Al-Masoudi added - in an interview with an episode (10/2/2022) of the "Beyond the News" program - that what he described as Saeed's takeover of the judiciary is also a step to liquidate opponents, dissolve parties, change some associations and control the media.
The head of the Tunisian Association of Young Judges indicated that the Supreme Council of Judges is elected by the judges, and that it complies with the constitution and the law, in contrast to the Council, which Said seeks to appoint without a constitutional or legal basis, and has no right to interfere in the work of judges in any way.
In a series of statements regarding his intention to dissolve the Supreme Judicial Council, which he started last Sunday, Tunisian President Kais Saied pledged to dissolve the Council according to a presidential decree that will also provide for the formation of an alternative council.
Saeed added that what he is doing is not interference in the affairs of the judiciary, but rather an expression of his insistence on the importance of combating what he called illicit enrichment.
On the other hand, the Supreme Judicial Council affirmed its absolute rejection of the Tunisian President's decision to dissolve the Council and replace it with another.
The Council affirmed its refusal to prejudice what it called the constitutional construction of the judicial authority in Tunisia outside the framework of legitimacy, and the establishment of a transitional phase that contradicts the constitution and the interest of justice, and that in its current composition it is the only constitutional and legitimate institution representing the judicial authority in Tunisia, and that the creation of any alternative to it is inexhaustible and has no effect. legally him.
system repair
For his part, academic and political analyst Hedi El-Giloufi said that President Kais Saied has been hinting for a while at what he considers "reform of the judicial system," noting that his decision to dissolve the Supreme Judicial Council was not surprising, and Saied took advantage of the ninth anniversary of Chokri Belaid's assassination to take this step, especially The judiciary has not yet ruled in this case and others, which many see as a great delay.
El-Giloufi pointed out that what he described as "purifying the judiciary" is the first step to purge Tunisia of corruption, stressing that all Tunisians complain of corruption within the judicial institution, as he put it.
The controversy over the president's dissolution of the Supreme Judicial Council in Tunisia coincides with the second day of a strike organized by Tunisian judges in front of the Palace of Justice in the capital, Tunis, at the invitation of the Association of Judges, in protest of Said's decision to dissolve the council.
The participants in the vigil - which witnessed a heavy local and foreign media presence - raised slogans adhering to the independence of the judiciary, and others considered the decision to dissolve the council to restore the image of the judiciary under the executive authority.
As for the head of the Judges Association, Anas Al-Hammadi, announced - during the stand - the Tunisian judges' adherence to the Supreme Council, and described the decision to dissolve it as a siege of the judicial authority in order to subjugate it, as he put it.