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Libya
Index
With the acceptance of the primacy of Islamic law, the dual
religious-secular court structure was no longer necessary. In
November 1973, the religious judicial system of qadi courts was
abolished. The secular court system was retained to administer
justice, but its jurisdiction now included religious matters.
Secular jurisprudence had to conform to sharia, which remained the
basis for religious jurisprudence. In 1987 the court system had
four levels: summary courts (sometimes referred to as partial
courts), courts of first instance, appeals courts, and the Supreme
Court
(see
fig. 11).
Summary courts were located in most small towns. Each consisted
of a single judge who heard cases involving misdemeanors.
Misdemeanors were disputes involving amounts up to Libyan dinar
(LD) 100 (for value of the
Libyan dinar--see Glossary).
Most
decisions were final, but in cases where the dispute involved more
than LD20 the decision could be appealed.
The primary court was the court of first instance. One court of
first instance was located in each area that formerly had
constituted a governorate before the governorates as such were
abolished in 1975. Courts of first instance heard appeals from
summary courts and had original jurisdiction over all matters in
which amounts of more than LD100 were involved. A panel of three
judges, ruling by majority decision, heard civil, criminal, and
commercial cases and applied sharia to personal or religious
matters that were formerly handled by the qadi courts.
The three courts of appeals sat at Tripoli, Benghazi, and
Sabha. A three-judge panel, again ruling by majority decision,
served in each court and heard appeals from the courts of first
instance. Original jurisdiction applied to cases involving felonies
and high crimes. Sharia judges who formerly sat in the Sharia Court
of Appeals were assigned to the regular courts of appeals and
continue to specialize in sharia appellate cases.
The Supreme Court was located in Tripoli and comprised five
chambers: civil and commercial, criminal, administrative,
constitutional, and sharia. A five-judge panel sat in each chamber,
the majority establishing the decision. The court was the final
appellate body for cases emanating from lower courts. It could also
interpret constitutional matters. However, it no longer had
cassation or annulment power over the decisions of the lower
courts, as it did before the 1969 revolution. Because there was a
large pool of Supreme Court justices from which the panel was drawn
at a given time, the total number of justices was unfixed. All
justices and the president (also seen as chairman) of the court
were appointed by the GPC; most likely the General Secretariat made
the actual selections. Before its abolition, the RCC made Supreme
Court appointments.
Data as of 1987
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