. 2653 of 13/1/1972)
Agreements and Internal Regulations actually in force, at the time of implementation of each of the Social Security branches, and which provide more advantageous services (benefits) than those set out in the Code of Labour, shall be maintained as a matter of obligation in all that may be in excess of the services (benefits) provided by the present law, relative to each of the Social Security branches, and they shall constitute an acquired right for the staff of the concern.
In this case, services (benefits) provided for by the present law shall be deducted from the agreed services (benefits) : the surplus shall be determined by agreement between management and staff
Copy of this agreement shall be filed with the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. In the event of a dispute, adjudication shall lie with the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs.

Article 62
1 - Enforcement of the present law shall be no bar to the right which beneficiaries or rightful claimants have to press for damages against the authors of the act for the prejudice they incurred therefrom. All the services (benefits) provided by the Fund shall be deducted from the amount of compensation.
2 - In all cases, the Fund shall have the right to institute direct proceedings, up to the amount of its payments to third parties, against the authors ofthe incriminated act that has given rise to the services (benefits) that it has extended.

Article 63
1 - To the extent that the Social Security scheme is applied, wholly or partially, to beneficiaries, all the legal prescriptions relating to family allowances and the extension of services (benefits) in the event of sickness, labour accidents or occupational diseases shall be abrogated, as well as all provisions relating to dismissal indemnity for insureds, under compulsory or voluntary insurance of the end-of-service scheme.
2 - Details of the enforcement of the preceding paragraph shall be specified by decree emanating from the Council of Ministers, on the proposal of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, in accordance with the findings of the Board of Directors (1).
(1) Decree No. 3216 of 1 1 December 1965 stipulates:
Article 1 :
1 - The family allowances, stipulated in Legislative Decree No. 29 ET of 12 May 1943, are replaced by those of the Social Security Law, asfrom 1 November 1965.
2 - These new family allowances are not included in the calculation of/he taxable earnings.
3 - Should the employer serve the salary- or wage-earner family allowances in excess of the amount provided by the law, the surplus remains acquired for the salary- or wage-earner, in conformity with article 61 of the Social Security Law, and it will be included in the calculation of the taxable earnings.

Article 2 :
Subject to proof to the contrary, family allowances are considered not included in the salaries and wages paid before 1 November 1965.

Article 3 :
1 - Proof to the contrary referred to above may be provided on the evidence of trade books, statements of salaries and wages paid, or any other document in which the employer has drawn an explicit distinction between wages andfamily allowances.
2 - In case of non-existence of the above-mentioned distinction, proof to the contrary mentioned in article 2 may be drawn from certain acquired facts, and may be deemed valid, until proof to the contrary, notably in the following cases:
A - If changes in the salary- or wage-earner's family conditions have entailed, within three months dating from the fact creating such right, a wage increase equal or superior to the amount of the family allowances provided by the law contemporaneously in force.
B - If married salary- and wage-earners have received higher wages than those paid to single salary¬or wage-earners, but superior by an amount at least equal to the family allowances due, provided
however that the jobs done by the ones and the others are performed in the same establishment .;
and in similar conditions and with the same length of service.
C - If married salary- and wage-earners, receiving piece work remuneration, have lump monthly allowances at least equal to the allowances provided by the law.

Article 4 :
The enforcement of the present decree must in no case have for consequence the reduction, below the minimum pay, of the taxable earnings.

Article 5 :
The present decree shall be published in the Official Gazette and notified wherever there shall be need.

BOOK III -FINANCIAL PROVISIONS AND SETTLEMENTS OF DISPUTES

TITLE I - RESOURCES AND FINANCIAL ORGANISATION

CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions
Article 64 (as modified by the Law promulgated by Decree No. 6110 of5/10/1973)
I - Each of the Social Security branches referred to in article 7 of the present law shall be vested with financial autonomy and provided with proper resources to cover disbursements.
Revenue and assets of the Fund shall be utilised solely for those ends defined by the present law.
2 - A financial commission shall be set up by decree emanating from the Council of Ministers, on the proposal of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs and in accordance with the findings of the Fund's Board of Directors. Its terms of reference shall comprise short-, medium- and long-term investment of the Fund's assets. Its composition and competence shall be specified by the said decree. It shall be under the authority of the Fund's Board of Directors that shall assume responsibility for the investment policy.

Its assignment shall mainly consist of:
1 - insuring for the Fund's capital the rrurumum interest provided for III the Internal Regulations.
2 - determining those social investments that may be achieved annually, without in any way impairing the Fund's financial balance.
Medium- and long-term investments may solely be in connection with:
A - State funds (stocks).
B - loans granted to public Establishments and Organisations guaranteed by the State. C - real estate.
D - loans granted direct through the Fund with the object of ensuring dwelling houses to all classes of insureds covered by one or all the Social Security branches, as well as to civil servants of the public sector, excepting military personnel, members of the Internal Security Forces and General Security, in conformity with the rules and conditions specially laid down to this effect.
And contrary to the legislative provisions in force, seizure shall be made on behalf of the Fund of all the end-of-service or dismissal indemnities or redundancy indemnities or pensions or contributions to pensions already due or to be due to the employee or civil servant who is beneficiary of a loan granted for the aforementioned purposes.Upon the liquidation of the said indemnities, pensions or contributions, only the amounts in excess of the value of unsettled instalments shall be paid to the rightful claimants, the balance being seized until refund of the loan in full, increased by interests and complements.
Any dispute that should arise between the Fund's Board of Directors and the Financial Commission shall be referred to the adjudication of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs.

Article 65 (as modified by Law No 24/82 of 3/8/1 982 and Law No. 622 of7/3/1997)
I - The Social Security branches mentioned in article 7 of the present law shall be financed in conformity with the provisions of articles 71 to 76 hereinunder.
II-I - Every employer, whether a natural or juridical person, within the scope of private law, shall be required to obtain clearance from the Fund testifying to the settlement of the contributions and the various financial obligations relevant to the implementation of the present law, in respect of the cases determined in the present article and subsequent articles of the present law.
The receipt given by the Fund shall be deemed in lieu of the clearance required, and its validity shall run three months from date (of this receiptj.i"
Should the need arise, it shall be possible to extend validity of the clearance by decree adopted by the Council of Minister on the proposal of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs.
2 - Submission of the clearance provided in subsection 1 of the present paragraph shall be required if the procedure concerns the establishment, and not the persons in their individual capacity, in the following cases:
- Procedures of the commercial register and of the related special register provided in Decree-Law No. II of 11/7/1967 and its amendments.
- Procedures of registration in Chambers of Commerce and Industry mentioned in Decree-Law No. 36 of 5/8/1968 and its amendments, and in the cases covered by paragraphs 3, 8, and 9 of article 8 of the Decree-Law in question.
- Procedures relevant to landed property for the dissolution and winding up of commercial establishments and commercial companies belonging to employers, with the Landed Property Register or any other official quarter.
- Procedures relevant to import, export and re-export licences, as well as manner of customs procedures for commercial establishments and commercial companies.
- Procedures of participation in public and restricted tenders, invitations to quote, and mutual agreements with all government administrations, autonomous offices, municipalities and the various public establishments.
- Procedures of bank credits of commercial, industrial, agricultural and touristic loans, effected by public sector establishments.
- Procedures of subsidies accorded {r granted by public sector administrations and various establishments to associations, trade unions, federations and various professional bodies.
- Procedures of registration of all manner of private teaching institutes, or effecting modifications relevant to them, with the Ministry of National Education and Fine Arts, as well as accomplishing procedures for the payment of subsidies to free private schools.
(1) See Decree No. 13684 of 30 November 2004

