Tripoli Court of Appeal ruled that Farhat Bengdara is not eligible to serve as NOC Chairman and that all decisions and actions taken by him during his tenure are null and void
After more than a year of legal battles, the First Administrative Circuit of the Tripoli Court of Appeal has issued a very significant judgment in the case challenging Farhat Bengdara’s legitimacy to serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Oil Corporation (Case No. 455/2023).
All his previous decisions are null and void
In this what could be a significant decision, the Tripoli Court has ruled that Bengdara was never eligible to serve as NOC Chairman and that, therefore, all decisions and actions taken by him in this role are null and void.
Bengdara hold UAE nationality
The Court’s ruling was based on the conclusive evidence that was provided during the proceedings that Bengdara holds United Arab Emirates nationality. The Court concluded that this fact constitutes a violation of Libyan Law No. 24 of 2010 (the Libyan Nationality), which stipulates the automatic loss of Libyan nationality for any person who obtains a foreign nationality without following the procedures set out in the Libyan Nationality Law. Since Bengdara failed to comply with these procedures, he lost his Libyan nationality at the time he was issued his UAE passport, which rendered him automatically ineligible to hold any public office in Libya that require full loyalty to the State.
The Tripoli Court further reasoned that, as a consequence of his ineligibility to serve as NOC Chairman, all of the decisions and actions taken by Bengdara during his tenure in this role are automatically rendered null and void.
The Court also ordered Bengdara to pay financial compensation of ten thousand Libyan dinars on account of moral damages, and to reimburse the plaintiff’s legal expenses associated with the case.
Comment and Analysis
On the face of it, and in any other state where the rule of law is paramount and there exists a balance of power and a clear division between the executive, legislature and judiciary, Bengdara would be expected to be forced to leave his position as the NOC chairman.
However, it is to be seen if the Tripoli based Libyan prime minister Aldabaiba will remove Bengdara. Bengdara is a consensual political appointment between Aldabaiba and Khalifa Hafter. He is part of a much bigger political deal and equation that ended the Hafter war on Tripoli and shared power and the oil spoils with Tripoli. His appointment was part of a political quid pro quo or “something for something.”.
Equally, Aldabaiba has appointed several temporary ‘‘Acting’’ ministers after some ministers were sacked or had resigned – without parliamentary approval. The latest example is the sacking of the Oil and Gas Minister Mohamed Aoun – even though a court had ruled that his sacking was illegal.
Setting a precedent for future posts and elections
The ruling could have set a precedent for all other Libyan sovereign positions and Libyans holding or wishing to hold such positions – who hold dual nationalities. If Bengdara is removed, and the precedent is set, many more Libyans in western and eastern Libya could be exposed as having dual nationalities and could be forced to step down.
Looking forward to presidential and parliamentary elections, the precedent would also preclude many dual nationals from standing for future parliamentary and presidential elections. No more ‘‘double shafras’’ (no more dual SIM cards) as the Libyans say!
