After the Tunisian President, Kais Saied, decided to dissolve the Supreme Judicial Council, put its headquarters under guard and prevent the members of the Council and its employees from carrying out their work as usual, the Tunisian judiciary is on the verge of fighting a new battle in order to protect its entity and preserve its independence.
Historically, the Tunisian judiciary has suffered from the pressure from the Executive authority and its direct interference in its work, under various justifications, which prompted it to fight battles to defend itself. Each time, given the fact that the Constitution granted absolute powers to the Executive authority, represented by the President, the existing tyrannical regime managed, each time, to silence the faint voice of the judges, and force them to remain within the circle of absolute loyalty, whether through threats or through bribes. In all cases, the tyrannical authority needed to dominate the judiciary to use it as a tool to try its opponents and to impose its power over society through a judiciary following authoritarian orders.
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After the 14 January revolution in 2011, the democratic transition that accompanied it in Tunisia and the drafting of a new Constitution that guarantees the separation of powers, it was natural to restore the judiciary as the third and necessary pillar for building a state that respects rights and freedoms. The basic idea of any State that respects democracy and meets its minimum requirements is not granting all authority to one individual or body but, instead, distributing it among the institutions that assume legislative, executive and judicial functions, so that each institution monitors the other institutions and makes sure that they perform their role within the framework set for them by the Constitution and the law. For this reason, the 2014 Constitution dedicated a chapter to the judiciary that includes details of its structure and area of specialisation. Article 114 of the Constitution stipulates: “The Supreme Judicial Council ensures the sound functioning of the justice system and respect for its independence.” However, what happened after 25 July, 2021, went in the direction of disrupting everything stated in the 2014 Constitution, and restructuring the constitutional structure of the State, moving towards the rule of the individual who possesses absolute powers without any supervision whatsoever, and mainly from the legislative and judicial authorities.
![Tunisia president Kais Saied dissolves top judicial council - Cartoon [Sabaaneh/Middle East Monitor]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/IMG_4440.jpeg?resize=933%2C579&ssl=1)
Tunisia president Kais Saied dissolves top judicial council – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/Middle East Monitor]
It was clear in light of the positions expressed by the Supreme Judicial Council elected by the judges, that it rejected the President’s measures against it. The Judges Association calling for fighting back through going on strike and not working in the courts, organising a protest in front of the Palace of Justice in Tunis and preparing to fight the battle all indicate that the judicial authority in Tunisia has come to the forefront of the scene, not only to defend its existence and independence, but also in defence of the Constitution and democracy itself.
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The events currently taking place in Tunisia go beyond the issues of the usual power struggles between the various State authorities and its various institutions; instead amounting to a defence of the State to preserve it as an entity that protects rights and freedoms and guarantees democracy and the right of the circulation of power against any individual tendencies and absolute power. This goes beyond the judicial body, to include the whole of civil society and the political street. An independent and just judiciary is the necessary condition for achieving a state of citizenship, and it is very important not to allow any authority to unilaterally exercise domination and without interference from other authorities, because authority limits authority. Without practicing this principle, the country will be dragged into an absolute rule with divine-like powers, which cannot lead to reform, but will be based on the logic of subjugation.
This article first appeared in Arabic in Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed on 15 February 2022
The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.