Resolution of 1977 on the Establishment of the Authority of the People and its Enabling Decisions

General People’s Congress Decree
declaration of the establishment of the authority of the people
and its enabling decisions

Preface

In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate

The Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

The General People’s Congress

The Libyan Arab people, assembled in the General Forum of People’s Congresses, People’s Committees, syndicates, professional associations, and unions (the General People’s Congress), in its extraordinary session held in the city of Sabha from 10-12 Rabi’ al-Awwal 1397 AH, corresponding to 28 February and 2 March 1977 AD, to develop the decisions and recommendations of people’s congresses on declaring the establishment of the authority of the people,

has issued the following decree:

The Declaration of the Establishment of the Authority of the People is hereby issued.

Issued in the city of Sabha on 12 Rabi’ al-Awwal 1397 AH

Corresponding to 2 March 1977 AD

In the name of God,

The Declaration of the Establishment of the Authority of the People,

The Libyan people,

Assembled in the General Forum of People’s Congresses, People’s Committees, syndicates, professional associations and unions (the General People’s Congress), based on the Communique No. 1 of the Revolution and Gaddafi’s historic speech in Zuwarah, and guided by the teachings of the Green Book;

Upon review of:

• The recommendations of the People’s Congresses;
• The Constitutional Declaration issued on 2 Shawwal 1389 AH, corresponding to 11 December 1969 AD;
• The decisions and recommendations of the General People’s Congress in its first session held from 4-7 Muharram 1396 AH, corresponding to 18 January 1976 AD;
• The decisions and recommendations made during the second session of the General People’s Congress held from 21 Dhu al-Qaada to 2 Dhu al-Hijja 1396 AH, corresponding to 13-24 November 1976 AD;

Trusting in the values of the Great 1 September Revolution that was sparked by the great revolutionary thinker and leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, who was head of the Free Officers Movement, and which was the culmination of the efforts of our ancestors to establish direct democratic rule as a decisive and final solution to the problem of democracy,

Incarnating the rule of the people on the land of the Great 1 September Revolution, and declaring the sole authority of the people,

Hereby declares its commitment to achieve freedom and its willingness to defend it in Libya and anywhere else in the world, to protect those persecuted in their pursuit of freedom, to establish socialism to protect the property of the people, to achieve comprehensive Arab unification, and to cherish spiritual values to ensure good human ethics, behaviour and morals. The General People’s Congress also ensures that the Revolution will continue under the revolutionary thinker and leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, that it will give the people full authority and that it will create a sovereign and free society in which the people rule and have absolute control over power, wealth and weaponry, in such a way as to permanently impede any forms of traditional regimes controlled by individuals, families, tribes, sects, classes, legislators, parties, or groups of parties. The General People’s Congress also declares its willingness to vanquish any attempt to obstruct the authority of the people.

Having regained power and the capabilities of the present and the future following the Revolution, the Libyan Arab People, by the help of God and His Holy Book as a source of guidance and Sharia for society, hereby declares the authority of the people and announces to all the peoples of the world that the dawn of the Jamahiriyan era has come.

First: The official name of Libya shall be the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.

Second: The Holy Quran shall be the law of society in the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.

Third: The political system in the Jamahiriya shall be based on the direct and sole power of the people, which shall exercise this power through People’s Congresses, People’s Committees, syndicates, professional associations and unions, whose system of work shall be determined by the law.

Fourth: Every citizen, whether male or female, shall assume the responsibility of defending the nation, as the people shall be trained and armed, and the law shall regulate how military cadres shall be formed and how general military training shall be conducted.

The General People’s Congress – Libya