Libya: Breaking: Potential Illegitimacy of Farhat Bengadara’s appointment as NOC Chairman
Published: 19/Dec/2023
Source: Libya Herald
by Sami Zaptia
In an explosive development, the expanding controversy over the role of Farhat Omar Bengdara as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Oil Corporation has now moved from the media arena to a formal judicial setting.
Yesterday (18 December) a first hearing was held before the Third Circuit of Tripoli’s Administrative Court of Appeal in a lawsuit that challenges certain actions taken by Bengdara in his capacity as NOC Chairman on the grounds that he is ineligible to hold public office in Libya because he has been a dual citizen of the UAE since 2011.
Beyond its specific facts, this case raises several far-reaching legal questions.
Two laws prohibit non-Libyan citizens from holding any public office
First, the lawsuit argues that Bengdara’s appointment as Chairman of the Board of Directors of NOC by the Council of Ministers in 2022 was illegitimate under the Libyan Nationality Law, which prohibits dual citizenship in general, and the Libyan Labor Relations Law, which prohibits non-Libyan citizens from holding any public office.
Precedent of Ali Tarhouni?
Although it is hard to predict the outcome of this challenge, it should be noted that, in a similar case in 2016, the Tripoli Court of Appeal ruled that Ali Tarhouni was ineligible to serve as Chairman of the Libyan Constitution Drafting Commission because he held dual citizenship with the United States.
Read further: https://libyaherald.com/2023/12/breaking-potential-illegitimacy-of-farhat-bengadaras-appointment-as-noc-chairman/