The Constitution of the Great Socialist People’s Republic of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

Constitution of the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

The Green Charter

General People’s Congress

Resolution regarding the Declaration on the Establishment of the Authority of the People, and the executing decisions thereof

In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful

The Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

General People’s Congress

The Libyan Arab People, gathered in the General Forum of People’s Congresses, People’s Committees, and Trade Unions, Syndicates, and Professional Leagues (General People’s Congress) in its extraordinary session held in Cairo in the city of Sebha between 10 and 12 Rabi’ al-Awwal 1397 AH corresponding to 28 February and 2 March 1977 AD, in order to formulate the resolutions and recommendations of People’s Congresses regarding the declaration of the establishment of the authority of the people,

The General People’s Congress decided the following:

It declares the issuance of the Declaration of the Establishment of the Authority of the People.

Issued in the city of Sebha, Cairo on 12 Rabi’ al-Awwal 1397 AH

Corresponding to 2 March 1977 AD

In the name of God

Declaration on the Establishment of the Authority of the People

The Libyan Arab People, gathered in the General Forum of People’s Congresses, People’s Committees, and Trade Unions, Syndicates, and Professional Leagues (General People’s Congress), inspired by Communique No. 1 of the Revolution and by the historic speech of Zuwara, and guided by 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 resolutions and recommendations of the General People’s Congress in its first session held between 4 and 17 Muharram 1396 AH corresponding to 5-18 January 1976 AD, and its second session held between 21 Dhu al-Qaada and 2 Dhu al-Hijja 1396 AH corresponding to 13-24 November 1976 AD;

Believing in the message of the Great 1 September 1969 Revolution ignited by the revolutionary teacher, Muammar Gaddafi, leader of the Free Unionist Officers Movement that crowned the efforts of fathers and ancestors to institute the direct democratic system, and viewing the same as the final and decisive solution to the problem of democracy;

Incarnating the people’s rule over the land of the Great 1 September Revolution in recognition of the authority of the people, the sole source of authority; expressing their adherence to freedom and willingness to defend it on their land and anywhere in the world and to protect those who are persecuted on its account; expressing their adherence to socialism in order to achieve ownership by the people and their commitment to achieving comprehensive Arab unity; declaring their commitment to spiritual values to guarantee ethics, humane conduct and morals; affirming the progress of the Revolution led by the revolutionary thinker and the teacher-leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi towards complete authority of the people and the consolidation of a society where the people leads and is the master who holds the reins of power, wealth, and arms, a society of freedom, and towards the final eradication of all forms of traditional governance of one man, family, tribe, sect, class, deputation, party, or group of parties; and announcing their readiness to totally suppress any attempt against the authority of the people.

The Libyan Arab people, having regained, through the Revolution, control over their affairs and possession of the capabilities of their present and future days, relying on God and adhering to his Holy Book as an eternal source of guidance and legislation for society, announces through this Declaration the establishment of the authority of the people and announces to the people of the earth the advent of the Jamahiriyan era.

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

SECOND: The Holy Quran shall be the Sharia of society in the Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.

THIRD: The direct authority of the people shall be the basis of the political system in the Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. Authority is vested in the people, who alone shall have such authority. The people shall exercise their authority through People’s Congresses, People’s Committees, syndicates, trade unions and professional leagues, and the General People’s Congress. Their work procedures shall be determined by law.

FOURTH: National defence is the responsibility of every male and female citizen. The people shall be trained and armed through general military training, and the law shall regulate the method of setting up military frameworks and general military training.

THE GREAT GREEN CHARTER OF HUMAN RIGHTS

OF THE JAMAHIRIYAN ERA

In the name of God,

The Libyan Arab People, gathered in Basic People’s Congresses,

Inspired by Communique No. 1 of the Great 1 September 1969 Revolution, which was the final triumph of freedom on their land,

Guided by the principles from the historic Declaration on the Establishment of the Authority of the People on 2 March 1977, an event which opened up a whole new era, thus crowning the unremitting centuries-long struggle of Mankind and confirming its unceasing aspiration for freedom and emancipation,

Led by the Green Book, Humanity’s guide towards ultimate deliverance from the rule of one man, class, sect, tribe or party, in order to establish a society where all human beings will be free and equal in the exercise of power and in the possession of wealth and arms,

In response to the constant encouragement of the internationalist revolutionary, Muammar Gaddafi, founder of the Jamahiriyan Era, who incarnates through his thought and suffering the aspirations of the oppressed and the persecuted throughout the world, and opens the way for peoples to achieve change through popular revolution, the essential instrument to institute Jamahiriyan society,

Convinced that the rights of Man, God’s creation on Earth, cannot be a gift from anyone, nor can they exist within societies where exploitation and tyranny are practiced, nor can they be fulfilled other than through the victory of popular masses over their oppressors and through the disappearance of regimes which annihilate freedom, where popular masses institute their power and consolidate their existence on Earth, once the sovereignty of the People is exercised through People’s Congresses, as human rights cannot be guaranteed in a world where rulers and subjects, masters and slaves, rich and poor co-exist,

Aware that human misery cannot disappear nor human rights assert themselves other than through the establishment of a Jamahiriyan world where the peoples will hold the power, the wealth and the arms; a world from where governments and armies will have vanished; where communities, peoples and nations will be relieved of any danger of war; a world of peace, respect, harmony and cooperation.

