Preventing Conflicts of Interest and Promoting Governance in the Libyan Public Sector: An Analytical Study of Administrative Control Authority Publication No. 1 of 2026

Abstract

This study examines Circular No. 1 of 2026, issued by the Chairman of the Libyan Administrative Control Authority (ACA) on compliance with governance and transparency rules and the prevention of conflicts of interest. It assesses the circular's legal value and whether a circular is an adequate instrument for regulating conflicts of interest in the Libyan public service. The study proceeds from the premise that an administrative circular does not, in principle, create new legal rules; its binding force derives from the underlying norms it recalls, not from the circular itself. It employs a descriptive-analytical method to present the Libyan legislative framework (Law No. 20 of 2013 on the ACA, Law No. 11 of 2014 on the National Anti-Corruption Commission, Labour Relations Law No. 12 of 2010, and Law No. 10 of 2005 ratifying the UN Convention against Corruption), a comparative method drawing on the French and Egyptian doctrine of administrative circulars, and a critical method to evaluate adequacy. It concludes that the circular performs a legitimate reminding and guiding function within the ACA's competence under Article 25 of its founding law, but that it cannot alone serve as a sufficient regulatory instrument because of the absence of a comprehensive statutory definition, the proliferation of circulars issued by different bodies, and its inability to create independent sanctions or new disclosure duties. The study recommends enacting a dedicated statute on conflicts of interest and asset disclosure, leaving circulars their implementing and interpretive role.

Methodological note: the full text of the circular could not be accessed when this study was prepared; its metadata were drawn from the Libyan Legal Society's legislative archive. Content-specific references to its provisions must therefore be completed from the official text before final submission.