A Guide to the Tunisian Legal System

By Aviva Zimbris

Aviva Zimbris is a French national. She is a political analyst who received her Master’s degree in International Conflict Studies from King’s College (London) in 2010. She has since been working in Paris, London, Tel Aviv, Brussels, Geneva, and Prague.

Published May/June 2017
(Previously updated by Khalil Mechantaf in Apr. 2010 and by Aviva Zimbris in Sept. 2013)
See the Archive Version!

1. Introduction

Tunisia, a republic of northern Africa, is surrounded on the north and east by the Mediterranean Sea, on the south by Libya, and on the west by Algeria. The population is largely Berber and Arab, and Islam is the dominant religion. Arabic is the official language, although French is widely spoken.

Home of the ancient city of Carthage, the Romans, Arabs, Ottoman Turks and French realized its strategic significance, making Tunisia a hub for control over the region.

In March 1956, France granted full independence to Tunisia and a republic was declared with Habib Bourguiba as president. President Bourguiba declared Tunisia a republic in 1957 and in June 1959, Tunisia adopted a Constitution modelled on the French system. In 1987, Bourguiba was deposed by his prime minister, Zayn al-Abidin bin Ali (Ben Ali). Ben Ali assumed the office of head of State on 7 November 1987. He ran for re-election unopposed in 1989 and 1994 and won the election in 1999. On 24 October 2004, he was again re-elected for a fourth mandate with 95% of the vote following a constitutional referendum in 2002 allowing him to run again. Indeed, the constitutional reform lifted the limit on the number of times a president can be re-elected.[1]

2. Political Transition: The Jasmine Revolution

On December 17, 2010, a street vendor set himself on fire to protest against poverty, injustice and repression by the ruling regime. Following his death, massive public demonstrations broke out, forcing Ben Ali to flee to Saudi Arabia on January 14, 2011. A day later, in line with the 1959 Constitution, the speaker of the Parliament Fouad Mebazza became interim President of the Republic.[2]

On October 23, 2011, Tunisia held free election for the National Constituent Assembly (NCA). The newly elected assembly was charged with “drafting a new constitution, to be followed by legislative and presidential elections.”[3] The elections were conducted relatively peacefully, with only a few minor violations considering the strong turnout attesting to a strong democratic impulse. The Islamic movement Ennahda/Al Nahda (“Renaissance”) won 37 % of the popular vote and became the strongest political force in the new National Assembly. On December 12, 2011, the NCA elected former dissident Moncef Marouki as interim president until a new Constitution be adopted and new presidential elections held.

By becoming the first country in the region to topple a President-Dictator without foreign intervention, Tunisia and the so-called “Jasmine Revolution” inspired popular uprisings throughout the Middle East.[4] However, the presence of a powerful Islamist party raised concerns among secularists and many Tunisian women fearing a gradual erosion of their rights.[5]

In 2014, after years of deliberations, a new Constitution was finally agreed upon. It paved the way to legislative elections in October 2014 to legislative elections and to presidential elections in 23 November and 21 December 2014. This new framework attempts to establish a new balance of powers and to reform the legal system.

This article attempts to examine the working of the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary branches in the light of this new Constitution. It will study the effort made to reform the judiciary to get toward more independence. It confirms progress in regards to democracy but will also raise concerns due to the state of economy and the rise of terrorism.

3. A New Constitutional Framework

On the 26th of January the new Constitution was adopted by the NCA. 200 for, 12 against and 4 abstained. The 149 articles have been approved one by one during debates. The NCA was supposed to take only one year to vote a Constitution but due to political crisis it took longer.

As the Constitution was only at a draft stage for years, political tensions exacerbated with political assassination mostly blamed on Ennahda and economic deterioration. The Constitution was long awaiting and its adoptions raised hope of appeasement. The Constitution must set the foundation for a democratic regime as demanded by the people during the Jasmin Revolution.

The preamble of the Constitution emphasises the separation of power, equality between citizens (men and women), equality between religions, and the independence of the judiciary.

3.1. The Place of Religion

The 2014 Constitution creates a hybrid form of executive with a limited room for Islam. Observers were surprised that, at the end, Ennahda was willing to compromise on religious issues. For instance, article 2 of the Constitution states that “Tunisia is a civil state based on citizenship, the will of the people, and the supremacy of law.” This means that although Islam is the religion of the country, Tunisia is not ruled by Sharia. Tunisia is a secular state.

