African judges slam violations against Tunisia judges

The African Regional Group of the International Union of Judges has denounced the violations committed against Tunisian judges and expressed full solidarity with them.

This came during the group’s annual meeting held in Mali on 20-24 February, according to a statement published by the Tunisian Judges Association yesterday.

The body said: “The Tunisian judiciary is facing a deep and continuous crisis, through gross violations of the basic rules that characterise the rule of law, in addition to the assault on the principle of separation of powers.”

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Commenting on Tunisian President Kais Saied’s decision to dismiss 57 judges by decree, the group expressed surprise at the executive authority’s refusal to “implement the rulings issued by the Administrative Court in favour of the dismissed judges, in complete disdain for the rule of law and international standards for the independence of judges.”

It urged “the executive authority to respect Tunisia’s obligations under the ratified treaties with regard to the principles of the independence of the judiciary.”

It also called on the Tunisian state to respect the judicial rulings issued in favour of the dismissed judges, and to refrain from any action aimed at camouflaging the lack of respect for these rulings.

The statement also called for the “immediate cessation” of “baseless criminal proceedings” against the dismissed judges, calling on the executive authority to stop “disciplinary and criminal procedures against judges for the peaceful exercise of their trade union rights and for judges who are fighting for an independent judiciary.”

Last June, the Tunisian president dismissed 57 judges, including the head of the dissolved Supreme Judicial Council, on the pretext of “preserving social peace and the state,” after accusing them of corruption.

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