Art. 16 - A political party may not receive any direct or indirect material aid from abroad or from foreigners settled in Tunisia on any account or in any from whatsoever.

It must keep double-entry accounts and an inventory of its movables and real estate.

It must submit its annual accounts to the Revenue Court . It must be in a position to justify the source of its financial resources at all times.

Art. 17 - A political party may not put out slogans liable to advocate or encourage violence with a view to disrupting public order or generating hatred among citizens.

Art. 18 - In an emergency, the Minister of the Interior can, with justification, pronounce the temporary closure of premises belonging to or being used by the political party concerned and suspend all activities of this political party and all meetings or gatherings of its members. This does not prejudice the application of the other provisons in force regarding founders, leaders or members of a political party which is the object of legal proceedings, particularly those relating to penal affairs.

The temporary closure and the suspension of a party's political activity decided by the Minister of the Interior must not exceed one month.

At the end of this time, failing any legal proceedings to dissolve it, the political party can recover all its rights unless another limit, which must in no case exceed two months, is granted by an order petitioning the Presiding Judge of the Tunis Court of First Instance at the request of the Minister of the Interior.

Art. 19 - In case of a serious violation of the provisions of the present law, the Minister of the Interior can ask the Tunis Court of First Instance for the dissolution of a political party, in particular: ¦

a) if it undermines the principles set out in articles 2 and 3 of the present law in its programmes or actions ;

b) if its real aims, activity or schemes prove to conflict with its statutes ;

c) if it is established that it has received any form of material aid from a foreign party, directly or indirectly ;

d) if its activity proves to be based on an illicit cause.

Art. 20 - The Minister of the Interior refers to the Tunis Court of First Instance by petition and must summon the representative of the party the same day by sollicitor to appear before the court within a maximum of 10 days summons must be attached to the copy of the request and the papers appendixed to it.

There days before the appearance, the party concerned must submit its pleadings all together ; a copy should be sent to the Minister of the Interior on the same day.

After the speeches for the defence, which take place on the day of the appearance, the Presiding Judge of the Court declares the proceedings closed. The court must give a ruling within 20 days of the closing of the proceedings. The judgement is written the same day.

Art. 21 - In case of appeal, the appelant submits a petition to the Clerk's Office of the Tunis Court of First Instance. The clerk of this court must immediately transmit the file on the case to the Clerk's Office of the Appeal Court of Tunis.

The day the petition is submitted, the appelant must summon the appellee by solicitor to appear before the Appeal Court of Tunis within a maximum of 10 days. The summons must be attached to the copy of the appeal petition.

Three days before appearance, the appellee must submit his pleadings all together. A copy should be sent to the appelant on the same day.

The rules decreed by the final paragraph of article 20 of the present law are applicable to the hearing of the speech for the defence and the writing of the judgement.

Art. 22 - In case of an appeal being taken to the Court of Appeal, the lawyer submits an appeal to the Clerk's Office of the Court of Cassation, accompanied by a statement of case stating his means and specifying the provisions for which he is requesting cassation as well his claims with all supporting evidence. He should supply his adversary with a copy of his appeal and his statement of case the same day.

The respondent to the appeal must submit a statement of case with all supporting evidence by lawyer to the Clerk's Office of the Court of Cassation within 10 days, after having sent a copy to his adversary 1 lawyer.

The Court of Cassation must give its decision within 20 days. If it decides for cassation of the judgement, it gives a ruling on the substance.

Art. 23 - The time limits for appeal against judgements or rulings are 10 days from the date of pronouncement of the judgement or ruling. Appeals are suspensive of the contested decision.

At any moment during proceedings, the Minister of the Interior can ask the Presiding Judge of the Tunis Court of the First Instance, for an emergency ruling to provisionally close the premises and suspend the activities of the party concerned.

The decision to close and suspend is executory on a minute notwithstanding the appeal.

The provisions of articles 20, 21 and 22 of the present law do not block the rules of the Code of civil and commercial procedure which do not conflict with it.

Art. 24 - Within the framework of current regulations, the statutes of a political party must set down rules for the liquidation of the property and valuables of the party in case it ceases its activity.

In case of dissolution, the property and valuables of the political party will be liquidated by the administration of the state property department.

Art. 25 - A founder or leader of a party is punished with five years' imprisonment:

- if they have direct or indirect secret dealings with any kind of foreign party or agnets thereof with the aim of undermining security, disturbing public order or harming the political or economic situation of Tunisia .

- if they get involved with political propaganda which favours any kind of foreign party with a view to undermining the interests and security of Tunisia .

•  if they communicate to any kind of foreign party or one of its agents any confidential document or information about the military, political, diplomatic, economic or industrial domain.

- if, by their attitude, contacts, the stand they take, or their written or spoken words, they undertake an action to destabilise the nation which has the aim of disturbing public order or undermining security either domestically or abroad.

- if they receive funds on their own or the party's account which come directly or indirectly from a foreign party, in whatever form or on whatever grounds it may be.

Attempting to do any of the above is punishable.

The provisions of the present article do not block the application of articles 60 to 80 of the Penal Code.

Art. 26 - Any infraction of the provisions of the present law, with the exception of those set out by article 25 of the present law, will be punished by a prison stence of between one month and three years and / or a fine of between 5,000 and 25,000 dinars.

A second or subsequent offence carries a double punishment.

Likewise, anyone who takes part, directly or indirectly, in the maintenance, or reconstitution of an unauthorised or dissolved political party will be punished by a prison sentence of between one and five years and / or a fine of between ten and thirty thousand dinars.

Art. 27 - Political parties which already exist legally on the date of promulgation of this law must conform to the provisions of the present law within 6 months; the permits which they have already been granted remain valid.

The present law will be published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Tunisia and enforced as a law of the State.

Enacted in Tunis , 3 May 1988

Zine El Abidine Ben Ali