JUSTICIA Foundation for Development and Human Rights is a nonprofit Lebanese civil society organization. JUSTICIA was founded by jurists and civil society activists who believe in democratic values, human rights, the rule of law, and equal opportunity for all.

JUSTICIA’s main objective is to protect and promote human rights. It also works to empower marginalized individuals, strengthen democracy, and encourage good governance.

To accomplish its objectives, JUSTICIA does the following:

• Organize and implement legal awareness and citizenship training programs to engender a culture of human rights.
  
• Publish basic information about everyday legal issues and helpful how-to guides to assist members of the public in determining their legal rights.
  
• Network with governmental and non-governmental organizations in order to gain support for our programs and assist organizations with similar goals.
  
• Design and implement projects aimed at addressing gender issues, necessary legal reform, and public integrity problems.

The KNOW YOUR RIGHTS series of guides on Lebanese law assist Lebanese citizens in managing their legal risks by clarifying their rights and obligations. To be equal under the law, one must know his or her rights

Because Lebanese Law is complex, those who cannot afford effective legal representation are at serious disadvantage.

Ignorantia juris non excusat, Latin for "ignorance of the law does not excuse", is a legal principle providing that a person is not excused for violating the law merely because he or she was unaware of it. Lebanon also adopts the maxim of Roman law: nemo censetur ignorare legem or "nobody is considered to ignore the law." Thus knowledge of all laws is imputed to everyone. But these maxims assume that the law in question has been properly published and distributed. Unfortunately, this is not the case in Lebanon. Here, the abundance of legislation and amendments in the agenda of the Chamber of Deputies and the Council of Ministries make it very difficult for the average person to be aware of the law. Consequently the legal system presents challenges for lower and middle class citizens because many times they find themselves in court without the necessary information or know-how to argue their positions effectively.

The objective of the KNOW YOUR RIGHTS project is to provide members of the public with tools to help them better understand their rights and obligations-thus ensuring transparency in the administration of the law. The guides relate to key areas of public life like employement rights, consumer's and taxpayer’s rights, patient’s rights, municipal rights, education and environmental rights, one’s rights concerning the administration, tenant and landlord rights, and constitutional rights.

Although other civil society organizations have produced informational booklets on similar subjects, JUSTICIA’s guides take the reader a step further as they provide specific advice on issues that may help the reader avoid the perils of litigation. Copies of the guides are available at no charge. They may also be downloaded from this website.

The Transparency and Accountability Grants Project funded by USAID and managed by AMIDEAST/Lebanon generously supported the project.