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Tunisian Constitution of 2022

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Tunisian Constitution of 2022
The outer cover of the Constitution of the Republic of Tunisia 2022
Created30 June 2022
Ratified25 July 2022
Date effective16 August 2022
LocationTunisia
Author(s)Constitution Drafting Committee
SignatoriesKais Saied, President of the Republic
PurposeTo replace the Tunisian Constitution of 2014

The Constitution of the Republic of Tunisia 2022, or the Third Republic Constitution,[1] is the current constitution of Tunisia that was adopted in Tunisia on 25 July 2022 after the voters approved the constitutional referendum that was held on the same day.[2]

As the country's supreme legal standard, it constitutes the fourth Constitution of the country's modern history after the 1861 Constitution, the 1959 Constitution and the 2014 Constitution.[3] The Constitution entered into force on 16 August 2022.[4]

History

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Main article: 2021 Tunisian self-coup
See also: 2022 Tunisian constitutional referendum

On 25 July 2021, the day commemorating the declaration of the Republic, after months of tensions between the President of the Republic, Kais Saied, and members of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People, thousands of demonstrators demanded the dissolution of the parliament and the change of the regime.[5] These gatherings come as the health crisis linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On the same evening, and based on Article 80 of the 2014 Constitution, Kais Saied dismisses the Mechichi Cabinet by immediate order, in particular Hichem Mechichi from his duties as Prime Minister and Acting Minister of the Interior,[6] freezing the activity of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People Representatives,[7] lifting the immunity of its members, and forming a new government that will be accountable to him. Ennahdha immediately denounced the coup, as it put it.[8] From 15 January to 20 March 2022, an electronic voting was held on the reforms to be proposed in anticipation of the referendum.[9] During the vote, which was the subject of very low turnout, options of moving to a presidential system and informal majority voting for legislative elections prevailed.[10]

On 1 June 2022, a decree-law was signed amending the Basic Law on Elections and Referendums. The Independent High Authority for Elections becomes responsible for maintaining an “accurate, transparent, complete and up-to-date” voter register that voters can consult to request updating their registration. In addition,[11] the Independent High Authority for Elections should proceed with the automatic registration of all unregistered voters by distributing them to polling stations closest to their place of residence. It must also publish a list of participants in the constitutional referendum campaign after submitting data that the Independent High Electoral Commission can reject with a reasoned decision. The date of the referendum on the constitution was set for 25 July 2022, despite criticism from the opposition.[12]

Content

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Main article: Constitution of Tunisia
This article is part of
a series about
Kais Saied
Offices
Elections
Presidency
Cabinets
Family

At the beginning of June 2022, the jurist Sadok Belaïd, president of the advisory commission for drafting the new Constitution, indicated that he would submit the preliminary draft on 15 June to the Head of State, and that it would not contain any reference to Islam, unlike the Constitutions of 1959 and 2014.[13] This is, however, ambiguous as to whether it deals with the country or the State.[14] The text, unveiled on 30 June, establishes a presidential system and a bicameral parliament.[15] The Assembly of the Representatives of the People is elected by universal suffrage, while the National Council of Regions and Districts is elected indirectly by the regional councils.[16]

Bills tabled by the president are examined with priority. The president appoints the government without needing a vote of confidence from Parliament.[17] For a motion of censure to be adopted, it must be voted for by two-thirds of the members of both houses of Parliament combined. Dual nationals can no longer be presidential candidates.