Article 66 (as modified by the Law promulgated by Decree No. 2653 of 13/1/1972)
1 - For each of the Social Security branches provided for in subsections A, Band C of article 7 of the present law, a permanent reserve fund shall be set up, the minimum amount of which shall be at the end of the financial year equal to :
A - one sixth, for the sickness-maternity insurance and the family allowances scheme;
B - one third of the average expenditures effected in the course of the last three years prior to the financial year under review, for the labour accidents-occupational diseases Insurance.
The minimum amount provided for in the precedent paragraph for each of the branches shall be reached, at the latest, at the end of the fourth financial year following the implementation of the branch in question.
2 - If in the course of the financial year, expenditures of one of the branches provided for in the preceding paragraph, excepting the insurance branch of sickness-maternity, should exceed receipts of that branch, the deficit shall be made good by drawing against the reserve fund, as a matter of course. Should the reserve fund, at the close of the same financial year, stand below the threshold amount, the Council of Ministers shall raise, on the proposal of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs and in accordance with the findings of the Board of Directors, the rate of contributions as from 1 July following the deficit financial year up to such a level as may be deemed adequate to restore financial balance and bring up the reserve fund to the minimum amount required, within a maximum time-limit of three years. However, if expenditures of the sickness-maternity insurance branch should be in excess (of receipts), the rate of contributions shall be raised, according to the same procedure, as per the following schedule:
- State 40%
- Employers 40%
- Employees 20%
3 - The State may, in the course of the financial year, grant the Fund such loans as may enable it to balance its budget. Conditions governing these loans and their repayment shall be determined by decree emanating from the Council of Ministers.
4 - In the event of a national disaster causing an important deficit of the Fund, the State may grant it an exceptional subsidy assessed in such a manner as may restore financial balance, without an increase of
contributions.

Article 67
1 - The Fund shall be exempted from all taxes and duties including the stamp-duty, the judicial and real estate duties and taxes on the buildings that it may acquire.
The Fund's incoming and outgoing mail shall be handled postage-free.
2 - Pharmaceuticals, prosthesis aids, eye glasses and other medical and surgical supplies for the account of the Fund may equally be imported duty-free. Conditions governing this exemption shall be specified by the Higher Board of Customs and the Minister of Finance.

3 - Insureds who derive benefit from Social Security services (and benefits) shall be exempted from all taxes and dues on sums collected. It shall likewise be so in connection with the legal formalities and procedures that ensue from the implementation of the present law, notably applications for services (and benefits) filled by insureds.

CHAPTER 2 - Taxable Earnings

Article 68 (as modified by Law No. 3/82 of28/1/1982)
1 - Earnings, taken as basis for the assessment of contributions, shall include total income from employment, as well as all elements and complements, notably, the usual bonus for overtime work, the usual payments effected by third parties (gratuities), as well as specific fringe benefits.
2 - Income amounting to LL 9,000 per annum, LL 750 per calendar month, LL 175 per week, or LL 25 per day, shall be accounted as maximum taxable earnings. Such maximum may be modified by decree emanating from the Council of Ministers, on the proposal of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs in accordance with the findings of the Board of Directors (I) (2)
3 - The provisions of subsection 2 above shall not apply to the assessment of the end-of-service indemnity, such assessment to be made in conformity with the provisions of article 51 above.
4 - Contributions due for Lebanese persons who work for Municipalities shall be assessed on the earnings mentioned in the preceding paragraphs, provided that these earnings are in no case numerically below the minimum wage in effect in public administrations.
If the Municipalities do not pay the contributions they owe, these amounts shall be deducted automatically and annually from the revenues allocated to the Municipalities concerned and accruing from the funds of the Autonomous Municipal Fund, in the same decree sharing out these revenues, and the Interior Ministry shall pay them directly to the Social Security National Fund.

Article 69
Estimation of fringe benefits, notably in the shape '6r food and housing, shall be determined by the Fund's Internal Regulations, due account being taken of the local average prices.
(I) Article 1 of Decree No. 4253 of 16 October 1987 stipulates:
The maximal threshold of taxable earnings for the branch of family allowances, mentioned in Decree No. 3561 of21/1O/1980, is modified and becomes three times the official minimal wage.
(2) Article 1 of Decree No. 3686 of22 June 1993 stipulates:
The maximal threshold of taxable earnings for the branch of sic/mess-maternity insurance mentioned in article 68 (paragraph 2) of the Social Security Law, and amended by Decree No. 3146 of 11/4/1986, is modified and becomes three times the official minimal wage.
(see also Decree No. 5101 of 24/312001 and Decree No. 5102 of 24/312001)

Article 70
The Fund's Internal Regulations shall determine the taxable earnings of persons who, according to the provisions of article II of the present law, voluntarily continue their insurance.

CHAPTER 3 - Contributions

Article 71 (as modified by Decree-Law No. 116 of30/6/1977)
Rates of contributions shall be determined by decree emanating from the Council of Ministers on the proposal of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs and following advice of the Board of Directors. They shall fix the percentage of taxable earnings, in such a way as to enable the proceeds resulting therefrom to cover benefits and services, managerial charges, as well as the formation of the permanent reserve funds stipulated in article 66 of the present law. Rates of contributions for insurance covering labour accidents and occupational diseases may be fixed in conformity with the nature ofthe professional activities (1)

Article 72 (as modified by Decree-Law No. 116 of 30/6/1977 and Law No. 220 of29/512000)
The Board of Directors may determine, following approval of the Council of Ministers, the lump sum contribution to be paid on behalf of the following categories:
A - concerns employing less than 10 salary- and wage-earners;
B - apprentices and trainees;
C - agricultural journeymen referred to in article 9, paragraph 2, of the present law, as well as certain categories of agricultural hands referred to in article 10 of the present law;
(I) Decree No. 2951 of20 October 1965 stipulates:

Article 1 :
The rate of contribution to the end-of-service indemnity branch provided for by the Social Security Law is jixed a; 8.5% (eight and a halfper cent) of the earnings mentioned in article 68 (paragraphs 1 and 3) of the Social Security Law, and is distributed asfollows:
- 8 per cent for benejiciary salary- and wage-earners.
- 0.5 per cent to cover management costs and charges borne by the Fund and which are mentioned in
article 71 of the above-mentioned law.

Article 2 :
The rate is reduced to 8% (eight per cent) in the case of handicrajl enterprises meeting the following conditions:
- That the owner himself does manual jobs on a permanent basis and for his own account.
- That the salary- and wage-earners employed do not exceed jive in number, including the members of the
employer's family.
- That capital does not exceed 20, 000 Lebanese pounds, including the value key money of the work premises.

Article 3 :
The present decree shall be published and notified wherever there shall be need.

D - salary- and wage-earners recelvlllg their income, whol1y or partial1y, III the guise of
gratuities or handouts, paid in by persons other than their employers; E - domestic servants employed by private individuals;
F - journeymen designated in the Internal Regulations;
G - establishments that the government describes as being of public utility (I)
The amount of the contribution due by associations of handicapped persons and by institutions of services shal1 be set at fifteen per cent (15%) of the contribution in force for institutions not subject to a reduced or lump sum contribution, with the exception of the end-of-service branch. The request for this exemption shal1 be filed on the basis of a certificate issued by the Ministry of Social Affairs, in conformity with the regulations in force. But in what concerns the end-of service branch, the board of directors of the Social Security National Fund shal1 set the amount due for this branch by institutions and associations.
(1) Decree No. 7598 of 19 June 1967, amended by Decree No. 3560 of21 October 1980 and Decree No. 2195 of31 January 1992, stipulates:

Article 1 :
The rate of the employer's contribution to the Social Security Fund under the title of family allowances mentioned in the Social Security Law is set at 15% a/the worker's income, whether married or single, as is provided in article 68 of the said law.

