On Thursday, members of the Libyan Parliament voted unanimously to approve the appointment of Abdullah Burazizah as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, replacing Mohamed Al-Hafi.
The MPs’ approval came after he was nominated by the court’s General Assembly, and the High Council of State (HCS).
Burazizah was appointed a member of the Supreme Court chamber in 2017. He was the head of the Center for Judicial Expertise, and established several new departments. These included the Department of Criminal Expertise, which consists of the Department of Weapons, Fire, and Explosives, and the Department of Machinery.
He also provided a number of training courses for the center’s staff, and established forensic medicine and counterfeit branches in various regions and cities across the country.
During his career, Burazizah took into account the principle of the judiciary’s independence from politics. He maintained the unity of the judiciary, avoiding a fate like other institutions that suffered from the decade-long division in the country.
In 2013, he signed an agreement for judicial and criminal cooperation with the head of the Forensic Medicine Authority in Egypt, Ihsan Gorgy. This aimed to enhance cooperation, and exchange expertise between the two countries.
The Supreme Court in Libya is the highest judicial authority. It has jurisdiction as a constitutional court and a court of cassation in civil, commercial, and legal affairs.
It also has jurisdiction as an administrative court, a special court for electoral appeals, in addition to its role in issuing legislation.