The Supreme Council of the Judiciary in Tunisia renewed its rejection of the decree of President Kais Saied to create a temporary higher council of the judiciary, and said that the new decision deviates from the application of the constitution.
In a statement posted on his official Facebook page, he said that President Saeed uses this decree "as an excuse to place judges among the categories considered imminent danger," warning against "taking exceptional measures against them."
In its statement, the Council stressed its rejection of what was stated in the decision in violation of the basic rights of judges, and said, "We reject what was stated in the decree regarding the executive authority's control over the career paths of judges."
He warned against the consequences of implicating part of its members as such in participating in its composition, calling on all its members to distance themselves from responding to this.
The Supreme Council said that it is "a constitutional institution created by the constitutional legislator, who alone has the power to create alternative institutions for it, only from the lower-ranking legislative authority."
Court of Accounts
In the same context, the Judges' Union of the Court of Accounts considered the decree of the Interim Supreme Judicial Council "a direct interference in the judicial authority and pressure on the judges."
The union said - in a statement today, Monday - that the temporary council decree issued by Saeed "will not contribute to reforming the real problems of the judiciary."
For its part, the Judges Syndicate said that the temporary Supreme Council decree was drafted without referring to it for consultation and opinion.
In a statement, the union renewed its rejection of the "exemption mechanism as a means of pressure and intimidation" and called for "accountability and opening files in the judicial frameworks" with providing all legal guarantees that guarantee the right of defense and the principle of confrontation "without undermining the judicial authority and subjecting it to the executive authority."
Young judges
In turn, the Young Judges Association decided to file a complaint against President Said to the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights.
In a statement, she said that this complaint would shed light on "the violation of Tunisian judges," noting that she would write to various international judicial associations and organizations, to denounce the dissolution of the Supreme Judicial Council.
The association considered that the Supreme Judicial Council "degrades the status of the Tunisian judiciary, undermines the rights of Sharia judges, and offends the global judicial system."
She had expressed her refusal to form a temporary Supreme Judicial Council outside the principles of legitimacy and in contravention of the constitution, and demanded the Supreme Sharia Council to adhere to its existence and continue to exercise its powers.
In a statement posted on its Facebook page, the association considered this decree “without legal and constitutional basis,” considering that prejudice to the status of the judiciary is not a requirement of the stage of exception in which the judiciary remains the only guarantor of rights and freedoms in a circumstance that combines powers with the executive branch.
Despite the widespread rejection locally and internationally, President Saeed implemented the decision to dissolve the Supreme Judicial Council, and followed it up with a presidential decree establishing a temporary council to replace the current Supreme Judicial Council.
The Official Gazette stated that the presidential decree stipulates that the Interim Judicial Council will submit proposals to reform the judiciary, and that the president has the right to object to the promotion or appointment of judges, and to dismiss any judge who violates his duties.