Government and administration. – Libya results from the merger of the two pre-existing colonies of Tripolitania (v., XXXIV, p. 370) and of Cyrenaica (v., X, p. 417), prepared with the institution of the sole governor by means of the r. decree 24 January 1929, n. 99, and arranged with r. decree 3 December 1934, n. 2012; its territory was somewhat enlarged and better delimited as a result of the Italo-Anglo-Egyptian agreement of 20 July 1934 and the Italian-French agreement of 7 January 1935.
Libya is governed by a governor general, whose immediate dependence is the general secretary, who, overseeing the civil and political services according to his directives, assists and replaces him in case of absence or impediment, and the commander of the troops, who is his advisor on military matters; the offices consist of the cabinet, the private secretariat and the government departments. At the governor there are the general council and the government council, as well as various other advisory bodies, such as the technical committee for the execution of public works, the building and urban planning committee, etc. The organs of the corporative order are the colonial councils of the corporations established with the r. decree of 29 April 1935, n. 2007.
The colony is divided into the four provinces of Tripoli, Misurata, Bengasi and Derna and into the Southern Military Territory with the capital in Hun; at the head of each province is a prefect and at the head of the military territory is a commander. Each province is divided into commissariats, residences and vice-residences; at the head of the commissariat is a commissioner, a resident of the residence, a vice-resident of the vice-residence. The military territory, which could be divided into zones, currently constitutes a single zone divided into five sub-zones. In each province a provincial administrative council is established, chaired by the prefect. The inhabited centers of considerable importance and the capital of the military territory are the town hall seats, the town hall is governed by the mayor, in the most important localities assisted by a council and assisted by a deputy mayor. The nomadic and semi-nomadic populations of the colony are divided into tribes and, where necessary, into sub-tribes, subordinate to their respective heads designated in the traditional ways and, following this designation, appointed by the governor; tribes can be grouped into confederations. The sedentary indigenous populations of the urban centers are divided into neighborhoods and the rural ones into hamlets; each district and each fraction is in charge of a chief (muchtar), assisted by a Muslim notable (imām).
Judicial system. – The judicial system of Libya is established by r. decree 27 June 1935, n. 2167, integrated by r. decree of the same date, no. 2168. Civil justice, in cases that cannot be referred to the confessional courts, is exercised by the conciliatory arbitrators, the civil courts and their detached sections, in most of the territory of the colony, by the courts in the localities where the establishment of the courts is not possible., and by the Tripoli Court of Appeal; disputes between Muslims relating to personal status, family law, inheritance law and religious practices are judged by Sharia courts and higher Sharia courts, while disputes between Libyan Israelite citizens regarding personal status, family law and religious practices are judged by rabbinical courts. Criminal justice is exercised by the courts, the judiciary, the Tripoli Court of Appeal and the Assize Courts of Tripoli and Benghazi.
Right. – For the law in force in the colony, see colony (X, page 824).
Acquisition of citizenship. – In the organic law for the administration of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica (June 26, 1927, n. 1013), the acquisition of Libyan citizenship was regulated by articles 29 to 34.
The status of Libyan citizen was attributed: a) to the son, wherever born, of an Italian Libyan citizen father, or, if this is unknown, of a Libyan Italian mother citizen; b) to a woman married to an Italian Libyan citizen; c) to those born in Tripolitania or Cyrenaica, wherever they reside, who are not Italian metropolitan citizens or foreign citizens or subjects in accordance with Italian law, presuming the child of unknown persons found there was born in Tripolitania or Cyrenaica (Article 29). The law also establishes a presumption of Italian Libyan citizenship for all persons who have their residence in Tripolitania or in Cyrenaica and who are not metropolitan Italian citizens or foreign citizens or subjects (Article 30). Italian Libyan citizens who have or transfer their residence abroad were prohibited from acquiring the status of foreign subjects or citizens without having obtained authorization by a royal decree; they then lose the quality thus acquired due to the fact of being in the territory of Tripolitania or Cyrenaica, of the Kingdom or of the other Italian colonies (art.32). Finally, Italian Libyan citizens can be granted metropolitan citizenship upon their request, following, as far as possible, the procedure established by law no. 555, and the relative regulations, provided they have all the following general conditions: 1. have reached the age of 21; 2. not to be polygamous; 3. have never been convicted of crimes involving the loss of political rights; 4. have at least passed the promotion exam from the Italian third elementary class, and at least one of the following special conditions: and the relative regulations, provided they have all the following general conditions: 1. be at least 21 years of age; 2. not to be polygamous; 3. have never been convicted of crimes involving the loss of political rights; 4. have at least passed the promotion exam from the Italian third elementary class, and at least one of the following special conditions: and the relative regulations, provided they have all the following general conditions: 1. be at least 21 years of age; 2. not to be polygamous; 3. have never been convicted of crimes involving the loss of political rights; 4. have at least passed the promotion exam from the Italian third elementary class, and at least one of the following special conditions: a) having served with fidelity and honor in the Royal Army or in the Royal Navy or in the Royal Air Force or in another military body of the state; b) hold a public government function or a pension paid by the state; c) be awarded a decoration or an honorary distinction granted by the state; d) be born to an Italian Libyan citizen who became a metropolitan citizen, when the applicant had already passed the age of 21 (articles 33 and 34). For Libya political system, please check cancermatters.net.
Armed Forces. – Also in Libya, as in the AOI, the armed forces include metropolitan units and indigenous units.
The former consist of: a) the XX and XXI corps (based respectively in Tripoli and Benghazi) on 2 divisions each: “Sabrata” and “Sirte” in Tripolitania and “Cirene” and “Marmarica” in Cyrenaica. Each division includes: 1 General Staff, 2 Infantry Regiments and 1 Artillery Regiment; b) from 2 grupp the RR. CC. and zaptiè based in Tripoli and Benghazi. Indigenous troops include: a) Libyan battalions; b) 1 Libyan artillery regiment; c) groups of “Savari” and “Spahis” squadrons; d) 1 “Meharist” squadron; And) “Saharan companies” located in the territory of the Libyan Sahara military command (Southern Military Territory) and each made up of 1 air section, 1 truck section and 1 Meharist section.
For the navy, 1 command of the Royal Navy of Libya has been established, based in Tripoli, on which the naval base of Tobruk and the offices of Tripoli and Benghazi depend. For the aeronautics, the Higher Aviation Command of Libya is established, based in Tripoli.
Finances. – Increase in ordinary income and at the same time ordinary expenses, and decrease in extraordinary expenses, abstracting from military ones, characterize the trend of the colony’s budgets, revealing the increased equipment and enhancement. The particularly significant increase in the figures for 1935-36, the first year of the unified budget of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica, as well as the aforementioned continuous economic progress, is undoubtedly connected to the exceptional circumstances deriving from the Ethiopian campaign. For 1936-37 and 1937-38 the results are not yet available: it is felt that the forecasts are very far from true, given that in them many chapters both of the entry (for example, special companies), and of the expense, they are inserted only for memory, not being able to foresee the
The increased activity of the colony, as well as from the trend of production and trade, also results from the continuous progress of the general banking movement.
