Fractured Justice, Daily Brief 2 June, 2025.

Libya’s story in recent years is one of political fragmentation and entrenched warlordism – with disastrous results for its people.

No single authority controls Libya. Two rival entities compete for territory and resources.

One is the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU), appointed in 2021 as an interim authority through a UN-brokered process. Together with affiliated armed groups and abusive security agencies, the GNU control most of western Libya. The Libyan Presidential Council is also based in Tripoli.

Their rival is the Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF), along with their affiliated security apparatuses and a civilian authority. It administers territory under the LAAF’s control, essentially eastern and southern Libya.

Impunity amid political stalemate resulted in rising repression and armed confrontations. In the middle of last month, for example, there was heavy fighting between armed groups and quasi-state forces in Tripoli. It resulted in civilian casualties and the destruction of homes and cars.

After the clashes, GNU authorities said they discovered 53 unidentified bodies in a hospital morgue and a previously unknown unmarked grave site, containing at least nine unidentified bodies of men and women. It remains unclear when and how they ended up there.

These grisly discoveries beg some key questions. Amid the confusion of rival authorities, how will any of these victims’ families seek justice? How will they be able to get to the bottom of what happened to their loved ones?

Libya’s justice sector reflects the country’s political fragmentation. Key judicial institutions, including the Ministry of Justice, the Supreme Judicial Council, the Supreme Court, and the Prosecutor General’s Office, are in deep conflict. A newly established Supreme Constitutional Court in Benghazi may compete with the Supreme Court in Tripoli.

The justice problem goes beyond that. Legislation is outdated and repressive. There’s a lack of fair trial rights and due process. Civilians can be tried in abusive military trials. Legal professionals, defendants, and witnesses face attacks, intimidation, and harassment. Authorities fail to offer them proper protection.

And – as mentioned in this newsletter a few weeks ago, when the Trump administration was talking about sending migrants and asylum seekers to Libya – conditions in detention and prisons range from inhumane to literally torturous.

Taken all together, achieving justice in Libya today appears elusive. The dysfunctional system seems practically designed to compound abuses and help perpetrators get away with their crimes.

The massive reform the justice sector needs could take years. The sooner it starts, the better.