The president of the Constitutional Court is responsible for the presidential interim.[18] MPs can be dismissed and a MP must not table a bill if he is a budget-eater. The president also appoints members of the Constitutional Court and Tunisia is described as a member of the "Islamic ummah" and the "State alone must work to achieve the goals of Islam." On 3 July, Belaïd announced that the text submitted to the referendum was not the one developed and presented by the commission, adding that it contained "considerable risks and failures." The Constitution can be reformed at the initiative of the president or a third of the deputies. The September 2021 decree will remain valid until the election of a new Parliament.[19]

The Superior Council of the Judiciary is abolished and replaced by three councils for each of the three judicial orders.[20] Regarding article 5 which is modified compared to its preliminary draft, Belaïd denounces a risk of "reconstruction of the power of religious people" and a "return to the dark ages of Islamic civilization".[21] The President of the Republic recognized on 8 July that errors had been made and announced that he would make corrections and clarifications to the draft Constitution which were published the same evening in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Tunisia (JORT).[22] Among the modifications made, the expression "within the framework of a democratic system" is added to article 5 in order to attenuate that of "the principles of Islam", as well as the allusion to "good morals" for limit freedoms which is withdrawn.[23] The text published in JORT on August 17 includes modifications compared to the version submitted to the vote.

Articles

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The Constitution consists of 142 articles, divided into eleven chapters.[24][25]

Chapters and Articles
Introduction[26]
Introduction to the Constitution
Chapter I: General Provisions[27]
1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 12 · 13 · 14 · 15 · 16 · 17 · 18 · 19 · 20 · 21
Chapter II: Rights and freedoms[28]
22 · 23 · 24 · 25 · 26 · 27 · 28 · 29 · 30 · 31 · 32 · 33 · 34 · 35 · 36 · 37 · 38 · 39 · 40 · 41 · 42 · 43 · 44 · 45 · 46 · 47 · 48 · 49 · 50 · 51 · 52 · 53 · 54 · 55
Chapter III: Legislative function[29]
56 · 57
First section: Assembly of the Representatives of the People
58 · 59 · 60 · 61 · 62 · 63 · 64 · 65 · 66 · 67 · 68 · 69 · 70 · 71 · 72 · 73 · 74 · 75 · 76 · 77 · 78 · 79 · 80
Second section: National Council of Regions and Districts
81 · 82 · 83 · 84 · 85 · 86
Chapter IV: Executive function[30]
87
First section: President of the Republic
88 · 89 · 90 · 91 · 92 · 93 · 94 · 95 · 96 · 97 · 98 · 99 · 100 · 101 · 102 · 103 · 104 · 105 · 106 · 107 · 108 · 109 · 110
Second section: Government
111 · 112 · 113 · 114 · 115 · 116
Chapter V: Judicial function[31]
117 · 118 · 119 · 120 · 121 · 122 · 123 · 124
Chapter VI: Constitutional Court[32]
125 · 126 · 127 · 128 · 129 · 130 · 131 · 132
Chapter VII: Local and regional groups[33]
133
Chapter VIII: Independent High Authority for Elections[34]
134
Chapter IX: The Supreme Council for Education[35]
135
Chapter X: Revising the constitution[36]
136 · 137 · 138
Chapter XI: Transitional and final provisions[37]
139 · 140 · 141 · 142

