In a move that may trigger new disputes with the High Council of State (HCS) and threaten a split within the judicial authority, the Libyan Parliament has voted for the selection of a President and members for the Constitutional Court. This comes despite a verdict from the Supreme Court ruling its unconstitutionality.
In a statement, Abdullah Blaiheg, the Parliament’s Spokesman, indicated that during a plenary session, MP’s unanimously voted for the selection of the President and members of the Constitutional Court.
The Parliament also voted to replace the current head of the Administrative Control Authority with Khaled Amraja Mohamed Al-Mabrouk. As well as elected a new board, after dismissing the current Chairman and members of the National Planning Council.
This move is anticipated to renew tensions with the Supreme Court in Tripoli. The State Supreme Council, rejecting the law, maintains that the establishment of the court is a constitutional affair, exceeding the Parliament’s legislative jurisdiction.
The Constitutional Court has long been a contentious issue among Libya’s political and judicial entities, since the Parliament legislated its creation. Comprising 13 members based in Benghazi instead of the Constitutional Department at the Supreme Court in Tripoli, the new body can have laws’ constitutionality challenged only by the Speaker of Parliament, the Prime Minister, ten deputies, or ten ministers, excluding any reference to members of the State Council.
The decision by the Parliament to appoint the Constitutional Court, without the input of the HCS may steer the country toward new conflicts and divisions.
This could particularly destabilize the judicial institution, which has stayed united throughout recent years, with each region and party striving to establish its judicial authority and control justice, thereby deepening the crisis.
In Libya, the Constitutional Court has the jurisdiction to adjudicate cases, and appeals of a constitutional and legal nature. It also resolves disputes concerning laws, legislations, and decisions issued by the executive and legislative authorities. As well as any objections to or infractions of the constitutional declaration.