After the Expiration of the HoR Mandate, Libya Has No Legally-Sovereign Government

Although I would  disagree with the headline, Missy Ryan has written a provocative and important article for the WashPost. The key take away is the Western countries have not 'reaffirmed the recognition status of the HoR' nor have they 'unrecognized the HoR' but for sure they have not accepted the extension of its mandate. The real issue is that according to the August 3, 2011 Temporary Constitutional Declaration Libya now lacks a sovereign government. But I have argued that that has been the case since November 6, 2014 anyway.

The failure of warring parties to support a U.N. peace proposal threatens a U.S-backed effort to stabilize Libya and pushes the country into uncharted territory.“As of today, neither of those governments can claim legal legitimacy — making Libya the largest piece of terra nullius, or vacuum of sovereignty, on earth,” said Jason Pack, a researcher of Libyan history at Cambridge University and president of Libya-Analysis.com.To read the whole article click here.