Provisions Governing Membership in Local Councils under Libyan Law: A Comparative Study

Abstract

This research examines the regulations governing membership in local councils under Libyan Law No. 59 of 2012, assessing their suitability for the Libyan context. The study reveals that the law establishes a system comprising governorates, municipalities, and localities. The governorate system preserves the unity of major cities-preventing their fragmentation by keeping them under a single governorate-and balances local and human development across the governorates.

In contrast, the municipality system currently in effect-established by Law No. 9 of 2013 (which amended Law No. 59 of 2012 on local administration)-serves as a temporary measure, adopted because political divisions rendered the implementation of the governorate system unfeasible. The current municipal system is considered to have contributed to the fragmentation of the country, as municipalities were established based on social affiliations-with each municipality reflecting a specific social identity. This has led to administrative challenges, given that the municipal system presupposes the independence of each municipality regarding its institutions, with the exception of national-level bodies. In our study, we sought to outline the components of Libya’s local administration system, as well as the details regarding council membership-including size, tenure, eligibility criteria, and financial remuneration.