Following his 1969 ouster of King Idris, Muammar Qaddafi abolished the 1951 constitution, under which Libya was a constitutional monarchy.
In a speech on September 1 marking the anniversary of the 1969 coup, Qaddafi promised wide-ranging political and economic reforms that he said would come into effect at the beginning of 2009.
There has been no information on the possible content of the constitution, which will be submitted for the approval of the People's Congress, but the head of a legal committee formed to draft the document said Qaddafi's works provided a foundation.
"Work on this project is not starting from zero. There are some references already," said Abdel Rahman Bututa, citing the Green Book - the collected thoughts of Qaddafi - and a 1988 declaration on people's committees.
The committee will also draw on the findings of a constitution project initiated by the Qaddafi Foundation for Development, which is headed by Seif al-Islam, Qaddafi's son.
Bututa said the team of legal experts would hold its first meeting next week, and would work closely with experts from Italy, France, Germany, Britain, the United States and South Africa.
Libya has been trying to reform its socialist economy and embrace globalization since mending ties with the West by abandoning its quest for weapons of mass destruction at the end of 2003.
The country is Africa's third biggest oil producer after Angola and Nigeria, pumping almost 2 million barrels per day, and has been seeking foreign investors to help it reach a target of 3 million bpd by 2012.
