No Result
View All Result
Saturday, July 12, 2025
23 °c
Tripoli
24 ° Sat
24 ° Sun
  • Advertising
  • Contact
LibyaHerald
  • Home
  • Libya
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Magazine
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Register
SUBSCRIBE
  • Home
  • Libya
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Magazine
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Register
No Result
View All Result
LibyaHerald
No Result
View All Result
Home Opinion

The Libyan public’s role in drafting the Constitution: Part I

byGeorge Grant
November 23, 2012
Reading Time: 5 mins read
A A
The Libyan public’s role in drafting the Constitution: Part I

Public participation in the Constitution-drafting process is essential to ensure the final document enshrines the rights and freedoms of the Libyan people. (Photo: George Grant)

By Lorianne Updike Toler.

Public participation in the Constitution-drafting process is essential to ensure the final document enshrines the rights and freedoms of the Libyan people. (Photo: George Grant)

New York City, 23 November:

Over the past week, the GNC has turned to the question of who . . .[restrict]should draft the new constitution.  The question is whether drafters should be selected as originally planned in the August 2011 Constitutional Declaration or its amendment immediately prior to the 7 July elections.  The debate raises the question of the role the public should play in drafting the constitution.

This editorial will address the case for public participation in Libya’s constitution creation and recommend several methods for Libyans to participate in the pre-drafting stages.  An editorial to immediately follow in this series will focus on methods of participation after a draft text is produced.

At the core of modern democracy is the idea of popular sovereignty.  It is generally thought that governments are more just and legitimate when the law emanates from the people by their election of lawmakers.  Yet democracy extends beyond voting law-creators into power. The people can and should participate in law creation itself when possible and advisable. Especially in the creation of the fundamental law of the country: the constitution.

RELATED POSTS

Presidency Council head Menfi calls for referendum by Libyan people on contentious points of draft constitution

Democracy is the only way forward for Libya: Aldabaiba to Libyan youth

Substantively, public participation in constitution-making will likely yield a constitution that better ensures rights and protections for the people and will be more reflective and inclusive of those people.

Practically, public participation will increase the legitimacy of the constitution and enhance voluntary compliance with the law both in founding and subsequent generations.

Legitimating a constitution through public participation may increase its longevity (currently, constitutions have a predicted lifecycle of 17–19 years) and enhance long-term stability and economic growth.

Participation at an early stage of constitution creation will allow the public to shape the issues and structure of the constitution, making them meaningful co-creators.

Early-stage participation, or before a completed draft is produced, can take several forms. Among them are informal methods where the public seeks, without invitation from the official body, to influence the outcome.  Such methods include protests, petitions, and editorials such as this.

Protest is a method with which Libyans are familiar—those who protested the approval of members of Zeidan’s cabinet who had served under Qaddafi were successful in non-violently influencing the composition of the cabinet.

Likewise, the Arab Spring was begun and perpetuated through public protest. As effective as protest and other informal methods have been, because it is uninvited and falls outside formal processes where most law-making is done, it may not be the most effective (nor safe) method for the public to impact constitution-making.  For drafters, a formal invitation for the public to participate may decrease the pressure and security issues protest can present.

Public selection of constitutional drafters through election is a sometime-used method of public participation.  The public may participate indirectly by electing parliamentarians who select the drafters (the original design of the 2011 Constitutional Declaration), or directly, as was opted by the NTC immediately prior to elections in July.  If the GNC follows the NTC’s controversial constitutional amendment, the public would arguably be allowed a greater, more direct impact on the Libyan constitution than has been allowed for Egyptians in their constitutional processes, who followed the more indirect route in nominating drafters.

Hearings are another form of constitutional public participation.  The benefit of hearings is that they can be held in rural and disadvantaged areas as they were in South Africa.  They also allow personal, one-on-one communication with drafters who sit on hearing panels. The downside is that hearings will never accommodate the public en masse.  They may be appropriate in Libya’s constitutional process to determine what issues to address in the constitution and especially to reach remote, sparsely-populated areas.

At a more advanced and involved level of public participation, South Africa requested pre-draft constitutional submissions from the public.  Millions of submissions and petitions were received.  Yet because of the sheer volume, this information was hard to incorporate.  South Africa’s experience indicates that submissions and comments may be more useful after provisional texts are drafted, perhaps on an ongoing basis as was recently done in Iceland via an online form and on Facebook.

Libya, although bigger than Iceland, may have a small enough population to allow for this kind of ongoing online commentary for draft texts.  Given the tight timeline currently scheduled for its drafting, Libyan constitutional procedure may be served well through this kind of real-time public participation.

Iceland also webcasted constitutional drafting sessions live.  Although open forums are not always advantageous (sometimes closing doors allows drafters to be more candid and reach crucial compromises as occurred in the United States’ constitutional convention), webcasting plenary sessions would be another method wherein the public could watch and even participate through live, monitored chats, Internet difficulties permitting that is.  Another pre-draft method to involve the public is to host plenary sessions in each of Libya’s three regions to allow live participation and viewing by local residents.

