The Moral Legitimacy of Irregular Migration Laws: A Philosophical Review of Migration and Asylum Legislation in Libya

A Critical Jurisprudential Study of Libyan law

Abstract

This study provides a philosophical and legal analysis of the criminalization of migration within Libyan legislation, specifically focusing on Law No. (19) of 2010 and Law No. (24) of 2023. The research proceeds from the hypothesis that the Libyan punitive approach does not primarily aim to achieve justice; rather, it serves as an authoritarian tool for bodily discipline and the management of human flows.
The study adopts a comparative critical-analytical methodology, drawing its tools from the concepts of the philosophy of law and Libyan criminal law. It utilizes the resolution of conflicts between national and international norms as an entry point to describe the rules governing migration. Furthermore, the study measures the legitimacy of the security-based approach in confronting irregular migration.
The findings reveal that criminalization in Libya produces a “state of permanent exception” in which the fundamental rights of migrants are suspended in the name of sovereignty. It also demonstrates that Libyan penal texts suffer from philosophical fragility in constructing the concept of “willful responsibility.” The study concludes by proposing an alternative legislative vision that advocates for the decriminalization of refugees and displaced persons, replacing the current framework with a rights-based system founded on justice and responsibility toward the “Other.”