3 yıl önce

Tunisia's president signs decree to form new judicial council

President Kaies has issued an order to set a new temporary supreme judicial council to replace the dissolved council that draw protests from the opposition.

AFP

Tunisian president Saied insists that his "exceptional measures" were meant to "save" the country, critics have accused him of orchestrating a coup.

Tunisia's president has signed a decree to establish a provisional Supreme Judiciary Council to replace the current body.

"The Supreme Judicial Council was dissolved to end impunity and an interim council was brought in place," said President Kais Saied on Saturday, according to a statement issued by the Tunisian presidency.

"Fair justice, fair accountability is a sacred duty and one of the legitimate demands of the Tunisian people," he said.

Saied said last week that he would issue a decree effectively dissolving the Supreme Judiciary Council.

The council is known as a constitutional institution that guarantees the healthy functioning of the judiciary and the independence of the judiciary in line with the provisions of the Tunisian Constitution and international conventions, within the framework of its powers.

President #Kais_Saied promulgates a decree-law establishing a provisional Supreme Judicial Council, stressing the need for a fair justice system that upholds equality before the law and reiterating his respect for the independence of the judiciary. #TnPR
— Tunisian Presidency - الرئاسة التونسية (@TnPresidency) February 12, 2022

'Exceptional measures'

Early on Saturday Association of Tunisia’s Judges called on Saied to reverse a decree to dissolve the country’s top judicial watchdog.

“The executive authority is responsible for threats against judges after the inciting statements made by the president against them,” Anas al Hammadi, the group's head, said during a meeting in the capital Tunis.

Al Hammadi said the head of the Supreme Judicial Council, Youssef Bouzacher, was informed by the Interior Ministry of “real threats” against his life.

Last week, the council rejected Saied’s decision to dissolve the judicial body, calling the move “unconstitutional”.

Last July, Saied dismissed the government, suspended parliament, and assumed executive authority amid mounting public anger over economic stagnation and political paralysis.

While Saied insists that his "exceptional measures" were meant to "save" the country, critics have accused him of orchestrating a coup.

Tunisia had been seen as the only country that succeeded in carrying out a democratic transition among Arab countries which witnessed popular revolutions toppling ruling regimes, including Egypt, Libya, and Yemen.

SOURCE: AA