It is more likely that Ennahda decided to compromise because it was afraid to loose support of the population as it happened to the Muslim Brotherhood party in Egypt.

In spite of the fact that seculars were able to distance institutions from religious controls, one can find some paradoxes in the Constitution and a room for risky interpretations. For instance, article 74 states that Tunisians citizens, both men and women, can run for president but must be Muslims. Besides, article 6 gives the mission to the state to be “the guardian of religion”.

3.2. The Position of Women

It is the first time in the Arab world that a Constitution states as an objective of men/women parity in the elected assembly.[6] Indeed article 34 mentions “The rights to election, voting, and candidacy are guaranteed, in accordance with the law. The state seeks to guarantee women’s representation in elected bodies”.

Furthermore, in article 46 the Constitution mentions that “The state commits to protect women’s accrued rights and work to strengthen and develop those rights. The state guarantees the equality of opportunities between women and men to have access to all levels of responsibility in all domains. The state works to attain parity between women and men in elected Assemblies. The state shall take all necessary measures in order to eradicate violence against women”.

The Constitution declared a strong desire to improve the position of women in the new Tunisian democratic society.

Those articles are certainly a première in the Arab world; however, it still needs to be followed by action. To recall, women are still facing heavy legal discrimination, for instance, in the Personal Status Code, women are not equal to men when it comes to inherit.[7]

3.3. The Status of the Army

As for the different actors of the Tunisian society, it is worth mentioning the status of the Army. Article 2 defines Tunisia as a civil state, certainly as opposition to a religious state, but also to a military one. It could be interpreted as a will to distance itself from Egypt, which also went through a Revolution, which ended up by the ouster of President Mubarak. However, unlike Tunisia, Egypt has a long lasting history of interferences of the military within policy. After the elections, Mohammed Morsi was removed by Egyptian armed forces.[8]

This distance from the military is further developed in article 18 “The national army is a republican army. It is an armed military force based on discipline that is composed and structurally organized in accordance with the law and charged with responsibility to defend the nation, its independence and its territorial integrity. It is required to remain completely impartial. The national army supports the civil authorities in accordance with the provisions set out in law”.

In spite of its paradoxes, this Constitution emphasizes the civil and democratic aspect of Tunisia. It is now important to examine the division of power to see how checks and balances will play. Indeed, the compromise agreed upon aims at putting breaks to a possible come back to an authoritarian form of regime.

4. The Executive Power

Chapter IV of the Constitution is settling the basis of the Executive power.

Section I is handling the President while Section II the Government. The Constitution grants more power to the government and states that “executive power is exercised by the President of the Republic and the Government”.

See the Portal of Tunisian Government (in French).

The President of the Tunisian Republic
The President is elected directly by the citizen for a five-year term. See the Presidency of the Government Portal of the Republic of Tunisia.

In order to prevent the country to fall back into authoritarianism under President’s rule, the President can only be re-elected once. Article 75 states that “The Constitution may not be amended to increase the number or the length of presidential terms”. To recall, former President Ben Ali ruled Tunisia for 23 years, and changed the Constitution in order to be re-elected. [9]

Another safeguard to authoritarianism is set by article 88 by which the Assembly of the People’s Representatives can impeach the president with a two-thirds vote. Despite these attempts to amend the flaws in the old Constitution regarding abuses of the executive powers, there is still some ongoing discrimination by the simple fact that only a Muslim can become president as mentioned in article 74.

The president’s functions are set in article 77. He is in charge mostly of foreign affairs and defence.

The President appoints according to article 78, the Mufti of the Republic who is in charge of handling Islamic religious cases, major official positions within the presidential office, as well as high-ranking military and diplomatic officials, and governor of the Central Bank after consultation with the Prime Minister.

Since 31 December 2014, Beji Caid Essebsi is the President while the head of the government is Prime Minister Youssef Chahed since 27 August 2016. [10]

The Prime Minister
According to article 89, following legislative elections, the prime minister is selected by the majority party or majority coalition and appointed by the president. This article also set the composition of the government “a Head of Government, Ministers, and secretaries of state selected by the Head of Government, and in the case of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defence, in consultation with the President of the Republic.”

