Law No. (86) of 1970 on establishing the General Libyan Maritime Transport Corporation

Law No. (86) of 1970 AD

on Establishing the General National Maritime Transport Corporation

 

In the Name of the People,

The Revolutionary Command Council,

● Upon review of the Constitutional Declaration issued on 2 Shawwal 1389 AH,

corresponding to 11 December 1970 AD;

● Petroleum Law No. (25) of 1955 AD, as amended; and

● Law No. (24) of 1970 on the Libyan National Oil Corporation, and

● Based on the submission of the Minister of Transport and the approval of the Council of Ministers,

 

Issued the following law

 

Article (1)

A general corporation called the “General National Maritime Transport Corporation” shall be established and shall have an independent legal personality under the Minister of Transport.

 

 Article (2)

The headquarters of the Corporation shall be in the city of Tripoli, and it may, by a decree of the Council of Ministers based on the proposal of the Minister of Transport, transfer these headquarters to another city.

It may also, by a decree of the Minister of Transport based on the proposal of the Board of Directors of the Corporation, establish branches in any place within the Republic or abroad.

 

Article (3)

Without prejudice to the provisions of the Petroleum Law No. 25 of 1955, as amended, and Law No. 24 of 1970 on the Establishment of the National Oil Corporation, the Corporation shall be competent to implement the State’s public policy in the field of maritime transport and shall operate within the limits of its activity to develop the national economy, and achieve the goals of the development plan. In particular, it shall:

a) Supervise and develop commercial maritime activity and related activities in a manner that achieves the public interest;

b) Prepare and implement projects related to maritime transport affairs that serve its purposes and contribute to raising its efficiency and development;

c) Lay down a policy for training employees and candidates to work on technical, financial and administrative matters in accordance with a regulation set by the Corporation’s board of directors and issued by a decree of the Council of Ministers;

d) Set the tariffs for services rendered to ships, goods and passengers within the scope of its jurisdiction;

e) Execute the maritime transport agreements concluded between the Libyan Arab Republic and other countries; and

f) Propose the organization of and supervise navigation rooms and ratify their decisions and recommendations in accordance with the law.

The Corporation shall exercise its activities through its departments, companies or establishments.

 

Article (4)

The Corporation may adopt various means necessary to achieve its objectives, and in particular:

a) Conduct all types of acts and business that would achieve the purpose for which it was established;

b) Establish joint stock companies by itself or with other partner(s) after obtaining approval of the Council of Ministers, provided that its shareholding in any company shall not be less than 51% of the capital;

c) Give loans to its affiliated companies and establishments or stand guarantee for the loans they take out;

d) Acquire shares of companies by subscribing to or purchasing them; and

e) Borrow from institutions, banks, etc. according to the conditions determined by the Council of Ministers.

 

Management of the Corporation

 

Article (5)

The Corporation shall be managed by the board of directors and the director general.

 

Article (6)

The Corporation’s board of directors shall be made up of:

1. Chairman of the board. Chairman

2. Deputy of the Ministry of Transport.

3. Director General of the Corporation.

4. Director General of the Libyan General Ports and Lights Authority.

5. Chairmen of the boards of the Corporation’s affiliates. Members

6. Three members representing the Ministries of Treasury, Economy and Oil.

7. The Corporation’s legal adviser.

The chairman and members shall be appointed and their remuneration shall be determined by means of a decree of the Council of Ministers based on the submission of the Minister of Transport. The appointment shall be for four years, which shall be renewable. The board shall select one of its members to take the place of the chairman in his absence or if he is impeded.

