The adoption of a new constitution for Tunisia on 26 January 2014 was a milestone in the country’s democratic transition. The next test for Tunisia’s democracy however lies in the implementation of the Constitution. This entails the transformation of existing laws and adoption of new ones to reflect the Constitution. It also implies that lawmakers refrain from adopting laws that are in conflict with the Constitution.
To assess to which extent this transformation is taking place DRI’s six-monthly constitutional observer looks into: human rights with a main focus on civil and political rights; the separation and balance of powers; the independence of the judiciary; the rule of law; accountability and transparency mechanisms; independent constitutional bodies and decentralisation.
The newest report, covering the period from 1 October 2016 to 31 March 2017, confirms the modest progress in implementation of the Constitution, with the major achievement being the adoption of two laws: the Organic Law n° 2017-7 of 14 February 2017 on elections and referendums, and the Law n° 2017-10 of 7 March 2017 concerning the reporting of corruption and whistle-blower protection. At the same time, there are critical parts of the Constitution, which are yet to be implemented, including Chapter V relating inter alia to the Constitutional Court, Chapter VI on independent constitutional bodies, such as the Human Rights Commission, and Chapter VII on local government.
