Tunisia -

Tunisian President Kais Saied has decided his order to announce the dissolution of the Supreme Judicial Council, stressing - during a ministerial meeting - that a presidential decree will be issued in this regard, while the current Judicial Council declared that it is the only legitimate constitutional institution of the judiciary and that the creation of any transitional body is in nothingness and has no effect. legally him.

While the president insists on creating an alternative body for the Judicial Council, the judges consider it a parallel entity that has no legitimacy.

Saeed said that the current council has ended and will be dissolved and replaced by another council, reiterating his determination to purify the judiciary, stressing that judges have a job within the framework of the constitution and they only have to apply the law with impartiality to everyone.

The Supreme Judicial Council hastened to respond to the president's decision, stressing - in a strongly worded statement - that the creation of any alternative transitional body is non-existent and has no legal effect, and that the Council, with its current composition, is the only legitimate constitutional institution representing the judiciary.

Judges protest in front of the Palace of Justice, denouncing Saeed’s actions against the Supreme Judicial Council (Reuters)

Escalation of judges

The judges organized a protest in front of the Palace of Justice in the capital, Tunis, during which they raised slogans rejecting "the judiciary's kneeling and intimidation of judges." They also renewed their adherence to their independence as an independent authority, calling on the President of the Republic to remove his hand from the judicial facility.

Strike extension

The head of the Young Judges Association, Murad Al-Masoudi, confirmed - in his speech to Al-Jazeera Net - that the president does not have any legal or constitutional basis for dissolving the Supreme Judicial Council, even if he justifies this by the exceptional stage that the country knows.

Al-Masoudi asked about the mechanism through which the president will form a new judicial council at a time when all judges adhere to their current council and its current composition, adding, "No new judicial body will be recognized and we will consider it a parallel entity that has no constitutional legitimacy."

He stressed that the judges will engage in all forms of peaceful struggle, including the extension of the strike, which they started two days ago, and did not rule out the judges' submission of collective resignations.

Political parties - such as the Ennahda Movement - had expressed their rejection of what they described as the unconstitutional decision of the President of the Republic, which aims - according to them - to acquire the facility of justice and control its joints in order to use it as a tool to liquidate political opponents.

The battle for the independence of the judiciary

Speaking to Al-Jazeera Net, the Secretary-General of the Democratic Current Party, Ghazi Al-Shawashi, considered that the president is proceeding with force in implementing his plan to seize all powers, which he began by freezing parliament and seizing its powers, and he wants to end it by robbing the judiciary.

He continued, "In fact, the president's intentions have been clear since last July 25, when he announced his presidency of the Public Prosecution, which is the strongest judicial structure, but he was unable to implement the decision that he announced orally and published in the Official Gazette due to legal impediments, so he resorted to freezing the work of the Council."

Chaouachi accused the President of the Republic of using the case of the assassination of leftist leaders Chokri Belaid and Mohamed Brahmi to launch a smear campaign against the judges, inciting public opinion against them and giving legitimacy and justification to the dissolution of the Supreme Judicial Council.

He continued, "I received official information that there was a plan to storm the headquarters of the Supreme Judicial Council by supporters of Qais Saeed, with the support of the Ministry of Interior and Minister Tawfiq Sharaf al-Din, to give a justification for dissolving the council on the pretext that the people want."

Chaouachi stressed that the plan included the same scenario that happened on July 25, when the president's supporters attacked and burned the headquarters of the Ennahda movement, but the operation with the Supreme Judicial Council did not take place for reasons that were not mentioned.

He stressed that resolving the battle of the judiciary and adhering to its independence is the guarantee to put an end to what he described as the populist current that wants to end the democratic experiment, calling in return for a decisive stand by all civil and democratic forces to confront this "deviation" in power.

right decision

For his part, the expert in constitutional law, Al-Saghir Al-Zakrawi, considered - in a statement to Al Jazeera Net - that the exceptional situation in the country gives exceptional legitimacy to every action taken by the President of the Republic.

Al-Zakrawi praised the President's decision to dissolve the Supreme Judicial Council, considering that the judiciary has, over the past years, been dependent on certain political parties that control its joints according to their interests.

He continued, "The Supreme Judicial Council protected and covered up corrupt judges, and its composition was based on political consensus between the Ennahda movement and the former Nidaa Tounes party."

On the accusations against the President of the Republic of wanting to usurp the powers of the Supreme Judicial Council and control its joints, the constitutional expert ruled out the matter, stressing that the president's desire is clear for reform and for purifying the judiciary.

In a statement, the National Bar Association considered that the Supreme Judicial Council had failed to guarantee the independence of the judiciary and judges, and had not succeeded in being a representative of the judicial authority.

The commission criticized the performance of this council, considering that it had "reasons for approving the revision of its basic law and changing its current structure," accusing its members of falling into political strife, and of not achieving any gains for the justice facility.

She denounced what she called "random strikes that violate the law" that judges are waging, considering that they are illegal and will deepen the crisis.

For his part, the leader of the "People's Movement" Osama Oweidat expressed his party's support for the president's move to dissolve the Supreme Judicial Council, which bore its reasons, in relation to the state of the judiciary and its subjection to political calculations away from any alleged independence.

Speaking to Al-Jazeera Net, Owaidat indicated that the exceptional situation in the country imposes exceptional measures pending consensual reforms in relation to the judicial facility.