[Draft] Libya Constitution-Building Manual1 Preface .............................................................................................................................................. 5 Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................................. 5 Part 1: Fundamental Rights ................................................................................................................ 7 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 7 (a) General provisions ........................................................................................................................ 8 (b) Ensuring that fundamental rights are binding on the State (Supremacy Clauses) ....................... 8 2. Limitations Clauses .............................................................................................................................. 9 (a) Specific Limitation Clauses .......................................................................................................... 10 (b) General Limitation Clauses ......................................................................................................... 11 (c) Content of Limitation Clauses ..................................................................................................... 13 (i) Legality ................................................................................................................................. 13 (ii) Purpose ................................................................................................................................ 14 (iii) Proportionality ..................................................................................................................... 15 (iv) Exceptions ............................................................................................................................ 16 3. States of Emergency .......................................................................................................................... 16 (a) Non-derogability ......................................................................................................................... 17 (b) Time Limits .................................................................................................................................. 18 4. Enforcement of Rights ....................................................................................................................... 19 (a) Standing ...................................................................................................................................... 21 (b) Human Rights Institutions .......................................................................................................... 22 5. International Law .............................................................................................................................. 24 6. Case Study: The Freedom from Torture ............................................................................................ 25 (a) Eliminating Incentives to Torture ................................................................................................ 25 (b) Increasing Disincentives to Torture ............................................................................................ 26 (c) Eliminating Opportunities to Torture .......................................................................................... 27 Part 2: Separation of Powers ............................................................................................................ 29 1 This English version of the ‘Libya Constitution Building Manual’ is not final and is published and circulated merely for the benefit of those individuals who are interested or who are involved in the Libyan process and who do not read Arabic. The only official and final version of this Manual was published in Arabic and is available for free download here: http://goo.gl/mzndJ5. The official Arabic version departs from the English version in a number of respects. 1 Libya Constitution Building Manual – International IDEA (www.idea.int) [Draft] 1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 29 (a) Systems of government .............................................................................................................. 29 (b) Guarding against autocracy ....................................................................................................... 31 2. The Executive .................................................................................................................................... 33 (a) Presidential term limits ............................................................................................................... 33 (b) Selection of the prime minister ................................................................................................... 34 (c) Cabinet formation ....................................................................................................................... 35 (d) Withdrawal of confidence from the government ....................................................................... 36 (e) Impeachment of the president ................................................................................................... 37 (f) Dissolution of parliament ........................................................................................................... 38 (g) Citizens’ recall ............................................................................................................................. 39 (h) Substantive powers of the executive .......................................................................................... 40 3. The Legislature .................................................................................................................................. 42 (a) Structure of the legislature ......................................................................................................... 42 (i) Cameral structure ................................................................................................................ 42 (ii) Electoral system ................................................................................................................... 44 (b) Lawmaking Power ...................................................................................................................... 44 (c) Legislative oversight ................................................................................................................... 47 4. The Judiciary ...................................................................................................................................... 48 (a) Judicial Independence versus judicial accountability .................................................................. 48 (i) Selection ............................................................................................................................... 49 (ii) Tenure .................................................................................................................................. 51 (iii) Compensation ...................................................................................................................... 52 (b) Judicial Councils .......................................................................................................................... 52 (i) Competence ......................................................................................................................... 52 (ii) Composition ......................................................................................................................... 53 (c) Constitutional Courts .................................................................................................................. 53 (i) Who conducts constitutional review? ................................................................................. 53 (ii) Timing of constitutional review ........................................................................................... 54 (iii) Appointing justices to the Constitutional Court .................................................................. 55 (iv) Number of constitutional court justices .............................................................................. 58 2 Libya Constitution Building Manual – International IDEA (www.idea.int) [Draft] (v) The removal of constitutional court justices ....................................................................... 59 (d) Judicial transformation (vetting processes) ................................................................................ 60 Part 3: Decentralization of Government Authority in a Modern Constitutional Context ..................... 61 1. Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................... 61 2. What is decentralization? ................................................................................................................. 61 3. Vital considerations ........................................................................................................................... 63 (i) Viability of local government .....................................................................................................