Article 2 :
1 - The contribution in small handicraft establishments is set at the monthly lump sum of: - thirty Lebanese pounds per worker, whether married or not.
- ten Lebanese pounds per apprentice.
2 - The monthly lump sum contribution set down in paragraph I of the present article shall apply only to the first two years of apprenticeship provided that the apprentice is not, in any case, over 18 years of age.

Article 3 :
In pursuance of the provisions of article 2 of the present decree, enterprises which meet the following conditions are considered as handicraft establishments:
1 - The proprietor of the enterprise must himself carry on a manual handicraftsman'sjob on a permanent basis andfor the account of his enterprise.
2 - The number of salary- and wage-earners employed by the enterprise is not ta exceed five persons, including the members of the employer's family, and the number of apprentices is not to exceed two persons.
3 - The capital of the enterprise (excluding the key money for the premises occupied) should not be over 50,000 pounds.
4 - The activity of the enterprise is to be mentioned on the ad hoc statement farm laid down by the Board of Directors of the Social Security National Fund.

Article 4 :
The present decree abrogates Decree No. 2953 of 20 October 1965 as well as various provisions contrary or inconsistent with its purport.

Article 5 :
The present decree shall go into force on thef.';'st day of the month subsequent to the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.

Article 6 :
The present decree shall be published and notified wherever there shall be need.
(see also Decree No. 5102 of 241312001)

Article 73 (as modified by Decree-Law No. 116 of30/6/1977, and (Law No. 24/82 of3/8/1982)
1 - Contributions to labour accidents-occupational diseases insurance, to the family allowances scheme and to the end-of-service scheme shall be entirely chargeable on employers.
When a salary- or wage-earner has suffered a reduction of earnings in the course of work for the same employer, the employer's contribution shall be assessed on the basis of the highest salaries or wages.
The employer's obligation to contribute to the end-of-service Fund shall cease the day when the salary- or wage-earner, whether under voluntary or compulsory insurance, has attained 60 years of age or 55 years in the case of a woman worker, and find himself admitted to derive benefit, as a matter of course, from the end-of-service indemnity.
Should the salary- or wage-earner continue to work after cashing his end-of-service indemnity before the age of 55 or 60, the employer shall pay the annual contribution until the salary- or wage-earner has attained that age. The liquidation account at that age shall be assessed at the rate of one month per service year, without any additional indemnity (1) (2)
2 - Contributions to the sickness-maternity insurance shall be chargeable on the insureds, the employers and the State. The State shall provide for 25% of the services (benefits) stemming therefrom. The portion of the contribution chargeable on employers and salary¬and wage-earners shall be determined by decree emanating from the Council of Ministers, on the proposal of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs and in accordance with the findings of the Board of Directors.
However, contributions relative to apprentices and persons who do not receive a cash remuneration in excess of the amount set by the Board of Directors, shall be wholly chargeable on employers.
(1) Article 1 of Decree No. 3684 of22 June 1993 stipulates:
The rate of contribution due indistinctly to the married or single insured working in a handicraft enterprise, for the branch of sickness-maternity insurance (health services and fimeral allowances) is set at 7% (seven per cent) of the officiat minimal wage; this rate is divided as follows:
- 5% (five per cent) at the expense of the employer
- 2% (two per cent) al the expense of the insured
on condition that the totality of this rate is at the expense of the employer for trainees.
(2) Article 2 of Decree No. 3686 of22 June 1993 stipulates:
The rate of contribution due indistinctly to the married or single insured for the branch of sickness¬maternity insurance (medical care services and funeral allowances) is set at 15% (fifteen per cent) of the earning mentioned in article 68 (subsection 2) of the Social Security Law; this rate is divided asfollows:
- 12% (twelve per cent) at the expense of the employer
- 3% (three per cent) at the expense of the insured.
(see also Decree No. 5101 of 24/3/2001)
3 - Contributions from persons covered by the voluntary insurance provided for in article 11 shall be wholly chargeable on those persons. However, State participation provided for in the preceding paragraph shall apply to the voluntary sickness-maternity insurance.
4 - A - Contributions and surcharges due to delay mentioned in articles 71 and subsequent ones of the Social Security Law as well as diverse debts owing to the Fund by employers shall be extinguished by effluxion of time within five years dating from the declaration made for the person subject to the insurance due, provided that such time-limit is not in excess of ten years dating from maturity.
B - Time limitation shall be suspended and interrupted for the reasons mentioned in the Code of Obligations and Contracts, as well as for the summons (to perform) mentioned in article 78 of the Social Security Law.
C - Amounts paid to the Fund and which would not be due shall be extinguished by time limitation within five years of the date of payment.
D - Outstanding amounts which would appear on the occasion of the insured's clearing of account in conformity with the provisions of paragraph 4 of article 54 of the Social Security Law shall be extinguished within five years dating from maturity as is set forth in the (Fund's) Regulations.
5 - A - Debts due by the Fund may be deemed abrogated, and shall be written off accounts or carried into special accounts outside the scope of the balance sheet, in the light of a decision that a special commission relating to the Fund shall take, if debt is slight or beyond recovery. The Internal Regulations of the Fund shall fix the value of the cumulative amounts which are deemed slight, as well as the conditions required for debts beyond recovery.
B - The decisions of the Commission referred to In the preceding subsection shall be deemed irrevocable and binding on the Fund.
C - The (Fund's) Internal Regulations shall set forth the details and executive procedure of the present paragraph, as well as the formation of that Commission and its working plan. The Commission shall be appointed by decision of the Board of Directors taken on the proposal of the General Manager for the duration of one year subject to renewal.
6 - All debts due to the Fund by employers and persons subject to Social Security, notably contributions and surcharges due to delay as well as the outstanding amounts referred to in paragraph 4 of article 54 of the Social Security Law, shall be vested with preferential debts status, and shall rank next to debts to the Treasury. Such preference shall be exempted from registration.

Article 74
Contributions to the sickness-maternity insurance, due by insureds who are eligible solely to medical care, shall be fixed at a percentage below that applicable to other insureds.

Article 75 (as modified by Decree-Law No. 116 ofJO/6/1977)
1 - Without prejudice to penalties provided in other laws, the Fund may, in connection with the insurance against labour accidents and occupational diseases, impose a surcharge to the contributions stipulated in article 71 of the present law on the employer who should be guilty of negligence, or whose installations do not conform to regulations arrangements relating to the worker's protection and the safeguard of his health, or if the likelihood of labour accidents or occupational diseases is rated dangerously high.
At the employer's request, the Fund may return part of the contributions paid if the employer's installations and the measures taken are in accordance with the provisions mentioned in the present law or if the rate of accident danger in the establishment is deemed slim.
The terms and conditions governing the implementation of the present article shall be set forth in the (Fund's) Regulations.
2 - The employer who should fail to declare a labour accident or an occupational disease within the time-limit set in paragraph 1 of article 58 shall be liable to fine ranging between 100 and 1,000 Lebanese pounds.
There shall be inflicted as may fines as there may be infringements. In the event of a second offence during the same year, penalties shall be doubled.

