The 1951 Libyan Constitution was brought into force on 7 October 1951, prior to Libya's formal declaration of its independence on 21 December 1951 as a constitutional and hereditary monarchy under King Idris. The enactment of the Libyan Constitution was significant in that it was the first and only piece of legislation that formally entrenched the rights of Libyan citizens after the post-war creation of the Libyan nation state.
The Libyan National Assembly drafted the Constitution and passed a resolution accepting it in a meeting held in Benghazi on 7 October 1951. Mohamed Abulas’ad El-Alem, President of the National Assembly and the two Vice-Presidents of the National Assembly, Omar Faiek Shennib and Abu Baker Ahmed Abu Baker executed and submitted the Constitution to King Idris prior to its publication in the Official Gazette of Libya.
The enactment of the Libyan Constitution was significant in that it was the first piece of legislation to formally entrench the rights of Libyan citizens following the post-war creation of the Libyan nation state. Following on from the intense UN debates, during which Idris had argued that the creation of a single Libyan state would be of benefit to the regions of Tripolitania, Fezzan, and Cyrenaica, the Libyan government was keen to formulate a constitution which contained many of the entrenched rights common to European and North American nation states.
Following the "Green Revolution" military coup of 1969, led by Muammar Gaddafi, that overthrew the monarchy and the Libyan National Assembly, the Libyan Constitution was no longer in effect. The Green Book put forth by Gaddafi became the foundation of the laws of Libya.
Constitution of the Kingdom of Libya
The Constitution of the Kingdom of Libya included a Preamble and twelve Chapters outlining the protection of human rights in Libya and regulating the nature and functions of the institutional apparatus of the Libyan State. Law N. 1 of 1963 abolished Chapter 3 and Articles 173, 174, and 175, thereby suppressing the Federal Regime originally established by the 1951 Constitution.
Chapter 1 of the 1951 Constitution defined the “Form of State and System of Government of the Country”, while Chapter 2 described the “Rights of People”. Chapter 3, repealed in 1963, included a first section regarding the “Powers of the Federal Government” and a second section pertaining to “Joint Powers.”
Chapter 4 organized the Libyan State’s “General Powers” arrangement, further articulated in Chapters 5 through 8 (“The King”; “The Ministers”; “Parliament”, including three sections regulating “The Senate”, “The House of Representatives”, and “Provisions Common to the Two Chambers”; “The Judiciary”).
Finally, Chapter 9 through 12 discussed Libya’s “Fiscal System” (as amended in 1963), the “Local Administration”, as well as “General Provisions” and “Transitory and Provisional Provisions.”
Preamble
The Preamble to the Libyan Constitution sets out the terms under which the union of the regions of Cyrenaica, Tripolitania and Fezzan into Libya came about:
In the name of God the beneficent, the merciful. We, the representatives of the people of Libya from Cyrenaica, Tripolitania and Fezzan, meeting by the will of God in the cities of Tripoli and Benghazi in a National Constituent Assembly. Having agreed and determined to form a union (1) between us under the Crown of King Mohammad Idris el Senussi, to whom the nation has offered the Crown and who was declared constitutional King of Libya by this the National Constituent Assembly. And having decided and determined to establish a democratic independent sovereign State which will guarantee the national unity, safeguard domestic tranquillity, provide the means for common defence, secure the establishment of justice, guarantee the principles of liberty, equality, and fraternity and promote economic and social progress and the general welfare. And trusting in God, Master of the Universe, do hereby prepare and resolve this Constitution for the Kingdom of Libya (2).
(1) Federal Regime repealed by Law No. 1 of 1963. (2) Name of the State amended to read "The Kingdom of Libya" by Law No. 1 of 1963.
The Libyan Constitution
The full text of Chapters I and II of the Constitution of Libya is below
Constitution of Libya
Chapter I-The Form of the State and the System of Government
Article 1 Libya is a free independent sovereign State. Neither its sovereignty nor any part of its territories may be relinquished.
Article 2 Libya is a State having a hereditary monarchy, and its system of Government is representative. Its name is "THE KINGDOM OF LIBYA".