“There are some promising signs of a constitutional court in Libya, and many of the judges have demonstrated that they take the provisions of the criminal code seriously,” he said. “But a trial is only going to be as good as the prosecution is, and so far the government has demonstrated no will to provide [Saif al-Islam] with competent counsel to ensure that basic criminal procedures apply.”
Marieke Wierda is a senior human rights transitional justice officer at the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, which has made judicial reform a high priority for the transition. She says that Libya does have a functional justice system and that many of the problems that existed under the former regime have been resolved.
“Since the fall of the [Gaddafi] regime, a new Supreme Judicial Council was formed, which is taking steps to restructure the judiciary to bolster its independence,” she said. “A review of Libya’s criminal code is currently under way. The drafting of a new constitution brings an additional opportunity to enhance human rights protections, particularly for vulnerable groups.”
Wierda noted that the new justice minister, Salah Marghani, is “a well-respected human rights activist”, adding that “since his appointment, he has already initiated several legislative proposals and practical measures to strengthen human rights protections”.
However, she said, “Many challenges remain and it is urgent to ensure a better security environment for the courts to function, and to process thousands of cases of conflict-related detention.”
LACK OF CLARITY IN SAIF AL-ISLAM CASE
Whilst the judicial reform is a far broader issue than the two ICC cases, it is the fate of Saif al-Islam and Senussi that has seized most attention.
A decision from the ICC’s pre-trial chamber on whether Libya should be given the opportunity to try the two men is expected soon, although there is no deadline.