Violations of the Right to Property in Libya and the Promise of Transitional Justice

Libya’s Law No. 4 of 1978, which authorised the confiscation of real estate from private owners and its redistribution to other needy citizens, reflected elements of a long debate at the international level about the human right to property. This article examines Law No. 4 against Libya’s obligations under international law and finds that it led to violations of the right to property for which redress still remains outstanding today. Noting also the extensive violations of property rights and displacement in Libya due to civil conflict since 2011, as well as previous ineffective efforts at transitional justice, the article argues for a new concerted attempt at a comprehensive property claims mechanism applying the Pinheiro Principles and complementary international instruments within a broad-ranging transitional justice process. More broadly, Libya’s experience lends weight to calls for encapsulating the right to real property in multilateral treaty form.