Libya
Overview
Constitutional document in force:
- 2011 Constitutional Declaration: العربية | English
- All constitutional events ↴
General information on Libya’s transition
RN Constitutional Advocate, Langhi, leads seminar on the role of women in public life in Libya
Zahra’ Langhi, co-founder of Libyan Women’s Platform for Peace (LWPP), led a seminar 7 April 2013 for RN’s MENA constitutional advocates–by Skype and across continents–on the role of women in public life in Libya.
The seminar is one of a series of discussions, initiated during a conference in Tunis this past January, for the program “Informing the Constitutional Moment” funded by the National Endowment for Democracy.
On the basis of a detailed paper distributed to the constitutional advocates, the seminar proceeded along three main lines of enquiry:
- The mechanisms, style and language that LWPP adopted to succeed in facilitating the election of 33 women (of 200 seats), without a specifically named quota, in the General National Congress (GNC), the post-revolutionary parliament in Libya;
- The importance of having women in leadership positions in government, notably in the Council of Ministers and in the judiciary. Only two women are ministers, but the judiciary has succeeded in keeping a place for women judges since the pre-Qaddafi period. LWPP’s challenge to Art. 30 of the constitutional provisions concerning the important election or appointment of the 60 members of the constitutional assembly was also discussed.
- The wider comparative constitutional framework, including the latest Constitution passed in Zimbabwe, which established in Section 16 an elaborate role for women in public life in the future of the country.
The participants resolved to publish the paper and some of the most interesting discussion that followed, including new ideas for bolstering the effectiveness of women in charting the future of the country.
RN is increasingly engaged in Libya and will participate more actively, with LWPP and other prominent civil society organisations, in the enhancement of the public quality of the constitutional debate in a country with immense potential for the region.
Lorianne Updike Toler and Tobias Peyerl on 'Selection or Election for the Constituent Assembly?'
As Libyans consider proposals for selecting the Constituent Assembly, they can benefit from a thorough review of various methods of selecting constitutional drafters from the region and from history. Such models can inform Libyans about problems to avoid and successes to follow in creating an overall constitutional procedure that legitimises their constitution and prepares it for long-term success. The article by Lorianne Updike Toler and MECF director Tobias Peyerl published in the Libya Herald provides two models from the region—Egypt and Tunisia—and four from history—Massachusetts, the United States, Poland, and Norway.
Read the full featured article.
Azza al-Maghur on the structural deficiencies of the Libyan constitutional process
18 March 20120, Right to Nonviolence is pleased to post an important contribution of prominent Libyan lawyer Azza al-Maghur on the structural deficiencies of the Libyan constitutional process afoot in the post-Qaddafi constitutional moment.
In her analysis, Ms. Maghur demonstrates in detail the major constitutional black holes that need an immediate remedy.
Highlights of the constitutional study are in the following conclusions:
1- The Constitutional Declaration issued by the Transitional Council before the fall of Qaddafi is an ad hoc declaration that has no legitimacy at present. It must not be considered a basis for the new elected assemblies.
2- The timeline must be clarified in terms of the mandate of the projected General National Assembly, al-mu’tamar al-watani al-`amm. The government and the Assembly are at risk of entering into an open-ended, authoritarian process with no time limits and no clear sequencing.
3- The merger of legislative and executive power adopted during the transition through the fall of Qaddafi is no longer acceptable. A clear distinction of the executive and legislative branches of government must be implemented immediately, possibly by the constitution of a presidential council that is distinct from the General National Assembly.
4- Women have been sidelined by the process. Restoration of the leadership role of women in the revolution must translate with a fair and adequate representation in all elected assemblies and government bodies that secures their effective taking part in the governance of the country.
The full analysis – in Arabic – can be accessed here
All constitutional events
- 05/07/2012 | Amendment | 3rd Amendment to the Constitutional Declaration i.a. taking away constitution-making power from the National Congress
- 02/05/2012 | Related Legal Text | Decree 36/2012 freezing Assets and Properties of Companies and Individuals related to the Qaddafi Regime
- 13/03/2012 | Amendment | Amendment 1/2012 concerning the Timeframe for Drafting the Constitution and the Composition and Voting Procedure of the Constituent Assembly in Libya
- 26/02/2012 | Related Legal Text | Decree 17/2012 concerning national Reconciliation and transitional Justice
- 20/02/2012 | Related Legal Text | Decree 15/2012 establishing the Dar Al-Ifta
- 13/02/2012 | Related Legal Text | Decree 11/2012 concerning Responsibilites and Duties in the Army
- 28/01/2012 | Related Legal Text | Decree 4/2012 concerning National Congress Elections in Libya
- 04/01/2012 | Related Legal Text | Decree 2/2011 annulling the Law criminalizing adhering to political Parties
- 27/11/2011 | Related Legal Text | UN Security Council Resolution 2016
- 16/09/2011 | Related Legal Text | UN Security Council Resolution 2009
- 03/08/2011 | New Constitutional Document | 2011 Constitutional Declaration of Libya
- 17/03/2011 | Related Legal Text | UN Security Council Resolution 1973
- 26/02/2011 | Related Legal Text | UN Security Council Resolution 1970
- 02/03/1977 | New Constitutional Document | Declaration on the Establishment of the Authority of the People
- 11/12/1969 | New Constitutional Document | 1969 Constitution of Libya
- 25/04/1963 | Amendment | 1951 Constitution of Libya as amended 1963
- 07/10/1951 | New Constitutional Document | 1951 Constitution of Libya
The country pages are collections from information openly available on the web or documents obtained by the MECF with national constitutional events categorized as follows:
1. New Constitutional Document
A “New Constitutional Document” under the terms of this website is a text that bears new constitutional authority, which was not enacted by a preexisting amendment procedure of the highest law available.
2. Amendment
Documents are categorized as “Amendments” if they were established according to an existing constitutional amendment procedure.
3. Proposal
A “Proposal” is an amendment that was not or is supposed to be implemented in future.
4. Interpretation
An “Interpretation” is a legal determination by a body that is endowed with the authority to issue binding interpretations on the constitutional text. This category is not limited to courts or other traditional bodies of the judiciary. Exemplary bodies include constitutional courts or boards.
5. Related Legal Text
“Related Legal Texts” are those legal documents that are directly relevant to the constitutional provisions and are hierarchically placed below constitutional legal authority. Examples include election laws, laws relating to political parties and laws on the judiciary.
We list secondary materials for each constitutional event of the five categories. These include scholarly articles and the travaux préparatoires.