On the basis of the foregoing and of the decisions made by the national and international People’s Congresses, held on this land and abroad, the Libyan Arab People, guided by the famous motto of Umar Ibn al-Khattab, “Since when may anyone enslave men whom their mothers have borne into this world as free men?”, words which were the first declaration of freedom and of human rights in the history of Mankind, hereby resolve to promulgate the Great Green Charter of Human Rights of the Jamahiriyan Era, which sets forth the following principles:

1. Democracy means popular power, not popular expression. The members of Jamahiriyan society proclaim that power belongs to the People. The People exercise this power directly, without intermediary or representative, within the People’s Congresses and the People’s Committees.
2. The members of Jamahiriyan society hold sacred the freedom of the individual and protect it. They prohibit restriction thereof. Imprisonment may be used only against an individual whose freedom represents a danger or source of corruption for others. The goal of any punishment is the reform of society, and protection of human values and society’s interests. Jamahiriyan society prohibits any punishment that would violate the dignity and integrity of a human being, such as forced labour or long-term imprisonment. Jamahiriyan society prohibits any and all injuries, whether physical or moral, against the person of a prisoner. It condemns any and all speculations and experiments to which he might be subjected. A punishment is personal and is to be suffered by an individual as a consequence of a criminal act upon which it is necessarily contingent. The punishment and its consequences cannot be extended to the parents and relatives of the criminal. “Each soul earneth only on its own account, not doth any laden bear another’s load.”
3. The members of Jamahiriyan society are, in times of peace, free to travel wherever they please and free to choose their place of residence.
4. Citizenship in Jamahiriyan society is a sacred right. No one may be deprived or dispossessed thereof.
5. The members of Jamahiriyan society prohibit clandestine action, resorting to force in all its forms, violence, terrorism and sabotage. Such acts constitute a betrayal of the values and principles of Jamahiriyan society, which affirms the sovereignty of the individual within the Basic People’s Congresses, thereby guaranteeing them the right to publicly express their opinion. They reject violence as a means intended to impose ideas and opinions. They adopt democratic dialogue as the one and only method of debate, and consider any hostile act against Jamahiriyan society by any means and connected with any foreign entity as high treason towards it.
6. The members of Jamahiriyan society are free to form associations, trade unions and leagues in order to defend their professional interests.
7. The members of Jamahiriyan society are free in their private acts and their personal relationships. No one may interfere with their privacy, save in the event of a complaint from one of the parties involved, or if the act or the relationship are harmful or prejudicial to society or are conflicting with its values.
8. The members of Jamahiriyan society hold sacred the life of a human being and protect it. The goal of Jamahiriyan society is to abolish capital punishment. In view of this, the death penalty should only be imposed on an individual whose very existence constitutes a danger or is deleterious to society. The condemned man may request a mitigation of his sentence or he may, in compensation for his life, offer blood money. The court may commute the sentence if this decision is neither prejudicial to society nor conflicting with human values. The members of Jamahiriyan society condemn the enforcement of capital punishment through loathsome methods, such as the electric chair, toxic gases, or injections.
9. Jamahiriyan society guarantees the right to plead before a court and the independence of the judiciary. Each of its members is entitled to a fair and honest trial.

10. The members of Jamahiriyan society base their judgments on a sacred law: religion or custom, whose provisions are lasting, unalterable, and cannot be substituted.

They proclaim that religion is absolute faith in the Divinity, and that it is a sacred spiritual value. Religion is personal to each one and common to all. It is a direct relationship with the Creator, without any intermediary. Jamahiriyan society prohibits the monopoly of religion as well as its exploitation for purposes of subversion, bigotry, sectarianism, partisan spirit and fratricidal wars.

11. Jamahiriyan society guarantees the right to work. This is a right and a duty for everyone, within the limits of his own personal efforts or in association with others. Each member of society is entitled to practise the profession of his choice. Jamahiriyan society is a society of partners and not of wage-earners. Property, which is the fruit of much labour, is sacred and protected; it may not be infringed upon save in the public interest and in return for fair compensation. Jamahiriyan society is free from wage-earning slavery and asserts the right of each worker to his labour and his production. Only he who produces, may consume.