Article 76
The Board of Directors shall lay down, in conformity with the provisions of article 3 of the present law, the rules governing the enrolment of employers and insureds, the declarations of taking up service and leaving it, the modes of payment of contributions, increments and loans, as well as all other measures of implementation of the present law.

CHAPTER 4 - Control and Penalties

Article 77 (as modified by Decree-Law No. 116 of 30/6/1 977)
I - In what pertains to the implementation of the provisions of the present law, and of the complementary decrees and rules, employers shall be subject to the Fund's control.
2 - Inspectors on the Fund's strength shall be in charge of control operations. The (Fund's) Regulations shall outline the special framework of inspection, the inspectors' competence, the rules of control stimulated in paragraph 1 of the present article and its implementation procedure, as well as the procedure of submission and study of oppositions to reports and the financial statements established by the inspectors.
3 - Prior to their assuming duty, the Fund's inspectors referred to in paragraph 2 of the present article shall be sworn-in before the sole judge in Beirut and take the following oath (I swear to discharge the duties of my function trustfully and devotedly and to refrain from divulging industrial secrets or methods of operation that I may get acquainted with due to my function).
4 - Any infringement of the oath referred to in paragraph 3 of the present law shall render the inspector liable to the penalties provided under article 579 of the Penal Code.
5 - Memos of infringements, declaration of imposition, and reports drawn up by inspectors following control operations in conformity with the provisions of paragraph 2 of the present article, shall be taken as evidence until proof to the contrary. Information relating to the identity of the contravener and his domicile shall be completed by the Public Prosecutor's Office of the Court of Appeal, in case the contravener should refuse to provide such information or ifthe inspector fails to obtain them.
6 - The employer shall record - without blanks or overwriting, or erasure, or correction - in a special register conforming to the specimen model put at his disposal by the Fund's management, and in which the date of each entry shall be set, the names of persons subject to Social Security, their birth place and date, the amount of their salary and the supplementary indemnities accruing to them all, prior to their assuming work, and likewise the date of their suspension from work or dismissal within the three days following that date, at the latest.
7 - The employer shall be required to give the Fund's inspectors access to the register referred to in paragraph 6 of the present article, and to all books, account papers and documents likely to contain entries of salaries and other supplements, or the earning of persons subject to Social Security as well as relevant information.
8 - The employer or his representative shall receive the Fund's inspectors at the appointed time; he shall provide the explanations and information required, and such documentary evidence and papers as may reflect the scope of the establishment's activities, the modifications relating to its position, the persons subject to Social Security, the date of the start and suspension of their work, the place and job of each of them, as well as the amount of their salary or of their earnings, and the terms of their assessment and payment.
9 - In case the employer, or his representative, or any other person who should be attached to them or to the establishment, should stand in the way of the inspector in the course of or on the occasion of the discharge of his duties, impedes or obstructs his activities, he shall be liable, additionally to the provisions set forth in the Penal Code, to fine ranging between 500 and 1,000 Lebanese pounds and to a term of imprisonment of between one and three months, or to either penalty. Penalty shall be doubled in the event of recurrence of the infringement.
10 - The Fund's inspectors may require the cooperation and assistance of public administrations and of the security in the execution of their assignments.

Article 78 (as modified by Decree-Law No. 26 of 5/8/1967)
In case the employer should fail to submit the documents relative to salaries and wages within the time-limit set, or if he should fail to present within the said time-limit the statements and other declarations required by the Internal Regulations of the Social Security Fund, or if such documents are incomplete, the Fund shall serve him, by registered mail, notice that he is to clear his position and comply with the laws and regulations in force within a time-limit of eight days dating from notification. Should the employer fail to obey the injunctions specified in the notice within the stated time-limit, the Fund shall be entitled to evaluate, as matter of course, the total amount of contributions due, at a lump sum. Implementation of the decisions regarding the contributions estimate shall be carried out by the Executive Office.

Article 79 (as modified by Decree-Law No. 116 of30/6/1977)
1 - Contributions that have not been paid within the prescribed time-limits shall be increased, without further formalities, by 0.5%0 per day overdue.
2 - Amounts of increase for overdue performance referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be recovered by the Fund at the time contributions are paid; in case the employer should fail to pay them at the time of contributions settlement, they shall be recovered in conformity with the recovery procedure governing contributions and other debts due to the Fund.

Article 80 (as modified by Decree-Law No. 116 of30/6/1977)
1 - The employer who should unduly retain with him the contribution deducted from the insured's salary or earning and due to the Fund, shall be liable to a term of imprisonment of between three months and two years, or to fine ranging between 100 and 1,000 Lebanese pounds, or to both penalties at the same time, in case he should fail to pay up the amount due within a maximum time-limit of fifteen days dating from notification through one of the means provided by law.
2 - The employer who should fail to keep the register referred to in paragraph 6 of article 77 of the present law, shall be liable to a lump sum fine of 400 Lebanese pounds, and to a fine of 100 Lebanese pounds per each person whose name is unrecorded in the register, or if the information required about him is not entered, or if such information is not recorded in due course.
Penalty shall be doubled if the employer should fail to pay up the fine referred to hereinabove within fifteen days following the drafting of the memo.
3 - A - The employer shall inform the Fund, within a time-limit of one month, of such legal or administrative modifications as may have intervened to his establishment and that are likely to have a bearing on the implementation of the provisions of the Social Security Law.
These cases shall be determined in the (Fund's) Regulations.

B- The employer who should fail to advise the Fund of the modifications referred to in the preceding subsection shall be liable to fine ranging between 200 and 1,000 Lebanese pounds.

C - In case the establishment is up for sale or suspends operations, or in case the establishment is the object of one of the contracts mentioned in Decree-Law No. II of 11/7/1967, all the parties to the contract shall be required to advise the Fund within a maximum time-limit of three days.

D - Anyone who should infringe the obligations set forth in the preceding subsection shall be liable to the fine referred to in subsection B of the present paragraph; he shall be jointly and severally liable with the initial debtor(s) for such amounts as may be due to the Fund, notwithstanding any text to the contrary.

4 - A - The employer who should omit to declare a person subject to Social Security, that he hires or that ceases work, within the fifteen days following the date of his hiring or termination of service, shall be liable to a penalty ranging between 100 and 1,000 Lebanese pounds. If declaration is delayed beyond the maximum three-month period dating from hiring or end-of-service, the infringer shall be liable to a supplementary fine amounting to 50 Lebanese pounds per month per person, on condition that fine is never in excess of 1,000 Lebanese pounds per person, in any case.

B - The person subject to Social Security and who has been working for less than 10 days, shall not be declared to the Fund, unless such person belongs to a category for which the (Fund's) Regulations provide otherwise. This, however, does not dispense the employer from recording in the special register as provided in paragraph 6 of article 77 of the present law.

