Law No. (2) of 2014 on adopting provisions on prohibiting weapons, ammunitions and explosives

Law No. (2) of 2014

on adopting some provisions on prohibiting

weapons, ammunition, and explosives

The General National Congress:

Upon review of:

• The interim Constitutional Declaration issued on 3 August 2011 and its amendments;
• The bylaws of the General National Congress;
• The Penal Code and the supplementary laws thereof;
• The Code of Criminal Procedures and the amendments thereof;
• The Weapons, Ammunition, and Explosives Law issued on 13 July 1967;
• Law No. (7) of 1981 on the possession of weapons, ammunition, and explosives;
• Law No. (37) of 1991 issuing the Military Penal Code;
• Law No. (29) of 1994 on hunting weapons and their ammunition;
• And based on the conclusions of the General National Congress in its 149^th ordinary meeting held on Sunday 12 Safar 1435 AH, corresponding to 15 December 2013 AD.

issued the following law:

Article (1)

In the application of the provisions of this law, weapons and explosives shall refer to the following:

1. Heavy weapons, as listed in Table (1).
2. Medium weapons, as listed in Table (2).
3. Light weapons, as listed in Table (3).
4. Explosives, which are the substances listed in Table (4).

Article (2)

Any person or group of persons of non-licensees who move, transfer, or circulate inside towns and villages or on public roads in any military vehicle or vehicle with a military character, whether armed or civilian carrying weapons, shall be punished by imprisonment for no less than three years.

Any person who uses weapons of any kind to besiege the headquarters of a public site of whatever nature, including the headquarters of public companies, factories, oil fields and ports, and the like, or to attack their employees, shall be punished by imprisonment for no less than ten years. In the event of a siege, infiltration, transfer, circulation, or attack, the army and police personnel may use force to prevent them.

Article (3)

Whoever possesses, receives, brings, exports, transfers, or delivers by himself or through mediation a heavy weapon for the purpose of trade or has already traded in such shall be punished with imprisonment and with a fine of no more than twenty thousand LYD.

If the weapon is a medium weapon or a substance considered an explosive, the person concerned shall be punished with imprisonment for no more than ten years and with a fine of no more than ten thousand LYD and no less than five thousand LYD. If the weapon is an unlicensed light weapon, the person concerned shall be punished with imprisonment for no more than five years and with a fine of no more than five thousand LYD and no less than two thousand five hundred LYD.

Article (4)

Whoever receives or obtains a heavy weapon for purposes other than trade shall be punished with imprisonment for no more than ten years. If the weapon is a medium weapon or a substance considered an explosive or unlicensed light weapon, the person concerned shall be punished with imprisonment.

Article (5)

Whoever possesses, receives, imports, or exports ammunition for heavy weapon for the purpose of trade or has already traded in such shall be punished with imprisonment for no less than seven years. If the ammunition is for medium weapons, the person concerned shall be punished with imprisonment for no less than five years. If the ammunition is for light weapons, the person concerned shall be punished with imprisonment for no less than two years.

Article (6)

Whoever receives or obtains ammunition for heavy weapons for purposes other than trade shall be punished with imprisonment for no less than five years. If the ammunition is for medium weapons, the person concerned shall be punished with imprisonment. If the ammunition is for unlicensed light weapons, the person concerned shall be punished with detention.

Article (7)

The punishment shall be increased by no more than one-third for carrying weapons in public places, and shall be increased by no more than two-thirds in the event one of the acts set forth in this law is perpetrated in order to disturb public order, national unity, or social peace, is used in order to impose ideas or demands of any type , was obtained from any foreign party, or in the event the possession or receipt is in the framework of belonging to a tribal, regional, party, and intellectual organization, whether local or foreign.

Article (8)

Whoever hands over the weapons or ammunition in his possession to any police station, security directorate, Public Prosecution, or national army units within 90 days from the date this law enters into force shall be exempt from punishment.

Following the administrative process, a financial compensation shall be disbursed to whomever hands over the weapons or ammunition to the competent authorities through controls determined by the Minister of Interior.

Whoever possesses or receives light weapons and submits a request to obtain a license within the deadline set forth in the previous article shall also be exempt from punishment.

Article (9)

If it is proved that a local official in whose jurisdiction weapons and ammunition were not handed over knew of such weapons and did not report them, he shall be punished with a fine of no more than 5,000 LYD and no less than 2,500 LYD. The penalty shall be multiplied for each crime of which he was aware.

Article (10)

After the deadline stipulated in this the law, whoever informs the competent authorities of the crime before the authorities discover it shall be exempt from punishment.

The imprisonment sentence shall be replaced with life imprisonment and the rest of the punishments decreased to half in the event he informs the competent authorities after they learn of the crime but the notification leads to uncovering essential information relating to the crime or its perpetrators.

Article (11)

The Court may order the publication of the summary judgment of conviction of any of the offenses set forth in this law in three newspapers at the convict’s expense.

Article (12)

Following the administrative process, a financial compensation shall be disbursed through controls determined by the Minister of Interior to whomever seizes weapons, participates in seizing them, reports on their existence, or guides to them.

Article (13)

The State shall import weapons, ammunition, and explosives of all kinds through its executive bodies alone.

Article (14)

Article (23) bis of the Weapons, Ammunition, and Explosives Law issued on 13 July 1967 shall be repealed.

Article (15)

The Ministry of Interior shall prepare periodic lists of the owners of heavy and medium weapons who refuse to hand them over to the competent authorities. The lists shall be updated and periodically published in the media, and they shall also be circulated to government agencies, since these individuals pose a threat to national security.

Article (16)

This Law shall enter into force starting from its date of publication in the Official Gazette.

The General National Congress –– Libya

Issued in Tripoli

On 18 Rabi’ al-Awwal 1435 AH

Corresponding to 19 January 2014 AD

Tables Attached to Law No. (2) of 2014

on adopting some provisions on prohibiting

weapons, ammunition, and fireworks

Table (1)

It includes heavy weapons, which are:

1. Guns and cannons of a calibre that exceeds 20 mm.
2. Rocket launchers and projectiles.

Table (2)

It includes medium weapons, which are:

1. Machine guns.
2. Machine guns of a calibre less than 20 mm.

Table (3)

It includes light firearms and other tools that by their nature are prepard to harm others, such as:

1. Cold weapons, which are:

Swords (except sport fencing swords) — knives — daggers — spears — knives with two or one side – spearheads — arrows and arrowheads – grill sticks — pointed or polished bars that can be fixed with the stick and pins — stick ending with a ball with thorns – metallic boxing tool.

2. Firearms without a gun barrel, and they are the firearms with a pressurised barrel from the inside.

3. Firearms with barrels:

a. Pistols of all kinds.

b. Firearms with a gun barrel of any kind.

Table (4)

It includes explosives, which are:

Gunpowder, nitroglycerin, dynamite, gun cotton, powder explosives, mercury fulminate and other metals, blasting gelatin, any substance that is potentially explosive, bombs, any device or tool in which there are explosive materials, and asphyxiating or blinding gases or gases that are harmful in any way.