The Declaration of the Establishment of the People's Authority declares that direct popular authority is the basis for the political system in the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. The people exercise their authority through the people's committees, people's congresses, unions and professional associations, and the General People's Congress. Elections are direct, and all voting consists of a show of hands or a division into yea-or-nay camps. Suffrage and committee/congress membership are open to all Libyan citizens eighteen years of age or older in good legal and political standing.  

In theory, the residents of each zone elect their own people's committee. Similarly, the residents of each branch municipality or municipality elect their own Basic People's Congress (BPC). The members of a BPC then elect a chairman and a five-member branch or municipal people's committee. The General People's Congress is made up of the chairmen of the BPC, the branch and municipal people's committees, and representatives of the people's committees for unions, professional associations and student unions.  

In reality, the revolutionary committees severely limit the democratic process by closely supervising committee and congress elections at the branch and municipal levels of governments. Revolutionary committees scrutinise the professional and revolutionary credentials of all candidates for the basic people's congresses, professional people's committees, and the municipal General People's Committees; only approved candidates actually stand for election.

 

The Mu'tammar al-sha'ab al 'âmm (General People's Congress) consists out of circa 2700 representatives of the Basis People's Congress. No parties are allowed.

Moreover there is some doubt as to whether the Constitutional Proclamation will ever be replaced by a constitution. The Green Book, economic and political manifesto of Colonel Muammar al-Qaddafi, describes man-made law, including constitutions, as illogical and invalid, concluding that the genuine law of any society is either tradition (custom) or religion.

Colonel Qaddafi was the General Secretary of the General People's Congress from 1977 until early 1979, when he relinquished the post to concentrate on what he described as "revolutionary activities with the masses". He has retained his position as de facto commander-in-chief of the armed forces and adopted the new title of Leader of the Revolution. 

Scheduled to meet annually, normally for two weeks in November or December, the GPC is the major arenea in which the plans, programs, and policies of the government are discussed and ratified. Formal ratification carries with it the responsability for implementation by the people's committees, people's congresses, and trade unions and associations.

The revised court system consists of four levels: partial court, court of first instance, appeals court, and the Supreme Court. The partial court, existing in most villages and towns, is the primary level of the system. The Court of first instance serves as a court of appeal for the partial court. In addition, it is the court of original jurisdiction for all matters involving more than 100 Libyan dinars. An Appeals Court sits at each of three cities: Tripoli, Benghazi, and Sabhah. As its name suggests, it hears cases referred from a court of first instance. The Appeals Court has no original jurisdiction except for cases involving felonies or high crimes. 

The Supreme Court sits in Tripoli and is composed of five chambers specialising in civil and commercial, criminal, administrative, constitutional, and personal matters. Each chamber consists of a five-judge panel with the majority establishing a decision. 

Before its formal abolition, the RCC appointed all judges; now, they are appointed by the GPC with the General Secretariat and the Secretary of Justice probably making actual decision. With the exception of political cases, both judicial independence and due process of law generally appear to have been respected since 1969.