5 - The employer who should omit to submit the annual nominal declaration provided by the Fund's Regulations during the time-limit set, shall be liable to fine amounting to 500 Lebanese pounds if the establishment pays up contributions on a monthly basis and 200 pounds if settlement of contributions is effected on a non-monthly basis.
In case delay is in excess of three months, the infringer shall be liable to a supplementary fine of 10 pounds per month per person subject to social security. Portion of the month shall be deemed one full month, and in this event global penalty shall be neither -under 500 Lebanese pounds nor above 5,000 Lebanese pounds.
The fine shall be recovered without further formalities by the Fund and for its account when the annual nominal declaration is submitted. In case the employer should fail to pay it when the declaration in question is presented, it shall be recovered in conformity with the recovery procedure governing contributions and other debts due to the Fund.
6 - Infringer Off the provisiohns 0hrfpahragldraPfh Ih, 3band 4fiofthedPresent alrticle shall not bfie brought to Court 1 he pays up t e t es 0 0 t e asrc ne an eventua supplementary Illes due, calculated on the period of delay in what pertains to infringements of paragraph 4 here in above, within a time-limit of fifteen days dating from the drafting of the memo.
The provisions of the present paragraph shall not apply in the event of recurrence of the infringement within one year.
7 - A - Fines duly inflicted shall be payable to the Directorate of the Social Security National Fund.
B - Penalty shall be doubled in the event of recurrence of the infringement within one year.

Article 81 (as modified by Decree-Law No. 116 of30/6/1977)
Without prejudice to the provisions of articles 25 and 34 of the present law, any person who should personally benefit or causes another person to benefit from services and benefits to which he is not entitled, through fraud or the submission of inaccurate or mendacious declarations, shall be liable to fine ranging between 500 and 2000 Lebanese pounds, additionally to a term of imprisonment to which he shall possibly be liable resulting from the operation of the Penal Code. Furthermore, he shall be required to pay back to the Fund such amounts as the Fund may have unduly paid.

Article 82
Apart from those cases referred to in articles 80 and 81 above, when the employer has failed to comply with the prescriptions of the present law, the Fund's Director General shall serve notice on him, by registered mail, that he is to clear his position within a time-limit of eight days. Past this time-limit, the Director General shall refer the case to the labour jurisdiction for adjudication, in conformity with the provisions of article 85 hereinafter.

Article 83
Regarding the labour accident-occupational diseases branch, when the salary- or wage-earner has not been declared to the Fund, or that the contributions owing by the employer on the day of the accident have not been settled, wholly or partially, the Fund shall be required to provide to the said salary- or wage-earner all the services (benefits) he is entitled to; the employer shall then be indebted to the Fund for a sum amounting to all the services (benefits) due or provided to the salary- or wage-earner or, if such is the case, to the rightful claimants, up to the full settlement of contributions due by him and of increases relating thereto.

TITLE II - SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES

Article 84 (as modified by Decree-Law No. 116 of30/6/1977)
In case sickness, ability to perform work, health condition, the date of recovery or consolidation of injury following a labour accident or an occupational disease is contested, the issue shall be examined jointly by the doctor in attendance and by the Fund's controlling doctor. Should their findings diverge, the Fund's General Manager shall appoint a three-man expert Commission selected out of a panel of experts laid down by the Fund's Board of Directors and confirmed by decree emanating from the Council of Ministers. Their decision shall be final and irrevocable.

Article 85
Other contested claims and disputes that may arise from the implementation of the present law, between insureds and employers, or between the Fund and employers ef insureds, shall lie within the province oflabour jurisdiction.

Article 86
The compulsory execution of sentences returned by that jurisdiction shall be effected by the competent Executive Offices, in conformity with the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure.

Article 87
The present law shall be published in the Official Gazette.
SECOND ARTICLE
The present decree shall be published in the Official Gazette.
Zouk, 26 September 1963 Signed: Fouad Chehab
By the President of the Republic
The President of the Council of Ministers Signed: Rachid Karameh
The Minister of Finance Signed: Rachid Karameh
The Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Signed: Jean Aziz.

DECREE No. 5203 OF 23 MARCH 1973
Enforcing the urgent draft law tabled before the Chamber of Deputies by virtue of Decree No. 4617 of 23/12/1972 providing for medical care to be extended
to Lebanese university students in case of sickness and maternity
The President of the Republic,
Whereas the Constitution, notably article 58,
Whereas the Government has tabled before the Chamber of Deputies by virtue
of Decree No. 4617 of23/12/1972 an urgent draft law designed to extend medical care to Lebanese university students in case of sickness and maternity,
Whereas more than 40 days have elapsed since the said draft law was transmitted to the Chamber of Deputies without the latter adjudicating thereon,
On the proposal of the Minister of National Education and Fine Arts, of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, and of the Minister of Finance,
And following the approval of the Council of Ministers in its meeting of 14/3/1973, Decrees what follows:

FIRST ARTICLE
Enforcement shall be made of the urgent draft law tabled before the Chamber of Deputies by virtue of Decree No. 4617 of23/12/1972 designed to extend the provision of medical services to Lebanese university students in case of sickness and maternity, worded as follows:

Article 1
The provisions of Title I - Chapter 2 of the Social Security Law concerning the provision of medical services in case of sickness and maternity, shall apply to Lebanese university students duly registered in one of the universities operating in Lebanon, residing in Lebanon and not benefiting from medical insurance services, such services to be extended in conformity with conditions that shall be defined by decree emanating from the Council of Ministers, on the proposal of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, and the decision of the Board of Directors.

Article 2
The present law shall be enforced upon its publication in the Official Gazette.

SECOND ARTICLE
The present decree shall be published and notified wherever there shall be need; it shall be enforced upon its publication in the Official Gazette.
Baabda, 23 March 1973 Signed: Sleiman Frangie
By the President of the Republic _
The Acting President of the Council of Ministers Signed: Albert Moukheiber
The Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Signed: Kazem El-Khalil
The Acting Minister of Finance Signed: Pierre Helou
The Minister of National Education and Fine Arts
Signed: Albert Moukheiber

DECREE No. 6785 OF 17 DECEMBER 1973
Regulations governing the granting of medical care to Lebanese university students in case of sickness and maternity
The President of the Republic, Whereas the Constitution,
Whereas the Law promulgated by Decree No. 5203 of 23/3/1973 providing for medical care to be extended to Lebanese university students in case of sickness and maternity,
Whereas the Social Security Law promulgated by Decree No. 13955 of26/9/1963, and notably the provisions of Title I, Chapter 2,
Whereas the decision of the Board of Directors of the Social Security National Fund, adopted in its meeting No. 560 of30/5/1973,
Following consultation of the Council of State by its Decision No. 137 of 30/9/1973, On the proposal of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs,
And following the approval of the Council of Ministers in its meeting held on 5/12/1973, Decrees what follows:

Article I
In order to be entitled to benefit from the provisions of Title I, Chapter 2, of the Social Security Law, regarding medical care in case of sickness and maternity, Lebanese university students must:
be registered in one of the universities or higher institutes, authorised in Lebanon; be under 30 years of age; have paid the contributions mentioned in the present decree; not be entitled to benefit, in any other qualification, from medical care granted by the Social Security National Fund or by the State Civil Servants Cooperative.

Article 2
The student shall be entitled to medical care three months after his registration in a university or an institute, during one year. This right shall be renewed, year after year, by the renewal of his registration in the same university or institute, in accordance with the conditions required for registration, provided that the whole number of years during which he shall benefit shall not exceed the number of years required for one specialisation, increased by two years.

Article 3 (as modified by Decree No. 3147 of II April 1986)
The contributions are set at a lump sum of 108 Lebanese pounds per year for each beneficiary. Shall be considered beneficiaries the student, his spouse and his legitimate children (I)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
c) Article 1 of Decree No. 3682 of 22 June 1993 stipulates:
The rate of annual contribution due for each Lebanese university student and for each beneficiary with him for the sickness and maternity branch (medical care services) is set at 30% (thirty per cent) of the monthly official minimal wage. The student's spouse and legitimate children shall be considered as beneficiaries with him.