The role of the Prime Minister is set in article 91 “The Head of Government determines the state’s general policy, taking into account the provisions of Article 77, and shall ensure its execution”. It is worth mentioning that Youssef Chahed is a young Prime Minister who is also the grandson of Radhia Haddad, the first woman to become MP. [11] Taking together, this could be viewed as sign of a will to unite society.

Article 101 states that conflicts of competence between the President and the Head of the Government will be handled by the Constitutional Court.

Ministers
The Government (the Ministers) puts into effect the general policy of the nation, in conformity with the orientations. See the Tunisian Government Portal.

Article 95, the Government is responsible to the Assembly of People’s Representatives. This new wording probably reflects intent to create a better balance between the executive and the legislative to avoid abuses by the executive.

Ministries

5. The Legislative Power: Parliament

By the decree law of March 23, 2011, the lower house, “the Chamber of Deputies” and the upper house, “the Chamber of Advisors” were dissolved.[12]

The new Constitution establishes the role and the composition of the legislative in Chapter III.

With this Constitution, the legislative is ruled by a unicameral Chamber named the Assembly of the People’s Representatives (l’Assemblée des Représentants du Peuple). Article 55, its representatives shall be elected for five years by a universal, free, direct, secret, sincere and transparent ballot according to the modalities and conditions determined by the Electoral Law. The Constitution added the terms “sincere and transparent” as an attempt to break with former regime. To recall “Under the former regime of Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, the cabinet, much of the legislature, and many regional officials had been appointed directly by the President. Elections were tightly controlled, and term limits were extended to allow Ben Ali to remain in power”. [13]

Furthermore, in article 60, the Constitution stresses the importance of the opposition and enshrines its rights within the Assembly “The opposition is an essential component of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People. It shall enjoy the rights that enable it to undertake its parliamentary duties and is guaranteed an adequate and effective representation in all bodies of the Assembly, as well as in its internal and external activities. The opposition is assigned the chair of the Finance Committee, and rapporteur of the External Relations Committee. It has the right to establish and head a committee of enquiry annually. The opposition’s duties include active and constructive participation in parliamentary work”.

The former regime in “the parliament passed a law that criminalized opposition activities deemed to be fomented by ‘agents of a foreign power.’”[14] With the former election system while the members of the Chamber of Deputies were “elected by universal, free, direct and secret vote”[15], the Chamber of Advisors was tied to the executive. Indeed, “The members of the Chamber of Advisors are elected as follows: One or two members from each governorate, according to population’s number, are elected at the regional level from among the members of elected local authorities. One-third of the members shall be elected at the national level from among employers, farmers and workers whose candidacies shall be proposed by the respective professional syndicates from a list comprising at least twice the number of seats allocated for each category. Seats are distributed equally among the concerned sectors. […]

The remaining members of the Chamber of Advisors are appointed by the President of the Republic from prominent and qualified figures at the national level”.[16]

There are 217 seats and members are directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote. Initial elections were held on 26 October 2014 (next to be held in 2019). [17]

6. The Judicial Power

There is a certain apprehension regarding the future of last branch of government: the Judicial Power. Indeed, under the former regime, the Judiciary remained under the control of the executive. One of the requests of the people is for the new constitution to institute the independence of the judiciary.[18] However, the NGO Human Rights Watch stated that after the outset of Ben Ali “Executive branch influence over the judiciary persisted due to the failure to adopt long-awaited reforms of the judiciary, including a law that would set up a temporary judicial council to supervise the judiciary pending adoption of a new constitution. In its absence, the Ministry of Justice has been directly supervising the judiciary, including the appointment, advancement, and discipline of judges”.[19]

However, in 2014, the New Constitution was finally adopted and stressed the importance of the independence of the Judiciary. Indeed, article 102 of the 2014 Constitution on the Judicial Authority prepares the ground to meet the expectations of the people regarding the separation of power. “The judiciary is independent. It ensures the administration of justice, the supremacy of the Constitution, the sovereignty of the law, and the protection of rights and freedoms. Judges are independent with the law being the sole authority over them in discharging their functions”.

Furthermore, article 109 prohibits “All kinds of interference in the functioning of the judicial system”.

The new Constitution also sets the ground for a reshape the Supreme Judicial Council in Part one of Chapter V and the Constitutional Count in Part two. Both bodies are designed to be independent from other branches of government. 