 

 

Article (7)

The Corporation’s board of directors shall be the authority competent to draw up the general policy of the Corporation and its affiliated companies and establishments within the scope of the State’s general policy and shall be competent to do the following:

a) Issue bylaws and decisions regulating the financial, administrative and technical affairs at the Corporation, as well as employee and labor affairs, without being bound by government rules;

b) Approve draft estimated budgets of the Corporation and its affiliated companies and establishments;

c) Develop plans and performance standards;

d) Supervise, control, coordinate and evaluate the performance of the Corporation’s business and its affiliated companies and establishments, without interfering in the executive operations of these companies and establishments.

e) Organize the relationship among the Corporation’s affiliated companies and establishments and resolve any disputes that may arise among them;

f) Review the periodic reports submitted on the work progress in the various aspects of the business; and

g) Review all issues that the Minister of Transport and the chairman of the board wish to refer to him in relation to the Corporation’s activity.

The board of directors may form one or more committees from amongst its members to which it may assign some of its competencies. It may also assign some of its competencies to the chairman of the board of directors, the director general, or one of its members and it may authorize any of them to carry out a specific task.

 

Article (8)

The board of directors shall convene at least once monthly upon invitation of its chairman. The meeting of the board shall only be valid when attended by the majority of its members including the chairman or his representative.

Resolutions shall be issued by majority votes of the members present. In case of a tie, the chairman’s side shall prevail.

The Minister of Transport may invite the board to convene at any time, and he shall be entitled to attend its sessions. In such an instance, he shall chair the meeting.

The board may invite persons whose experience and knowledge are required, at the discretion of the board, with respect to the presented issues to attend its meetings. Such persons may not have the right to vote.

 

Article (9)

The resolutions of the board of directors shall only be effective upon being approved by the Minister of Transport.

The resolutions shall be reported to the Minister within ten days of the issuance date thereof for approval. The Minister shall have the right to object thereto within two weeks from the date of his being informed thereof. In case of no objection within this period, they shall be deemed to have come into force. In case of objection, this shall be presented once again to the board of directors. If the board maintains its resolution, the Minister shall submit the matter to the Council of Ministers for resolving the same.

The resolutions referred to in Clauses a and b of Article (7), and the resolutions in respect of drawing up the Corporation’s general policy, establishing companies or acquiring shares therein, or giving or standing guarantee for loans to affiliated companies and establishments shall come into force only upon being approved by the Council of Ministers.

 

Article (10)

The chairman of the board of directors shall chair the meetings of the board and supervise the activities of the Corporation pursuant to the law. The chairman may delegate certain responsibilities thereof to the director general. The chairman shall also develop the work system at the Corporation, strengthen its organs, and supervise, follow up and monitor the activities of its affiliated companies and establishments.

The chairman of the board of directors shall represent the Corporation in its relationships with third parties and before the courts, and he shall be responsible before the board of directors for the implementation of the general policy laid down to achieve the Corporation’s purposes.

 

Article (11)

The Corporation’s director general shall be appointed and his remuneration shall be determined by means of a decree of the Council of Ministers based on the nomination of the Minister of Transport. The director general of the Corporation shall, under the supervision of the chairman of the board of directors, manage the general administration and exercise the competencies granted to him in this law and the regulations issued hereunder, particularly:

1. Execute the board resolutions after being approved;

2. Prepare draft budget, final account and profit and loss account;

3. Prepare the matters to be presented to the board of directors;

4. Prepare the details, studies and statistics necessary to decide on issues submitted to the board of directors; and

5. Supervise the employees and workers at the Corporation in accordance with determinations of the bylaws.

 

Article (12)

The chairman, members of the board or board members of affiliated companies and establishments may not conclude a contract for sharing, contracting, supply, sale or lease with it or with the affiliated units, either personally or through others, or purchase a right disputed with these entities. They may also not attend the sessions of the board of directors or any of the committees formed by the board if he or any of his relatives or in-laws to the fourth degree has an interest in the matter submitted to the board or committee. Any action to the contrary shall be void. A member shall also be prohibited from instituting a claim against the Corporation in his capacity as an expert or attorney. Any member who violates this shall lose his membership by means of a decree of the Council of Ministers based on the submission of the Minister of Transport.