Article 4
The insured student shall pay his contribution at the time of his registration in a university or an institute. These establishments shall be responsible for the payment to the Fund within one month dating from registration.

Article 5
The internal regulations of the Fund shall determine the method of registration of the student, the procedure to be followed for the collection of contributions, and the payment of services (benefits).

Article 6
The present decree shall be published and notified wherever there shall be need .

Baabda, 17 December 1973 Signed: Sleiman Frangie
By the President of the Republic
The President of the Council of Ministers Signed: Takieddine Solh
The Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Signed: Emile Rouhana Sakr
The Minister of Finance Signed: Takieddine Solh

LAW No. 24/82 OF 3 AUGUST 1982
Provisions dealing with the clearance delivered by the Social Security National Fund, the time-limits, and the award of an amnesty for the infringements mentioned in the Social Security Law
The Chamber of Deputies has adopted,
The President of the Republic promulgates the law worded as follows:

Article 1 (as modified by Law No. 622 of 7/311997)
The text of article 65 of the Social Security Law promulgated by Decree No. 13955 of 26/911963 is abrogated and replaced by the following text:
I - The Social Security branches mentioned in article 7 of the present law shall be financed in conformity with the provisions of articles 71 to 76 hereinunder.
II-I - Every employer, whether a natural or juridical person, within the scope of private law, shall be required to obtain clearance from the Fund testifying to the settlement of the contributions and the various financial obligations relevant to the implementation of the present law, in respect of the cases determined in the present article and subsequent articles of the present law.
The receipt given by the Fund shall be deemed in lieu of the clearance required, and its validity shall run three months from date (of this receipt).
Should the need arise, it shall be possible to extend validity of the clearance by decree adopted by the Council of Minister on the proposal of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs.
2 - Submission of the clearance provided in subsection 1 of the present paragraph shall be required if the procedure concerns the establishment, and not the persons in their individual capacity, in the following cases:
- Procedures of the commercial register and of the related special register provided in Decree-Law No. 11 of 111711967 and its amendments.
- Procedures of registration in Chambers of Commerce and Industry mentioned in Decree-Law No. 36 of 5/8/1968 and its amendments, and in the cases covered by paragraphs 3, 8, and 9 of article 8 of the Decree-Law in question.
- Procedures relevant to landed property for the dissolution and winding up of commercial establishments and commercial companies belonging to employers, with the Landed Property Register or any other official quarter.
- Procedures relevant to import, export and re-export licences, as well as manner of customs procedures for commercial establishments and commercial companies.
- Procedures of participation in public and restricted tenders, invitations to quote, and mutual agreements with all government administrations, autonomous offices, municipalities and the various public establishments.
- Procedures of bank credits of commercial, industrial, agricultural and touristic loans, effected by public sector establishments.
Procedures of subsidies accorded or granted by public sector administrations and various establishments to associations, trade unions, federations and various professional bodies.
- Procedures of registration of all manner of private teaching institutes, or effecting modifications relevant to them, with the Ministry of National Education and Fine Arts, as well as accomplishing procedures for the payment of subsidies to free private schools.

Article 2
1 - The quarters involved, whether these persons are within the scope of the public or private law, shall not undertake execution of any procedure, in the cases covered by article 1 of the present law, except after the required clearance has been produced.
2 - The clearance issued by the Fund shall be deemed an essential and mandatory condition for the validity of the procedure in the cases covered by article 1 of the present law. The consequences of infringement shall be determined by decree adopted by the Council of Ministers on the proposal of the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs.

Article 3 (as modified by Decree-Law No. 23 of26 April 1983, and (Law No. 14/84 of20 December 1984
The present law deals with the contributions and financial obligations due to the Fund as from 1/1/1985, as well as the contributions and the various financial obligations due to the Fund prior to that date, due account being taken of the provisions of articles 4, 5 and 6 of the present law.

Article 4 (as modified by Decree-Law No. 23 of26 April 1983, and (Law No. 14/84 of20 December 1984
1 - A - The time limitation mentioned in article 56 of the Social Security Law amended by Decree-Law No. 116000/6/1977 shall be suspended starting from 16/6/1977 until the date of publication of the present law, in what pertains to the procedures of providing medical care services, in the event of death and maternity, presented to the Fund by the insureds, the medical care establishments, and the great covenanted establishments, throughout the period of suspension mentioned in the present subsection, as well as refusal oftheir receipt or of their payment due to time limitation.

B - Time limitation shall be interrupted during the whole year of suspension mentioned in subsection A of the present paragraph, and the Fund shall once more accept or set into motion the procedures mentioned in the subsection in question and pay them, within three months dating from enforcement of the present law. As it is, the interested party shall prove, by all means of proof, including acknowledgement by the Fund of the presentation of these procedures, during the suspension period in question.
2 - The time-limits fixed in the Social Security Law and its amendments, and whose determination has not been subject to the Internal Regulations of the Fund, shall be suspended starting from 16/6/1977, in respect of the obligations incumbent on employers. The Fund may, furthermore, suspend the time-limits fixed by its Internal Regulations, starting from the date in question.
3 - The time limitation of debts due to the Fund shall be interrupted up to 31/12/84 and throughout the period of suspension set out in paragraph 2 of the present article, starting from the date fixed in the present paragraph (2 of the present article).
The time limitation and the time-limits suspended shall be reinstated by decree adopted by the Council of Ministers on the proposal of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs and the decision of the Board of Directors of the Fund; and by decision of the Board of Directors endorsed by the guardianship authority for the time-limits fixed by the Fund's Internal Regulations.
4 - The increases for delay shall no longer be applicable during the suspension period provided under paragraphs 2 and 3 of the present article.
5 - A - The Fund shall exceptionally be entitled, during a six-month period dating from publication of the present law, to serve general summons to all categories of employers and to the various debtors in connection with all kinds of debts and obligations that they owe up to 31/5/1982, inciting them to honour their obligations. Summons shall be published in local newspapers and broadcast by radio two consecutive times within the space of ten days.
B - The summons covered and published in conformity with subsection A of the present paragraph shall be in lieu oflegal notice interrupting time limitation.
Article 5 (as modified by Decree-Law No. 23 of26 April 1983, and (Law No. 14/84 of 20 December 1984
1 - The Fund shall be entitled to stagger the debts due by the employers up to 31/12/84, excepting those that had been staggered in conformity with the provisions of Decree-Law No. 17/77 and of Law No. 14 of 24/4/1978, over Bills signed to its order, with guarantees, including banker's warranty, and in conformity with such terms as shall be determined by the Fund's Internal Regulations, within a time-limit of one year dating from publication of the present law in the Official Gazette.
2 - Debts actually paid to the Fund or staggered in conformity with the provisions of paragraph 1 of the present article within the time-limit set out in it, shall be exempted from the increases for delay covered by article 79 of the Social Security Law.
3 - The persons who should discharge their financial obligations towards the Fund in conformity with the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 of the present article, shall enjoy amnesty relevant to infringements of the Social Security Law and its modifications, provided that they carry out all outstanding obligations and that they submit all the declarations, schedules, statements and papers pertaining to their execution, such as provided by the Law or the Internal Regulations of the Fund and comprising all the data required.
4 - Amnesty shall not cover sanctions, fines and increases for delay which have been the object of definitive execution prior to the enforcement of the present law. Consequently, the signature of Bills to the order of the Fund shall not be deemed definitive execution for delay increases.