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Tunisia: New Constitution Consolidates Powers in the Hands of the President". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  2. ^ Q&A: Tunisia’s Constitutional Referendum | Human Rights Watch (Report). Human Rights Watch. 2022-07-14.
  3. ^ "The Path to Tunisia's 2022 Constitutional Referendum". The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy -. 2022-07-19. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  4. ^ Boussen, Zied; Lakhal, Malek (2022-08-23). "Tunisia in the wake of the referendum: A new divisive Constitution". Arab Reform Initiative.
  5. ^ "En Tunisie, des milliers de manifestants défilent contre leurs dirigeants - Le Temps" (in French). 2021-07-25. ISSN 1423-3967. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  6. ^ "Kais Saied prend tous les pouvoirs en main, suspend le parlement, limoge Mechichi et s'érige en chef de l'exécutif et du parquet". Leaders (in French). Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  7. ^ "Tunisie : une consultation largement boudée plébiscite un régime présidentiel". Le Figaro (in French). 2022-04-01. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  8. ^ "Tunisie : le président s'arroge le pouvoir exécutif, Ennahdha condamne un «coup d'Etat contre la révolution»". leparisien.fr (in French). 2021-07-25. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  9. ^ "En Tunisie, la crise politique débouche sur une crise constitutionnelle". Les Echos (in French). 2021-07-26. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  10. ^ "Tunisie : la consultation citoyenne du président Kaïs Saïed a du plomb dans l'aile". France Culture (in French). 2022-03-18. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  11. ^ "Tunisie: échec de la consultation nationale en ligne voulue par le président Saïed". RFI (in French). 2022-03-22. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  12. ^ "Tunisie : Kaïs Saïed fait fi des critiques et officialise la date du 25 juillet pour le référendum - Jeune Afrique.com". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  13. ^ "Tunisie : pourquoi le projet de nouvelle Constitution inquiète - Jeune Afrique.com". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  14. ^ "Tunisie: le président Saïed dévoile son projet de nouvelle Constitution". RFI (in French). 2022-07-01. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  15. ^ "Référendum en Tunisie : que prévoit le projet de Constitution du président Kaïs Saïed ? | TV5MONDE - Informations". information.tv5monde.com (in French). 2022-07-22. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  16. ^ "Tunisie : le projet de Constitution dévoilé". Le Point (in French). 2022-07-01. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  17. ^ "En Tunisie, le projet de Constitution confère de vastes pouvoirs au président". France 24 (in French). 2022-06-30. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  18. ^ "Tunisie : islam, libertés, régime présidentiel… Ce qu'il faut retenir du projet de nouvelle Constitution - Jeune Afrique.com". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  19. ^ "Sadok Belaïd désavoue le projet de Constitution publié au JORT". Mosaique FM (in French). Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  20. ^ "Saïed : des erreurs dans le projet de la Constitution seront corrigées". Mosaique FM (in French). Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  21. ^ "Tunisie : une version amendée de la nouvelle Constitution publiée au Journal Officiel". www.aa.com.tr. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  22. ^ "Rectification de l'article 5 de la Constitution... Quel impact ?". Mosaique FM (in French). Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  23. ^ "Tunisie - Nouvelle constitution : les corrections n'en finissent pas". Kapitalis (in French). 2022-08-20. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  24. ^ "Décret Présidentiel n° 2022-691 du 17 août 2022, portant promulgation de la Constitution de la République tunisienne". Tunisie - Legal Databases (in French). Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  25. ^ "Page du sommaire de la Constitution de la République Tunisienne - 2022". www.jurisitetunisie.com. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  26. ^ "Préambule - Constitution de la République Tunisienne - 2022 - Tunisie". www.jurisitetunisie.com. Retrieved 2024-08-16.
  27. ^ "Disposition générales - Constitution de la République Tunisienne 2022 - Tunisie". www.jurisitetunisie.com. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  28. ^ "Des droits et les libertés - Constitution de la République Tunisienne 2022- Tunisie". www.jurisitetunisie.com. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  29. ^ "Page du sommaire de la Constitution de la République Tunisienne - 2022". www.jurisitetunisie.com. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  30. ^ "Page du sommaire de la Constitution de la République Tunisienne - 2022". www.jurisitetunisie.com. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  31. ^ "La fonction juridictionnelle - Constitution de la République Tunisienne - Tunisie". www.jurisitetunisie.com. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  32. ^ "La Cour constitutionnelle - Constitution de la République Tunisienne - Tunisie". www.jurisitetunisie.com. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  33. ^ "Les collectivités locales et régionales - Constitution de la République Tunisienne 2022 - Tunisie". www.jurisitetunisie.com. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  34. ^ "L'Instance supérieure indépendante pour les élections - Constitution de la République Tunisienne 2022 - Tunisie". www.jurisitetunisie.com. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  35. ^ "Le Conseil supérieur de l'éducation et de l'enseignement - Constitution de la République Tunisienne 2022 - Tunisie". www.jurisitetunisie.com. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  36. ^ "La révision de la Constitution - Constitution de la République Tunisienne 2022 - Tunisie". www.jurisitetunisie.com. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  37. ^ "Dispositions transitoires et finales - Constitution de la République Tunisienne 2022 - Tunisie". www.jurisitetunisie.com. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
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