12. The members of Jamahiriyan society are liberated from any feudalism. Land is the property of no one. Each person has the right to farm it and to derive profit from it through labour, agriculture or grazing during his lifetime and the lives of his heirs, within the limits of his own efforts and the fulfilment of his needs.

13. The members of Jamahiriyan society are free from any rental fees. A house belongs to the one who dwells in it. It enjoys a sacred immunity, provided the rights of neighbours are respected, both the rights of “your close or faraway neighbours.” The dwelling may not be used for purposes harmful to society.

14. Jamahiriyan society is one of solidarity. It ensures to every one of its members a dignified and prosperous life, it provides them with high-quality health care so that it may become a healthy society. And it guarantees the protection and care of childhood, motherhood, old age and of the handicapped. Jamahiriyan society is the guardian of all those without protection.

15. Instruction and knowledge are natural rights of each and every one. Any individual is entitled to select the instruction and the knowledge that suits him, without restrictions or compulsion.

16. Jamahiriyan society is a society of the Good and of noble values. It holds human ideals and principles sacred. Its ultimate purpose is a humanitarian society from which aggression, war, exploitation and terrorism will be banished, and where no difference will subsist between the powerful and the powerless. All nations, all peoples and all national communities have the right to live freely, according to their choices and the principles of self-determination. They have the right to establish their national entity. Minorities have the right to safeguard their own essence and heritage. The legitimate aspirations of those minorities may not be repressed. Minorities may not be forcefully assimilated within one or several nations.

17. The members of Jamahiriyan society affirm the right of everyone to share in the benefits, advantages, values and principles which are the fruit of harmony, cohesion, unity, affinity and affection among the family, the tribe, the nation and mankind. To this end, the members of Jamahiriyan society are working to establish the natural national entity of their nation and support all those who are fighting to achieve this same goal. They reject any and all segregation between human beings, whether based on colour, race, creed or culture.

18. The members of Jamahiriyan society protect freedom. They defend it throughout the world. They support the oppressed, and encourage all peoples to confront injustice, oppression, exploitation and colonialism. They encourage them to fight imperialism, racism and fascism, in accordance with the principle of the collective struggle of peoples against the enemies of freedom.

19. Jamahiriyan society is one of harmony and creativity. It guarantees everyone the right of thought, research and innovation. Jamahiriyan society is working towards the development of sciences, arts and humanities. It ensures their dissemination among the popular masses so as to prevent a monopoly on them.

20. The members of Jamahiriyan society affirm the sacred right of man to be born into a cohesive family where motherhood, fatherhood and brotherhood are offered to him. The development of a human being conforms to its own nature only if it is the fruit of natural maternity and nursing. A child must be raised by his mother.

21. The members of Jamahiriyan society, whether men or women, are equal in every human aspect. The discrepancy in rights between men and women is a flagrant injustice that nothing whatsoever can justify. They proclaim that marriage is an equitable association between two equal partners. No one may be coerced into a marriage contract or divorce except by mutual consent or after a fair court judgment. It is unjust to deprive children of their mother and the mother of her home.

22. The members of Jamahiriyan society consider servants to be modern-day slaves, human beings enslaved by their masters. No law governs their situation and no guaranties or protection are afforded them. They live at the mercy of their master, they are the victims of this tyranny. In order to survive, they are compelled by necessity to perform work that insults their dignity and their human feelings. In view of this, Jamahiriyan society prohibits the hiring of servants in homes. A house should be maintained by its owners.

23. The members of Jamahiriyan society are convinced that peace among nations can ensure them prosperity, abundance and harmony. They call for an end to the arms trade and manufacturing, for the arms industry constitutes a squandering of the wealth of societies, an increase of the individual tax burden, and the propagation of destruction and annihilation throughout the world.

24. The members of Jamahiriyan society call for the suppression of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, as well as of any other means of mass destruction. They call for the elimination of all existing stocks and for the preservation of mankind against the dangers represented by the waste from nuclear power plants.

25. The members of Jamahiriyan society pledge to protect their society as well as the political system based on the authority of the people. They further pledge to safeguard its values, principles and interests. They regard collective defence as the only means to preserve these. They consider that the defence of their society is the responsibility of each and every citizen, man and woman. No one can find a substitute in the face of death.

26. The members of Jamahiriyan society are committed to the bases laid out by this Charter. They shall not permit that it be violated and they shall refrain from committing any act conflicting with the principles and rights that it guarantees. Each member is entitled to plead his case before a court of law to request legal redress against any violation of the rights and liberties set forth by this Charter.

27. The members of Jamahiriyan society proudly offer to the world the Green Book, the guide and path towards emancipation and the achievement of freedom. They announce to the popular masses the advent of a new era from which corrupted regimes will be banished and all traces of tyranny and exploitation eradicated.

The General People’s Congress of the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

Executed in Baida, on Sunday 27 Shawwal 1397 FDP

Corresponding to 12 June 1988 AD