Article 6
The text of paragraph 5 - A - of article 73 of the Social Security Law, modified by Decree-Law No. 136 of30/6/1977, is abrogated and replaced by the following text:
Debts due by the Fund may be deemed abrogated, and shall be written off accounts or carried into special accounts outside the scope of the balance sheet, in the light of a decision that a special commission relating to the Fund shall take, if debt is slight or beyond recovery.
The Internal Regulations of the Fund shall fix the value of the cumulative amounts which are deemed slight, as well as the conditions required for debts beyond recovery.

Article 7
Details regarding enforcement of the provisions of the present law shall be set out by decrees adopted by the Council of Ministers.

Article 8
All provisions contrary or inconsistent with the provisions of the present law are abrogated.
Article 9
The present law shall go into effect upon its publication in the Official Gazette.
Baabda, 3 August 1982 Signed: Elias Sarkis
By the President of the Republic
The President of the Council of Ministers Signed: Chafik Wazzan
The Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Signed: Abdel Rahim Labban
LAWN" 2/87 OF 6 JANUARY 1987
Pertaining to the modification of the age at which submission
to the end-of-service scheme mentioned in the Social Security Law ends
The Chamber of Deputies has adopted,
The President of the Republic promulgates the law worded as follows:

Article 1
1 - The insured's submission to the branch of the end-of-service indemnity ends on completion of sixty-four years of age, and the indemnity is paid to him as a matter of course. The insured has the right to request the payment of the indemnity on completion of sixty years of age, and up to the maximal age for submission as mentioned above.
The employer is no longer bound to pay contributions to the account of the Fund for the branch in question when the end-of-service indemnity is paid as a matter of course or following a request filed before completion of sixty-four years of age in accordance with the above. In addition the insured no longer has the right to request any indemnity from the Fund for the branch in case he should resume any work after the settlement of his indemnity following a request filed after completion of sixty years of age.
The insured shall lose his right to profit from the additional indemnity mentioned in paragraph B, subsection 1 of article 51 of the Social Security Law, if he receives his end-of¬service indemnity before completion of sixty years of age and if he continues or resumes his work, but the obligation of the employer to pay the relevant contributions to the Fund for the end-of-service branch remains in force until the final settlement of the indemnity, as a matter of course or following a request filed in accordance with the above, as from completion of sixty years of age and up to completion of sixty-four years of age.
2 - This law shall not apply to end-of service indemnities settled before its publication for reasons of age or disability.
For the implementation of the present law, settlement shall mean the gradual fulfilment of all actions necessary for the end-of-service indemnity, including the effective payment to the insured.
3 - All provisions mentioned in the Social Security Law promulgated by Decree No. 13955 of 26/9/1963 and its amendments, which are contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of the present law, are repealed.

Article 2
The present law shall come into force on its publication.
Baabda, 6 January 1987 Signed: Amine Gemayel
By the President of the Republic
The President of the Council of Ministers Signed: Rachid Karameh
The Minister of Finance Signed: Camille Chamoun
The Minister of Labour Signed: Selim Ross

LAW No. ISS OF 22 JULy 1992
Purporting to modify the family allowances scheme mentioned in the draft law enforced by Decree No. 13955 of26 September 1963 conceming the Social Security Law and its amendments
The Chamber of Deputies has adopted,
The President of the Republic promulgates the law worded as follows:

Article 1
The expressions "scheme" or "branch" or "fund for family allowances", wherever they appear in the draft law enforced by Decree No. 13955 of 26 September 1963 concerning the Social Security Law and its amendments, is repealed and replaced by the following:
"scheme" or "branch" or "fund for family or school allowances".

Article 2
The allowances mentioned in article I of the present law include:
A - Family allowances granted before publication of the present law in accordance with the provisions in force.
B - Scholarships. The requisite conditions for entitlement to such scholarships, and for granting such scholarships, as well as their amounts, shall be laid down by a decree issued by the Council of Ministers following a proposal by the Minister of Labour based on the approval of the board of directors ofthe Fund.

Article 3
All texts contrary to the provisions of the present law are repealed.

Article 4
The present law shall come into force on its publication in the Official Gazette.
Beirut, 22 July 1992 Signed: Elias Hrawi
By the President of the Republic
The President of the Council of Ministers Signed: Rachid Solh
The President of the Council of Ministers Signed: Rachid Solh

DECREE No. 5101 OF 24 MARCH 2001
Setting the maximal threshold of taxable earnings and the general rate of contribution for the insured, in what pertains to the sickness and maternity branch,
and due to the National Fund for Social Security
by the employer and the insured
The President of the Republic, Whereas the Constitution,
Whereas the draft law enforced by Decree No. 13955 of26/9/1963 (Social Security), notably its articles 68, 71 and 73,
Whereas the decision of the Board of Directors of the National Fund for Social Security, (Decision No. 181 taken during the meeting No. 103 of 10/312001),
On the proposal of the Minister of Labour,
After consultation of the Council of State (Advice No. 151/2000-2001 of 14/312001), And following the approval of the Council of Ministers during its meeting on 15/3/2001, Decrees the following:

Article 1
The maximum threshold of taxable earnings for the sickness and maternity branch, mentioned in article 68 - paragrah 2 - of the Social Security Law, is modified and becomes LL 1,500,000 (one million and five hundred thousand Lebanese pounds) per month.

Article 2
The rate of contribution for the insured, whether married or single indistinctly, in what pertains to the sickness and maternity branch (provision of medical services and funeral charges), mentioned in article 68 - paragraph 2 - of the Social Security Law, is set at 9% of the earnings mentioned in article 1, and is divided as follows:
- 7% (seven per cent) at the expense of the employer
- 2% (two per cent) at the expense of the insured.

Article 3
The present decree shall be published and notified wherever there shall be need, and it shall come into force as from the beginning of the month following the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.
Baabda, 24 March 200 I Signed: Emile Lahoud
By the President of the Republic
The President of the Council of Ministers Signed : Rafik Hariri
The Minister of Finance Signed : Ali Kanso

DECREE No. 5102 OF 24 MARCH 2001
Setting the maximal threshold of taxable earnings and the general rate of contribution for the insured, in what pertains to the family and education allowance branch
The President of the Republic, Whereas the Constitution,
Whereas the Social Security Law promulgated by Decree No. 13955 of26/9/1963 and its amendments, and notably its articles 46, 68, 71 and 73,
Whereas Decree No. 7598 of 19/6/1967 (setting the rate of contribution due by the employer to the family allowance branch and its amendments,
Whereas the decision of the Board of Directors of the National Fund for Social Security, (Decision No. 180 taken during the meeting No. 103 of 10/3/2001),
On the proposal of the Minister of Labour,
After consultation of the Council of State (Advice No. 151/2000-2001 of 14/312001), And following the approval of the Council of Ministers during its meeting on 15/312001, Decrees the following:

Article 1
The maximum threshold of taxable earnings for the family and education allowance, mentioned in article 46 of the Social Security Law, is modified and becomes LL 1,500,000 (one million and five hundred thousand Lebanese pounds) per month.

Article 2

Article 1 of Decree No. 7598 of 19/6/1967 is modified and becomes as follows:
The rate of contribution due by the employer to the family and education allowance branch mentioned in the Social Security Law, for the insured whether married or single indistinctly, is set at 6% (six per cent) of the earnings mentioned in article 1 above.

