The law No.17 , of September 6th ,1990 defines the I.S.F as: public armed forces whose jurisdiction covers the whole Lebanese territory and the territorial waters and air .
The I.S.F missions are :
·  The administrative police: 
    -  Keeps order and security.
    -  Assures public order.
    -  Protects people and properties.
    - Assures the execution of  law and legal rules.
    -  protects freedom within the limits of law .
·  The Judicial police:
    -  Executes the charges and rogatory letters .
    -  Executes the judicial judgments and warrants. 
    - Achieves the missions of the judicial police.
·  In other fields: 
    -  Supports the public authorities in carrying out   their duties . 
    -  Guards the public administration, pursuant to the decision of the competent authorities.
    -  Guards and administrates prisons when need   be.
    -  Guards the diplomatic missions in lebanon.
According to article (2) of the same law :
  The I.S.F are subject to the authority of the Minister of the Interior and to the military laws and rules with the exclusion of the exception defined by other laws and rules.

The rights of  the I.S.F when executing their missions, are :
· Requesting  identity documents.
· Searching people.
· Arresting people (in application of a legal judgement or warrant or immediately in the act )
· Entering houses:
    -  At night:
      ■ In cases of danger like fire or flood. .
      ■ When calls of help emanate from the house.  
      ■  for searching  in emergency cases.
    -  At day:
      ■ In the cases where entry is permitted during  the night.
      ■  In order to investigate a crime that was  perpetrated in the house .
      ■  To search the house of a suspect.
      ■  To execute  judicial warrants and  decisions.
· Seizing prohibited substances.
· Establishing check-points.
· Using arms : when all the other means were exhausted and in the following cases : 
    -  Based on an order from the administrative authority during a policing operation. 
    -  To avoid being demilitarized . 
    -  To defend  the places subject to their guard. 
    -  To preserve in custody the persons in their charge or to protect them. 
    -  To arrest the suspected persons or those who run away from them and neglect their order to  freeze. 
    -  To stop the vehicles that proceed through their  check-points despite their warning.
    -  In justified self-defense.

Duties of the I.S.F agents :
· They are subject to the general obligations of the civil servants and to the sanctions and sanction aggravations,
   stipulated in the law and applied when the latters commit offences during services   
· To rescue every person in danger .
· To report the crimes they witness or they are  informed of .
· To safeguard the public and private properties  especially in case of catastrophies and dangerous   accidents .
· Not to disturb people in their privacies except for the cases stipulated in the law .
· To avoid any act of violence if not necessary .
· To preserve professional secrecy