6.1.    The Supreme Judicial Council

According to article 112 “The Supreme Judicial Council is composed of four bodies, which are the Judiciary Council, the Administrative Judicial Council, the Financial Judicial Council, and the General Assembly of the three judicial councils.” The role of the Supreme Judicial Council is to article 114 “ensures the sound functioning of the justice system and respect for its independence”.

The Judicial System itself “is composed of the Court of Cassation, appellate courts and courts of first instance”. Article 115.

On May 15, 2015, the Parliament approved the creation of the Supreme Judicial Council as planned in the new Constitution. However, the NGO Human Rights Watch deemed that some aspect of this law should be amended because it does not provide sufficient independence to this body from the executive branch.[20]

Therefore, several amendments have been made to the law creating the Supreme Judicial Council before being finally promulgated in April 2016 by President Béji Caïd Essebsi. This promulgation paved the way for the elections of the Supreme Judicial Council on October 23, 2016. [21]

This Council is taking over the body that was discredited under Ben Ali for its submission to the government. In December 2012, the Parliament has this body suspended.[22]

This election is a cornerstone of the new Judiciary system and a step toward the independence of the judiciary in Tunisia after decades of interferences.

6.2.    The Constitutional Court

The Constitutional Court shall be the next step as it creates a safeguard to democracy and a better balance of power with the legislative and the executive.

Article 118 states that “The President of the Republic, the Assembly of the Representatives of the People, and the Supreme Judicial Council shall each appoint four members, three quarters of whom must be legal specialists.” Therefore, it is only now that the Supreme Judicial Council is formed that a step can be made toward the establishment of the Constitutional Court.

The role of a Constitutional Court is to control the constitutionality of draft laws and proposals. Its independence is essential for a proper implementation of the Constitution. In a desire to avoid abuses such as the ones perpetrated by the former regime, the draft will enforce several changes. First, while the Constitutional Council was composed of nine members, the Constitutional Court will be composed of twelve members. Furthermore, the President of the Republic will have less saying in their appointments. Before the Constitution Council “was thus more of a weapon in the hands of the President to keep Parliament at bay than an effective institution of constitutional review”.[23] However, one could have hoped that as stated in the previous draft the President would only propose candidates [24] and not appoint them.

It is important to note that the Constitution of Tunisia will have an important role in whether Tunisia will or will not align to the standard of liberal democracies. Indeed, “the court will have to determine the legal role of a number of international treaties that Tunisia has ratified but are not—or only partly—applied in practice, such as the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)”.[25]

6.3. Other Independent Bodies

Article 116 handles the administrative judiciary, mostly deals with institution in charge of judging disputes between the public institution and citizens.

The new Constitution also creates Independent Constitutional Bodies in “support of democracy” (article 125): The Elections Commission, the Audio-Visual Communication Commission and the Human Rights Commission, Commission for Sustainable Development and the Rights of Future Generations, and The Good Governance and Anti-Corruption Commission.

6.4. Transitional Justice

Tunisia, unlike the other Arab countries that underwent a revolution following the Arab Spring, was able to work toward democracy and work to appease the people. To praise this effort, in 2015, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to “Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet for its decisive contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy in Tunisia in the wake of the Jasmine Revolution of 2011.” [26]

Besides, a lot has to be done on transitional justice. The government passed an Organic Law on Establishing and Organizing Transitional Justice in December 2013 and established a Truth and Dignity Commission [27] to deal with cases of torture and intimidation by the former regime. The objective is to “help both state institutions and society recover”.[28] As it has been done by countries such as South Africa.

6.5. The EU Supporting Reforms of the Judiciary

The European Union founded the Justice Reform Programme (le Programme D’Appui à la Réforme de la Justice PARJ) in Tunisia. Its objective is to strengthen the rule of law, the transition to democracy while supporting the judiciary in line with European and international norms.

The main points are:

  • Strengthen the independence and the efficiency of the judiciary
  • Improve access to law and justice
  • Modernize the penitentiary system[29]

In the framework of this programme, two institutional twinning agreements have been agreed upon in order to strengthen the ministry of Justice and of jurisdictions and the second to support the training of justice officials.[30]

In Spite of some major accomplishments, one shall not forget that there is a shadow on the picture. Indeed, the risk of authoritarianism is not far. For instance, “Following two political assassinations in 2013, a political party that includes former regime officials won parliamentary elections, putting a number of politicians associated with past abuses back in power”.[31]

Furthermore, almost 40 % of the population is under 25 years old [32] and there are reports within Tunisia and outside of Tunisia of terrorist attacks being carried out by Tunisian nationals.

