Dr. Ramadan Bin Zair, former professor of international law and human rights at Nasser University and the Secretary-General of the Arab-European Center for International Law and Human Rights, published an analytical article on the decision of the President of the Presidential Council, Mohamed Al-Menfi, to establish the National Commission for Referendum and National Inquiry, which is affiliated with the Presidential Council and is responsible for conducting binding referendums.
Dr. Ben Zir believes that this decision is one of the powers of the Presidential Council stipulated in the Libyan Political Agreement issued in December 2015 and included in the Constitutional Declaration of 2016.
He added that this step is important and justified in light of the confusion of the Libyan political scene due to the lack of agreement between the House of Representatives and the State Council, which recently split into two conflicting halves, considering this a dangerous matter that could lead to undesirable consequences for our country.
Dr. Ben Zeir pointed out that granting the Authority independence is a positive development towards ensuring the integrity of the referendum process, and this is in line with the Libyan Political Agreement.
He pointed out that this decision was criticized for being issued by the President of the Presidential Council alone, and this is a serious flaw that invalidates the decision, but the matter was remedied with the support and approval of the other two members, Musa Al-Koni and Abdullah Al-Lafi.
Dr. Ben Zeir stressed that the decision to withdraw the title of Commander-in-Chief of the Army by the House of Representatives, which came as a reaction to what the President of the Presidential Council did to establish the National Referendum Commission, is an ill-considered and emotional decision and is considered a null decision, especially since this decision was made by 20 members of the House of Representatives, as mentioned, and without obtaining consensus with the Supreme Council of State, this matter constitutes a blatant violation of the Constitutional Declaration that may lead to increased confusion in the political scene.
Dr. Ben Zeir added in his article that the legitimacy of the Presidential Council was not acquired from the House of Representatives, but rather from the Libyan Political Agreement 12/2015, and that any amendment to the powers of the Presidential Council requires consensus between its parties, and that the United Nations considers this agreement the basis for the political process in our country, pointing out that any conflict with this agreement will not receive international recognition or support, but rather will increase the complexity of the matter.
Dr. Ben Zeir called on legal professionals and interested parties to review the constitutional and legal definition of the Supreme Court regarding the interim House of Representatives, which was included in Constitutional Appeal 5/70 Q of 2023, which stated that all functions of the interim legislative authority, represented by the interim House of Representatives, remain linked to the requirements of the stage, and do not go beyond them in commitment to the specified constitutional path, and the House of Representatives may not exercise legislative powers in matters other than those explicitly stipulated.
Dr. Ben Zeir continued: “That is why the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court ruled on 11/26/2014 that the elections that resulted in the House of Representatives were unconstitutional. Unfortunately, the UN envoy at the time ignored this ruling, considering the conflict in Libya to be political and not legal, and he continued his efforts until the Libyan Political Agreement of December 2015 came to return the House of Representatives to the scene again as a party to the conflict.”
Dr. Ben Zeir explained that the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court ruled in its interpretation of the current function of the House of Representatives that it is temporary and limited and linked to the election laws and does not extend to other functions. The Libyan Political Agreement stipulated in Article 15 that the House of Representatives must agree with the Supreme Council of State regarding those occupying leadership positions in sovereign institutions.
Dr. Ramadan Bin Zair concluded his article by saying that everything that the House of Representatives has done since the Libyan Political Agreement, such as issuing laws, amending the Constitutional Declaration, and changing the Council of Sovereign Directorates unilaterally and without agreement with the Supreme Council of State according to the Political Agreement, as it is the constitutional and legal basis for this stage, are (unconstitutional and illegitimate laws) and are challenged, and are a major reason for political instability and the continuation of the approach of domination and imposing a fait accompli by the House of Representatives in light of the semi-division of the Supreme Council of State and its adoption of an approach of negativity and indifference towards the continued violations of the House of Representatives, which threatens the balance and future of the political process in Libya.
Dr. Ben Zeir said: “What I tried to present is not bias towards one party against another, but rather an abstract legal point of view. Therefore, I call on all parties to sit at a round table to resolve all pending issues as soon as possible, before it is too late. We are in dire need of men who see small things as insignificant when there are major sins at a critical stage in Libya’s contemporary history.”
Last update: August 14, 2024 – 00:23
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2024-08-15 14:12:15