Constitutional oversight in Libya from 2011-2026

Abstract

This research paper discusses judicial review of constitutionality in Libya, which was established with the enactment of the Federal Supreme Court Law in 1953 based on the provisions of the 1951 Constitution, whereby constitutional review was entrusted to the Supreme Court. and considered to be the original authority in this matter. It also discusses how this oversight was organized in the Constitutional Declaration, leading up to the text of the draft Libyan constitution issued by the Constituent Assembly for Drafting the Constitution in 2017 on the establishment of a constitutional court, which enjoys financial and administrative independence and is entrusted with several powers, including (overseeing the constitutionality of laws, reviewing the constitutionality of constitutional amendments, and ruling on appeals in presidential elections, among others. The importance of the study is highlighted by the fact that Libya is one of the first countries to adopt the method of constitutional judicial review, following the trend of countries to protect the constitution from the control and interference of the authorities. The study relied on an analytical approach to analyse the transformation of political debate into legal debate through the issuance of legislation and judicial rulings, and the impact of this on the work of the constitutional judiciary. This research addresses the issue of the impact of political conflicts and disputes on the constitutional judiciary and its independence, such as the suspension of the Constitutional Chamber's work for years, the issuance by the House of Representatives of Law No. (6) of 2023 establishing a constitutional court, the abolition of the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court, the Constitutional Chamber's ruling that this law was unconstitutional and considered it legally null and void since its issuance, and the annulment of its effects.