6.6. Civil Jurisdictions

The District Courts

At the base of the Tunisian judicial structure are the 51 District Courts, in which a sole judge hears each case. The jurisdiction of the District Courts extends to civil cases of lesser value, as well as cases related to issues of labor and nationality, civil affairs, personal estate actions, actions in recovery and injunctions to pay.

The District Courts rules on first or final instance:

  • demands for alimony introduced on a purely principal basis;
  • possessor actions;

It rules in chambers (référé) in these cases:

  • saisies;
  • urgent reports;

The Courts of First Instance
The Courts of First Instance serve as the appellate courts for the District Courts. There is a Court of First Instance located in each region of Tunisia. Each Court is composed of a three-judge panel.

The Courts of First Instance hear all commercial and civil cases, irrespective of the monetary value of the claim.

The court of first degree rules on:

  • the constitution of the companies or their directions
  • dissolution or liquidation
  • rectification of companies facing economic difficulties and bankruptcy

The Courts of Appeal
The Appeals Courts serve as the appellate courts for decisions made in the Courts of First Instance.  Cases that were originally heard in the District Courts and appealed to the Courts of First Instance may be further appealed to the Supreme Court.

The Court of Appeal is only qualified to rule on:

  • appeals of the judgments given in the first resort by the courts of first authority of their district;
  • appeals of the ordinances of summary procedure returned by the president of the court of first authority as well as injunctions to pay;

The three Appeals Courts are located in Tunis, Sousse, and Sfax.

The Supreme Court
The Supreme Court, or Court of Cassation, is located in Tunis and serves as the final court of appeals. The Court has one criminal and three civil divisions.

6.7.    Penal Jurisdictions

The organization of the criminal court system is similar to that of the civil court system.

  • The District Courts have jurisdiction to hear all misdemeanor cases.
  • The Courts of First Instance hear all other criminal cases except felonies.
  • A grand jury hears at first felony crimes. Once a judge issues an indictment based on the grand jury proceedings, the case is submitted to the criminal court division of the Court of Appeal.
  • The criminal division of the Court of Cassation serves as the final appellate court for criminal matters.

High Court
The High Court meets in a case of high treason committed by a member of the Government. The mandate and procedures applied in this Court are determined by the Law.

The Chapter on the Judiciary includes one section on Judicial Justice, another on Administrative Justice and one on Financial Justice. Former structures such as the Council of State (Article 69 of former constitution) will probably be reshaped accordingly. To recall, the Council of State is composed of two committees:

  • administrative court
  • circuit of accounts

The Law determines the organization and panel of the Council, in addition to its scope of work and the procedures applied.

7. Other (Semi) Governmental Institutions

8. Law Faculties

9. Literature (Textbooks on Civil Law, Administrative Constitutional Law, Criminal Law)

Administrative Law

  • Borowiec, Andrew Modern Tunisia: a democratic apprenticeship, Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1998
  • Camau, Michel Vincent Geisser, Le syndrome autoritaire : politique en Tunisie de Bourguiba à Ben Ali, Paris : Presses de Sciences po, 2003.
  • Durupty, Michel, “administrative Institutions and Tunisian administrative law”, Editions of the national scientific research Center, Paris
  • Dwight, L. Ling, Tunisia, from protectorate to republic, Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1967.
  • Tunisia: A Country Study, 3rd ed., Nelson, ed., Washington, D.C., 1988
  • Ezzeddine, Moudoud, Modernization, the state, and regional disparity in developing countries: Boulder, Colorado Tunisia in historical perspective, 1881-1982.: Westview Press, 1989
  • Ferchichi, Bechir, the work of the institution of the deferment in Tunisian criminal law, “Center of studies, search and publications of Faculty of law, political and economic sciences of Tunis”, Tunis.
  • Berkeley, Tunisia since independence; the dynamics of one-party government, University of California Press, 1965,
  • Mabrouk, Mohieddine, “Treaty of Tunisian Administrative law”, Tunisian House of the Edition, Tunis

Corporate Debt

  • Ammar, Abdelmajid, “the personal liability for the leaders of corporations in the event of collective procedure”, Chabloz Printing works, Tolochenaz

Comparative Law

  • Ben Aissa, Mohamed Salah the principle of specialty and economic publicly-owned establishments in Tunisian and French law, “studies Center of Faculty of right and political and economic sciences of Tunis”