Finally, perhaps one of the most effective methods of pre-draft public participation that could meaningfully and productively incorporate the opinions of a large number of people are surveys and pre-referendums.  Iceland held a referendum for its constitution that involved specific questions related to the constitution.  (The difference there, of course, was that it was already in near-final form, needing only to be sent to the legislature for final approval.)

Depending on what the GNC decides in its current debate, Libyans may capitalise on another election to select its drafters by including constitutional issues on the ballot.  These may be drawn from public hearings and could include questions on essential questions such as federalism and Sharia law.  Doing so would provide the public a meaningful, substantial way of participating at an early stage in a usable format.

In sum, if Libyans are serious about incorporating sound democratic principles into their constitutional process and in the practical benefits of legitimacy and longevity for its constitution, they should consider incorporating pre-draft opportunities for the Libyan people to participate in the process.  Direct elections are already a possibility.  Before the election, hearings in various urban and remote areas could be held to develop a list of issues and concepts that are important to the people.  From this open-ended list, several questions on key constitutional issues could be posed directly to the people on the ballot.  Votes on key issues would then be binding on the deliberative body.  Plenary sessions could be webcasted live and provisional texts could be posted for commentary throughout the process to allow and encourage participation.

Involving the public in these substantial ways will set the stage for an ultimately successful post-referendum (already planned), saving time in the long-run and ensuring a process that is broadly accepted and respected.  Additionally, although much of the pre-draft public participation recommended here would be conducted before the official body meets, it is possible that it could, especially if the timeline was lengthened by at least two months, be easily incorporated into an abbreviated constitutional timeline.

Danielle Tomson contributed to this article.

This is the fifth in a series of articles wherein constitutional principles, procedures, and histories are examined and compared in-depth in preparation for a new constitution in Libya.  [/restrict]

Tags: congressconstitutionfeaturedGNCLibya

Related Posts

Libya

OpEd: And exactly how safe is Tripoli?

January 10, 2018
OpEd: Turkey’s foreign minister on tomorrow’s Istanbul conflict resolution conference
Libya

OpEd: Turkey’s foreign minister on tomorrow’s Istanbul conflict resolution conference

July 31, 2017
Op-Ed: Playing the Trump card in Libya
Libya

Op-Ed: Playing the Trump card in Libya

November 19, 2016
Opinion

Op-Ed: Libya after the spin and deception

December 21, 2015
Opinion

Op-Ed: The Art of Avoiding Dialogue

December 16, 2015
Opinion

Op-Ed: Libya’s Article 13 – disagreeing over the political agreement

October 12, 2015
Next Post
Controversy and confusion surrounds $200m Tunisia deal

Controversy and confusion surrounds $200m Tunisia deal

Libya – The Awakening

Libya - The Awakening

ADVERTISEMENT

Top Stories

  • Benghazi port receives 398 containers of mixed goods, 25,000 tons of wheat, 28,500 tons of barley and 6,000 tons of cement

    All imports into Libya must be paid for through official bank transactions

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • BP to reopen office in Libya, Shell discusses prospects for cooperation in oil field development‎

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Libya Development and Reconstruction Fund signs contract with Turkey’s Ankamenia for maintenance of Benghazi University’s medical colleges

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Libyan olive oils win gold at Anatolian, Berlin and Japan 2025 international olive oil competitions

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Op-Ed: Reputational Damage Is Worse Than Losing Money

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
ADVERTISEMENT
LibyaHerald

The Libya Herald first appeared on 17 February 2012 – the first anniversary of the Libyan Revolution. Since then, it has become a favourite go-to source on news about Libya, for many in Libya and around the world, regularly attracting millions of hits.

Recent News

CBL workshop on ‎”The Role of the Banking Sector in Revitalising Stalled Housing Projects and Urban Development”‎ to be held in Tripoli on 13 July

Attorney General provides update on investigation of incidents resulting from Tripoli 2025 armed clashes and demonstrations

Sitemap

  • Why subscribe?
  • Terms & Conditions
  • FAQs
  • Copyright & Intellectual Property Rights
  • Subscribe now

Newsletters

    Be the first to know latest important news & events directly to your inbox.

    Sending ...

    By signing up, I agree to our TOS and Privacy Policy.

    © 2022 LibyaHerald - Powered by Sparx Solutions.

    Welcome Back!

    Login to your account below

    Forgotten Password? Sign Up

    Create New Account!

    Fill the forms below to register

    *By registering into our website, you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
    All fields are required. Log In

    Retrieve your password

    Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

    Log In
    No Result
    View All Result
    • Login
    • Sign Up
    • Libya
    • Business
    • Advertising
    • About us
    • BusinessEye Magazine
    • Letters
    • Features
    • Why subscribe?
    • FAQs
    • Contact

    © 2022 LibyaHerald - Powered by Sparx Solutions.

    This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.