TUNIS -

Tunisian judges and political parties are increasingly concerned about the desire of Tunisian President Kais Saied to extend his control over all authorities, after issuing a controversial decree related to the creation of a temporary council of the judiciary to replace the current one.

 independence of the judiciary

He succeeded the decree related to the creation of a temporary higher council of the judiciary and the publication of its chapters in the Official Gazette of Tunisia;

A wave of controversy between the judicial wires, which considered it a blatant interference in the judicial authority and a hijacking of the judicial body by the executive authority.

The judge and counselor of the Court of Appeal, Hammadi Al-Rahmani, believes that the president made a grave mistake and exceeded his competence, by creating this council by a presidential decree to replace a council formed under the constitution.

And he stressed - in his speech to Al-Jazeera Net - that the new decree removed the electoral legitimacy according to which the process of selecting members of the Supreme Judicial Council was taking place and replaced it with appointment, and also excluded the corps of lawyers and law professors from the new composition.

Rahmani denounced the president’s violation of Article 36 of the constitution, which recognizes the right of judges to strike, noting that he gave himself the right to review judicial appointments, transfer procedures, promotions, and dismissal of judges, in violation of Article 107 of the constitution, which prohibits the dismissal of judges except by the Supreme Judicial Council.

He concluded by saying that the president completed the requirements of his seizure of the judicial authority by controlling the joints of the Supreme Judicial Council and the professional paths of judges related to initiation, transfers and exemptions, while he did not rule out that this decree would put more pressure on and intimidate judges.


Figurative dedication

For its part, the Executive Office of the Administrative Judges Union warned in a statement of the seriousness of what was included in the presidential decree, saying that it "is devoted to a fictitious council of the judiciary and represents a flagrant violation of the principle of separation of powers by undermining the right of judges to choose their counterparts in the council through elections and their representation at all ranks."

The Federation stressed that what the President of the Republic has done under the slogan "reform and fighting corruption" constitutes a coup against the judiciary and a complete abolition of its existence, thereby eliminating the role of the judiciary in protecting rights and freedoms and in establishing the rule of law.

The union called on all judges not to recognize the new Judicial Council and to boycott its work, considering that it is doomed.

President's excesses

Ahmed Najib al-Shabi, head of the political body of the "Amal" party, considers that the decree issued by the president in the country's official gazette is evidence of the president's persistence in his personal project, his desire to assume all powers.

Al-Shabbi told Al-Jazeera Net that after the president on July 25 dissolved the government and suspended parliament's work, today he is heading to dissolve the Supreme Judicial Council in violation of the constitution and the principle of separation of powers.

On the other hand, he did not hide his fears of the president's desire to turn the judiciary into a tool he uses to silence every voice opposing his decisions, take revenge on his political opponents, and go in the future to put his hand on the media to complete the picture.


The position of the Deanship of Lawyers

Lawyers were represented in the composition of the Supreme Judicial Council with its three branches (the Judicial, Administrative and Financial Judicial Council), but they were excluded by President Qais Saied under the new presidential decree that was limited to practicing judges and retired judges.

The Dean of Tunisian lawyers, Ibrahim Bouderbala, in his speech to Al Jazeera Net, considers that the issue of excluding lawyers from the composition of the temporary Supreme Judicial Council is a normal procedure mainly related to the president's desire to purify the judiciary through a temporary judicial council composed mainly of judges and not others.

Bouderbala expected that the tasks of the Supreme Judicial Council in the future, with its expanded composition, would be limited to considering the expanded strategies of the judiciary, provided that a special committee would be entrusted with the tasks of appointments and promotions for judges only.

The Dean of Lawyers considered that the President of the Republic directed to issue a decree prohibiting judges from striking;

Mahmoud's order, given that the judiciary is an authority, not a function.

Bouderbala played down the fears raised by some judges about the president's desire to control the judicial facility, saying that the independence of the judiciary derives from the judge's own personality.


purification elimination

Speaking to Al-Jazeera Net, Sarhan Al-Nasiri, head of the "Alliance for Tunisia" party, valued the dissolution of the Supreme Judicial Council and compensated it with another, criticizing the judges' performance over the past years.

Naciri considered that the Ennahda movement was controlling the judicial body, which disrupted the litigation process in incendiary political files that preoccupied Tunisian public opinion for years, similar to the file of the movement's secret apparatus and the issue of political assassinations.

Regarding the concerns expressed by judges and political leaders about the president’s tightening of his grip on the judicial system, through a presidential decree in which he expanded his powers by appointing and dismissing judges, and confiscating their right to strike, Nasseri ruled out the president’s desire to move towards perpetuating an authoritarian regime.

He added, "We support the president in every step he takes, but we will not hesitate to criticize and confront him if we find that he deviated from the course of July 25 and from the guarantees he offered in relation to the independence of the authorities."

Al-Nasiri called on the president to complete his "corrective steps" after purging the judiciary, by dissolving the remaining bodies emanating from Parliament that have been suspended, such as the elections commission and the independent supreme authority for audiovisual communication.