Article 3
The present decree shall be published and notified wherever there shall be need, and it shall come into force as from the beginning of the month following the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.
Baabda, 24 March 2001 Signed: Emile Lahoud
By the President of the Republic
The President of the Council of Ministers Signed: Rafik Hariri
The Minister of Finance Signed: Ali Kanso

DECREE No. 5103 OF 24 MARCH 2001
Setting the monthly amount of family allowances and their mode of distribution to the wife and children

The President of the Republic, Whereas the Constitution,
Whereas the Social Security Law promulgated by Decree No. 13955 of26/9/1963 and its amendments, and notably its articles 48, paragraph 1,
Whereas Decree No. 2950 of 20/1 0/65 (setting the amount offamily allowances and their mode of payment) and its amendments,
Whereas the decision of the board of directors of the National Fund for Social Security, (Decision No. 179 taken during the meeting No. 103 of 10/3/2001),
On the proposal of the Minister of Labour,
After consultation of the Council of State (Advice No. 15112000-2001 of 14/3/2001), And following the approval of the Council of Ministers during its meeting on 15/312001, Decrees the following:
Article 1
The monthly amount of family allowances, mentioned in articles 46 to 48 of the Social Security Law, is set at a maximal amount of LL 225,000 (two hundred and twenty five thousand Lebanese pounds), distributed as follows:
- LL 60,000 (sixty thousand Lebanese pounds) for the wife
- LL 33,000 (thirty three thousand Lebanese pounds) for each child, up to five children.
Article 2
All texts contrary to the provisions of the present decree shall be abrogated.
Article 3
The present decree shall be published and notified wherever there shall be need, and it shall come
into force as from the beginning of the month following the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.
Baabda, 24 March 2001 Signed: Emile Lahoud
By the President of the Republic
The President of the Council of Ministers Signed: Rafik Hariri
The Minister of Finance Signed: Ali Kanso

DECREE No. 5104 OF 24 MARCH 2001
Authorising the National Fund for Social Security to provide dental medical services, and setting the methods for providing such services
The President of the Republic, Whereas the Constitution,
Whereas the draft law enforced by Decree No. 13955 of 26/9/1963 (Social Security Law, and notably its article 17), and its amendments, and notably its articles 48, paragraph I.

Whereas Decree No. 14035 of 16/3/1970 (setting the date of enforcement of the sickness and maternity branch), amended by Decree No. 456 of 27/2/1971 (provision of medical services in case of sickness and maternity, and of allowances for funeral charges)
Whereas the decision of the Board of Directors No. 182 taken during the meeting No. 104/rn.a.d./2001 of 15/3/2001, concerning the approval of the draft law purporting to authorise the National Fund for Social Security to provide dental medical services, and to determine the methods for providing such services,
On the proposal of the Minister of Labour,
After consultation of the Council of State (Advice No. 158/2000-2001 of22/3/2001), And following the approval of the Council of Ministers during its meeting on 22/3/2001, Decrees the following:

Article 1
The National Fund for Social Security is authorised to provide dental medical services, mentioned in article 17, paragraph 2, clause A, subsection "Thirdly", ofthe Social Security Law, including the following works:
Radiography, extraction of a tooth, stopping (of a tooth), extraction of a nerve, cleaning or treatment of the gum, covering up a tooth, total or partial prosthesis (acrylic or metallic), removable bridge.

Article 2
The mode of implementation of the present decree shall be set in the Internal Regulations of the Fund.
Article 3 (as modified by Decree No. 6516 of 11 October 2001)
The present decree shall come into force as from November I, 200 I.
Baabda, 24 March 2001 Signed: Emile Lahoud
By the President of the Republic
The President of the Council of Ministers Signed: Rafik Hariri
The Minister of Finance Signed: Ali Kanso

DECREE No. 13684 OF 30 NOVEMBER 2004
setting the details of implementation of the provisions concerning the clearance issued by the National Fund for Social Security in conformity with Law No. 24/82 and its amendments.
The President of the Republic, Whereas the Constitution,
Whereas the Social Security Law promulgated by Decree No. 13955 of 26/9/1963, notably its article 65,
Whereas Law No. 24/82 of 3/8/1962 concerning the provisions governing the clearance issued by the National Fund for Social Security, notably its article 7,
Whereas the decision of the board of directors of the National Fund for Social Security by its Order No. 29 taken during its meeting No. 81M.A.D of 14/812003
On the proposal of the Minister of Labour,
After consultation with the Council of State (Opinion No. 289/2002-2003 of 10/2003 and Opinion No. 29712003-2004 of 5/8/2004),
And following the approval of the Council of Ministers on 25/1112004, Decrees the following:

Article 1
1 - The clearance issued by the National Fund for Social Security, as mentioned in article 65 of the Social Security Law, is the certificate granted by the Fund, testifying that the employer (whether natural person or juridical person) has paid, until the end of the month preceding the granting of this clearance, the contributions and the various financial obligations relevant to the implementation of the Social Security Law.
2 - The receipt mentioned in the second paragraph of Section II of article 65 of the Social Security Law, amended by Law No. 24/82, shall be deemed in lieu of the clearance required.

Article 2
1 - For obtaining the clearance, the employer must file a request specifying the purpose of this request or its mode of use. This clearance can only be used for the purpose specified in the request.
2 - The National Fund for Social Security must grant this clearance within maximum three days dating from the submission of the request, if there is no objection towards the employer. In case the employer has to pay contributions or financial obligations, the clearance must be granted within three days following the date of payment of these obligations and contributions.

Article 3
The clearance may be general, valid for all cases mentioned in article 65 of the Social Security Law, or restricted, for one or several cases.

Article 4
The general clearance is granted after the control operation mentioned In article 77 and following articles of the Social Security Law in the following cases:
- The assignment of the ownership of the commercial establishment or its transfer by any other mean: sale, assignment, absorption, the beginning or end of a business management contract, its processing into a company, its winding-up and its striking-out.
For granting the general clearance, the payment of contributions and various financial obligations until the end of the month preceding its granting, must be ascertained.

Article 5
1 - The restricted clearance is granted on the basis of the payments declared by the employer or on the basis of information provided by him in the following cases:
A - The assignment of sleeping partners in limited partnership companies.
B - The assignment between ascendants, descendants, and spouses, or the admittance of ascendants, descendants, or spouses as new partners in partnerships or in limited liability companies.
C - The assignment by some partners of their parts or shares in all kinds of companies, except partnership companies, on condition that the total of the parts or shares they assign is less than 50% of the capital.
D - Other cases mentioned in article 65 of the Social Security Law.
2 - The restricted clearance is granted after the control operation mentioned in article 77 and following articles of the Social Security in the following cases:
A - The assignment of the ownership of parts in partnerships, by inheritance, will or donation.
B - The reduction of the capital.
C - The pledge and the mortgage.
D - And in all cases of decrease of the solvency of the employer, whether a natural person or a juridical person.
E - The winding-up of the company, its liquidation and its striking-out.

Article 6
The restricted clearance is granted in case of instalment of the contributions, provided that the financial and real estate guarantees as well as the conditions for granting the clearance are laid down in the internal regulations of the Fund.

Article 7
The clearance shall be issued by the director general of the Fund, and it shall remain valid during one year dating from its granting.

Article 8
All texts inconsistent with the provisions of the present decree are abrogated.

Article 9
The board of directors of the Fund shall draw up the details of implementation of the present decree.

Article 10
The present decree shall be published and notified wherever there shall be need.
Baabda, 30 November 2004 Signed: Emile Lahoud
By the President of the Republic
The President of the Council of Ministers Signed: Omar Karame
The Minister of Labour Signed: Assem Kanso