 

Article (13)

The chairman of the board of directors shall submit a quarterly report on the Corporation’s activities to the Minister of Transport, and the board of directors shall submit a report on the Corporation’s activities to the Minister of Transport at the end of the financial year. The Minister of Transport shall raise this report to the Council of Ministers together with his comments thereon.

 

The Corporation’s Financial System

 

Article (14)

The Corporation’s financial year shall commence and end with the financial year of the State. The first year shall commence from the date of enforcement of this Decree and shall end at the end of the financial year.

 

Article (15)

The Corporation’s funds shall consist of:

1. The revenue arising from the provided works and services;

2. The profits collected by the same from the companies in which it is a founder or shareholder;

3. The appropriations allocated to the same by the State;

4. Gifts and bequests accepted by the board of directors; and

5. Contracted loans.

All stocks and shares currently owned by the State in the various projects that fall within its field of activity and jurisdiction shall devolve to the Corporation.

 

Article (16)

The Corporation shall have a separate budget prepared in the style of commercial budgets at least three months prior to the commencement of the financial year. The first budget shall be prepared within three month of the date this law comes into effect.

If there is a delay in the approval of the budget, the previous budget shall apply in relation to 1 to 12 of each month until issuance of the approval.

The final account and the profit and loss account of the Corporation shall be prepared within three months from the date of the end of the financial year.

 

Article (17)

Upon approval of the budget, final account and profit and loss account by the board of directors, they shall be submitted to the Minister of Transport for approval and submission to the Council of Ministers for ratification. The account shall be accompanied by a copy of the report on the Corporation’s activity and financial position for the ended year, the report of the Audit Bureau, and the auditor’s report.

 

Article (18)

The Corporation shall open a bank account in the Bank of Libya in which its funds and the appropriations allocated to it in the public budget shall be deposited.

The State shall be responsible for making up any deficit that may occur in the Corporation’s budget during the financial year, and the surplus of this budget shall be returned to the public treasury.

 

Article (19)

Without prejudice to the competence of the Audit Bureau, the board of directors may appoint one or more auditors, who meet the requirements for accountants and auditors. The auditor(s) shall be appointed and whose remuneration shall be determined annually by a decree of the Minister of Transport based on the proposal of the board of directors.

The auditor shall submit an annual report on the result of his audit to the board of directors and the Minister of Transport no later than four months after the date of the end of the financial year. 

The Corporation shall place at the disposal of the auditor all the ledgers, documents and statements necessary to enable him to carry out his functions.

The auditor shall verify that the budget, final account and profit and loss account have been duly prepared and that they are truly representative of the Corporation’s actual financial position. The auditor shall notify the chairman of the board of directors in writing of any deficiency, error or violation that warrants an objection thereto. If the director general does not fulfil the deficiency, rectify the error or remove the causes of the violation, as the case may be, the auditor shall state this in the annual report.

If there are serious errors that expose the Corporation to certain loss, the auditor shall inform the chairman of the board of directors thereof, and the chairman shall invite the board of directors to convene and present the matter to the same.

 

General Provisions

 

Article (20)

Until the bylaws regulating their affairs are issued, the resolutions issued by the board of directors in this regard shall be applicable to the Corporation’s employees and workers.

 

Article (21)

Funds due to the Corporation shall be collected through administrative attachment.

 

Article (22)

The Corporation shall be exempted from all taxes and fees for ten years.

 

Article (23)

Any provision contrary to the provisions of this law shall be repealed.

 

Article (24)

The Minister of Transport shall implement this decree, which shall come into force as of the date of being published in the Official Gazette.

 

The Revolutionary Command Council

 Dr. Omar Al Adi Ramadan                          Colonel / Muammar Gaddafi

Minister of Transport                                   Prime Minister

Issued on 25 Jumada al-Ula 1390 AH

Corresponding to 28 July 1970 AD