Nowadays, the Political Isolation Law, or the so–called “Transitional Justice Law,” is the topic dominantly preoccupying the Libyan political scene and has been prioritized over the people’s demands of the revolution. In today’s Libya, security, safety, construction and even the constitution are absent; parliamentary sessions are held only to be adjourned.

Nowadays, the Political Isolation Law, or the so–called “Transitional Justice Law,” is the topic dominantly preoccupying the Libyan political scene and has been prioritized over the people’s demands of the revolution. In today’s Libya, security, safety, construction and even the constitution are absent; parliamentary sessions are held only to be adjourned.

Political isolation – the exclusion of all former regime supporters – and removing symbols of corruption were the demands of the masses before they waived it, when Mustafa Abdul Jalil, Gaddafi’s dissident Minister of Justice, became the speaker of the National Transitional Council (NTC), the first transitional body representing all Libyans. The demand also became infeasible when Gaddafi’s dissident ambassadors challenged him at the international level and started roaming world capitals with the aim of gaining acknowledgement of the revolution. This demand however has resurface in the General National Congress (GNC) (the Parliament).

While some believe this demand is Moses’ staff that will free them from Gaddafi’s regime, some politicians use it as a staff but with a carrot stuck to it.

The law’s opponents argue it has a dishonorable record in Iraq, founding their argument on the collapse of the security, defensive and economic systems there due to the dismissal of statesmen by virtue of the De-Baathification law.

Egyptian experience

Those opponents rely on their position in the post-Mubarak Egyptian experience which, they believe, has learned the lesson from the Iraqi one; when the Egyptian judiciary in June 2012 allowed Lieutenant General Ahmed Shafik, one of the former regime pillars, to run for the president, the choice was left to the people who ultimately voted for his Muslim Brotherhood opponent.

On the other hand, the law’s supporters insist on isolating all those who were involved in corrupt politics, helped Gaddafi’s regime and worked for its system, arguing that competences- once corrupted are inefficient.  They ignoreed the fact that the Iraqi parliament, ten years after the De-Baathification law, enacted a legislation allowing the use of Baathists’ competences.

Ace in the hole

The conflict regarding this Law among the GNC members, whether pros, cons or experts, is intense, while no agreement satisfying all political actors has been reached.

While the Libyan elite believes that the current situation urgently requires a constitution to organize political activity, political parties have submitted many drafts that have been replied to by other drafts, and the Law has been used as a subject matter for political fight and a pressure tool inside the GNC to legislate laws and reject others. The law, with which Libya has been preoccupied since early October 2012, has turned into an ace in the hole at all levels, that the Grand Mufti has recently issued a fatwa calling Libyans to protest before the GNC headquarters and call for approving the law, making it clear that political isolation has become “a collective duty.”

Having been planned to be enacted early February, the law was indefinitely delayed, sometimes under the threat of weapon, and sometimes by breaking through the headquarters of the government and GNC, causing its sessions to be adjourned.

No agreement

Observers believe all proposals provided for a way out of this crisis are simply an effort to mix the priorities of the stage and prolong the life of institutional confusion the country is experiencing under no state features, especially since the political actors have not reached an agreeable draft law.

While the National Front for the Salvation of Libya Party has developed a proposal to isolate all leaders, including ministers, ambassadors, secretariats of people’s committees (representing the Prime Ministry under Gaddafi), and even former opponents who engaged in dialogue with Gaddafi and made deals with him to come back to Libya and reach a conciliation, the Muslim Brotherhood believe this proposal is intended to trap them since they are the adopters of Libya Al-Ghad Project led by Saif al-Islam Gaddafi and its supervisors after reconciliation.

Additionally, former interim prime minister and Gaddafi’s minister of planning, Mahmoud Jibril, has submitted a proposal in the name of the National Forces Alliance Party which commands a majority within GNC to isolate all those who worked for Gaddafi’s regime from 1969 even if they seceded from it 40 years ago. Thus, political isolation has become a fuel of political conflicts the people are not in need of.

Fortification

Due to the persistent pressure put by one party force staging sit-ins before the GNC headquarters to enact this Law, the GNC members approved the so-called “the Amendment for the fortification of the political Isolation Law” to decrease the quorum of voting for the law to 101 vote (50%+1), what may facilitate its enactment, but also promotes totalitarianism.

This Amendment has been made to Article 6 of the Interim Constitutional Declaration issued by NTC in August 2012, which states that the Libyans are equal under the law, and in terms of political and civil rights. With the approval of 140 GNC members, the following phrase has been added to Article 6: “Developing criteria for assuming sovereign positions shall not be deemed as prejudice to this Article,” what protects the Law in advance against appeal before the Constitutional Court. This has exposed GNC to a large wave of criticism since some consider its attempt to fortify laws that have not been enacted yet as the first step to impose opinion, while others deem it an indicator of the political forces’ confusion and fear that the law would be revoked even if enacted by the GNC.