Criminal Law

  • Baccouche, N La protection de l’autorité publique dans le Code pénal tunisien Tunis, ENA 1985
  • Baccouche, Néji “Le problème des délits électoraux en Tunisie” Revue tunisienne de droit (1982)
  • Ben Achour, Rafâa “Les protections et les garanties constitutionnelles des droits et libertés en
  • Tunisie” Revue tunisienne de droit (1989)
  • Ben Achour, Yadh “Islam et Constitution” Revue tunisienne de droit (1974)
  • Ben-Halima, S “La régionalisation du droit pénal international et la protection des droits de l’homme dans les procédures de coopération internationale en matière pénale: Tunisie” 65 Revue
  • Internationale de Droit Pénal (1994) 487-491
  • Human Rights Watch The administration of justice in Tunisia: Torture, trumped-up charges and a tainted trial (E1201) 3/00
  • Jazi, Daly Les rapports entre l’Etat et le citoyen dans la Tunisie indépendante: Le problème des liberté publiques Thèse de doctorat de l’Université de Paris II, 1982
  • Khalfallah, L “Le mauvais traitement des enfants à travers le droit tunisien” Revue de jurisprudence et de législation (1997)
  • United Nations Freedom of opinion and expression – mission to Tunisia E/CN.4/2000/63/Add.4 Zine, M & Halima, SB “Les movements de reforme de la procédure pénale et la protection des droits de l’homme en Tunisie” Revue Interationale de Droit Pénal (1993) 1345-1355.

10. Legal Sites

[1] For further information on the referendum please refer to José Garçon (May 28, 2002), “Référendum-Plébiscite sans surprise pour Ben Ali”, Libération, http://www.liberation.fr/monde/0101414297-referendum-plebiscite-sans-surprise-pour-ben-ali (accessed 14.07.2013).

[2] Alexis Arieff (January 18, 2011), “Tunisia: Recent Developments and Policy issues”, Congressional Research Service p.1.

[3] Human Rights Watch, ‘Tunisia”, http://www.hrw.org/world-report/2013/country-chapters/tunisia (accessed 14.07.2013).

[4] Alexis Arieff (June 18, 2012), “Political Transition in Tunisia”, Congressional Research Service pp.3-4.

[5] Regarding women’s rights, Tunisia was perceived as the most progressive Arab country. For instance, Bourguiba, had outlawed polygamy, granted women the right to divorce and legalized abortion. Ben Ali had pursued these advances in strengthening women’s parental, education and employment rights. Since the Revolution, several incidents, reports of rape and violence against women could be interpreted as worsening for women throughout the country.

[6] Le Monde Afrique (26 January 2014), “En Tunisie, la nouvelle Constitution adoptée” at http://www.lemonde.fr/tunisie/article/2014/01/26/le-premier-ministre-tunisien-a-compose-son-gouvernement_4354757_1466522.html (Accessed 22 January 2017).

[7] CIPADH (20 May 2015), “LA NOUVELLE CONSTITUTION TUNISIENNE DU 26 JANVIER 2014 : ENTRE TRADITION ET MODERNITÉ” (http://www.cipadh.org/fr/la-nouvelle-constitution-tunisienne-du-26-janvier-2014-entre-tradition-et-modernit%C3%A9) (accessed 22 January 2017).

[8] CIA, “The World Factbook: Egypt” (last update 12 January 2017) https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/eg.html (accessed 22 January 2017).

[9] BBC “Profile: Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali” (11 June 2011) http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-12196679 (accessed 22 January 2017).

[10] CIA, “The World Factbook: Tunisia” (last update 12 January 2017) https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ts.html (accessed 22 January 2017).

[11] Jeune Afrique, Frida Dahmani “Tunisie : Béji Caïd Essebsi propose Youssef Chahed pour diriger le prochain gouvernement ” (2 August 2016) http://www.jeuneafrique.com/346202/politique/tunisie-beji-caid-essebsi-propose-youssef-chahed-diriger-prochain-gouvernement/ (accessed 22 January 2017).

[12] Article 2 of the Decree-Law No. 2011-14 dated 23 March 2011, relating to the Provisional Organization of the Public Authorities, http://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/details.jsp?id=11175 (accessed 14.07.2013).

[13] Freedom House (2012) “Freedom in the World: Tunisia” http://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/details.jsp?id=11175  (accessed 14.07.2013).

[14] Freedom House (2012) “Freedom in the World: Tunisia” http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2012/tunisia-0  (accessed 14.07.2013).

[15] Article 18 of the Constitution of 1959 in Republic of Tunisia (2010) “Publication of the Republic of Tunisia”, Publication of the Official Printing Office of the Republic of Tunisia, http://www.tunisie-constitution.org/sites/all/downloads/constitution-tunisienne-anglais.pdf (accessed 14.07.2013).

[16] Article 19 of the Constitution of 1959 in Republic of Tunisia (2010) “Publication of the Republic of Tunisia”, Publication of the Official Printing Office of the Republic of Tunisia, http://www.tunisie-constitution.org/sites/all/downloads/constitution-tunisienne-anglais.pdf (accessed 14.07.2013).

[17] CIA, “The World Factbook: Tunisia” (last update 12 January 2017) https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ts.html (accessed 22 January 2017).

[18] Jeune Afrique (November 4, 2011), “Tunisie: avocats et magistrates exigent l’indépendance de la Justice” http://www.jeuneafrique.com/Article/ARTJAWEB20111104193433/  (accessed 14.07.2013).

[19] Human Rights Watch, “World Report 2013: Tunisia”, http://www.hrw.org/world-report/2013/country-chapters/tunisia (accessed 22 January 2017).

[20] Human Right Watch (2 June 2015), “Tunisia: Law Falls Short on Judicial Independence”, https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/06/02/tunisia-law-falls-short-judicial-independence  (accessed 22 January 2017).

[21] Rebecca Chaouch, Jeune Afrique (24 October 2016) “Tunisie : élection historique pour le nouveau Conseil supérieur de la magistrature”, http://www.jeuneafrique.com/368233/politique/tunisie-election-historique-nouveau-conseil-superieur-de-magistrature (accessed 22 January 2017).

[22] Human Right Watch (2 June 2015), “Tunisia: Law Falls Short on Judicial Independence”, https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/06/02/tunisia-law-falls-short-judicial-independence  (accessed 22 January 2017) http://oxcon.ouplaw.com/page/tunisian-constitution).

[23] Prof. Dr. Rainer Grote, Oxford University Press, “The New 2014 Tunisian Constitution” http://oxcon.ouplaw.com/page/tunisian-constitution (accessed 22 January 2017).

[24] Please refer to Article 115 in “Projet de Constitution de la République Tunisienne” in « European Commission for Democracy Through Law » (June 20, 2013). http://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/?pdf=CDL-REF%282013%29032-f (accessed 14.07.2013).

[25] Sarah Mersch, Carnegie Endoment for Peace and Democracy, (April 10, 2015 ) “Judicial Reforms in Tunisia” http://carnegieendowment.org/sada/59746 (accessed 22 January 2017).

[26] The Official Website of the Nobel Prize, (10 October 2015)“The Nobel Peace Prize for 2015” https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2015/press.html (accessed 22 January 2017).

[27] Journal Officiel de la République Tunisienne (31 December 2013), « Loi organique 2013-53 du 24 décembre 2013, relative à l’instauration de la justice transitionnelle et à son organisation » https://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/docs/SERIAL/95319/112171/F-313159060/TUN-95319.pdf (accessed 22 January 2017).

[28] Azadeh Moaveni, The New Yorket (29 December 2016) “Grasping for Truth and Dignity in Tunisia” http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/grasping-for-truth-and-dignity-in-tunisia accessed 22 January 2017).

[29] La République Tunisienne Ministère de la Justice, «Programme d’Appuis à la Réforme de la Justice» http://www.parj.gov.tn/index.php/fr/ (accessed 22 January 2017).

[30] Direct Info (11 February 2016) “Tunisie – UE: Lancement de deux jumelages en appui à la réforme de la Justice” http://directinfo.webmanagercenter.com/2016/02/11/tunisie-ue-lancement-de-deux-jumelages-en-appui-a-la-reforme-de-la-justice/ (accessed 22 January 2017).

[31] Azadeh Moaveni, The New Yorket (29 December 2016) “Grasping for Truth and Dignity in Tunisia” http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/grasping-for-truth-and-dignity-in-tunisia accessed 22 January 2017).  

[32] CIA, “The World Factbook: Tunisia” (last update 12 January 2017) https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ts.html (accessed 22 January 2017).