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Tunisia: Cabinet Meeting examines constitutional reform bill

Carthage, 13 February 2002 (TunisiaOnline)

President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali chaired, on February 13th, 2002, an Extraordinary Cabinet Meeting devoted to the discussion of a constitutional reform bill, previously announced by the President of the Republic in the speech he delivered on the fourteenth anniversary of the Change.

The bill aims at ushering the country into a new political and institutional phase in order to keep track of the continued evolution of Tunisian society and paves the way for tomorrow's Republic and ensures the country's progress, while safeguarding the presidential nature of the republican regime.

The bill also consecrates the reformist course followed by Tunisia since the Change, a course illustrated by the rehabilitation of popular sovereignty and the republican system, the consolidation of the rule of law and institutions, the strengthening of human rights and freedoms and the anchoring of democracy and pluralism.

The Cabinet meeting looked into the various facets of the constitutional reform bill. First and foremost amongst the provisions of the bill is the consolidation of human rights and strengthening of their guarantees. The evolution of the system of human rights and basic freedoms in Tunisia since the Change of November 7th, 1987 has made it necessary to re-examine certain Articles of the Constitution, to further strengthen and enrich such rights. Towards this end, the bill consecrates into law the comprehensive, complementary and universal interpretation of human rights.

The proposed bill further protects personal information about individuals, including the confidentiality of private correspondence. The widening of the scope of human rights is further illustrated by consolidation of the essential founding principles of the Tunisian Constitution by including the values brought about by the Change, i.e. the values of mutual help, solidarity and tolerance and stipulating that the state and society work to have these values entrenched among individuals, social categories and future generations so that this duty, by its very nature, is shouldered not only by the public authorities but also by the various groups that make up society.

In the light of the evolution of the penal system of Tunisia since the first years of the Change particularly through the adoption of judicial guarantees concerning police custody and preventive detention and the time limits set for them respectively, it will be expressly stipulated -for the purpose of consolidating such guarantees- that police custody will be henceforth subject to judicial monitoring.

As for preventive detention, judicial control will take the form of a court order and the interdiction that any person be subjected to abusive police custody or preventive detention.

In the same context, the proposed bill constitutionally sanctions the principle now consecrated in the Penal Code, which stipulates, as an exception to the rule, that penal law is non-retroactive, and consists in applying the most favorable text promulgated following the acts for which legal proceedings have been started.

In order to further consecrate loyalty to Tunisia, the new bill includes, along with the obligation of defending one's country, the duty of every citizen to protect his country and preserve its independence, its sovereignty and the integrity of the national territory.

The second facet of the constitutional reform bill examined by the Cabinet aims at further consolidating the legislative and political process by setting up a second chamber alongside the Chamber of Deputies, which will be called " the Chamber of Advisers ", and will give wider representation to the different regions of the country and the various components of society.

The bill stipulates that the number of members of the Chamber of Advisers will not exceed two-thirds that of the Chamber of Deputies, since the Chamber of Deputies will still assume the general legislative attributes, while the Chamber of Advisers will have legislative support attributes, as is the case in most countries with a two-chamber system.

The third facet of the constitutional reform bill ensures the evolution of governmental action and government-legislative relations, while maintaining the presidential nature of the republican regime. Towards this end, the proposed bill includes provisions for oral questions as well as questions concerning policies concerning specific sectors and current issues, and the holding of periodic hearings devoted to such questions, in order to ensure a better distribution of parliamentary action throughout the session and add a new constitutional framework to the Government's relations with the Chamber of Deputies.

The fourth facet of the bill examined by the Cabinet includes changes in regulations related to presidential elections. The proposed Amendment introduces, for the first time in Tunisia, the two-round electoral system, which is more in line with the pluralism of candidacies for the office of President. The Constitutional reform introduces the possibility of renewing the candidacy for the office of President of the Republic while maintaining the provision of maximum age of eligibility, provided for in Article 40.

The draft Amendment also stipulates that candidacies be registered with the Constitutional Council, which decides on the validity of this candidacy, announces the results of the elections and reviews the appeals it receives.

These provisions are part of consolidated mechanisms for monitoring elections and a modified role for the Constitutional Council. The proposed bill will also lead to the extension of the Council's sphere of activities and the increased neutrality and independence of its members.

The system of monitoring the constitutionality of laws by the Council is maintained by the draft Amendment. A new role is attributed to the Constitutional Council as regards presidential and legislative elections and referendums.

As regards presidential elections, the Constitutional Council will directly exercise the competence which hitherto fell to the Commission provided for in Article 40 of the Constitution. Concerning legislative elections, the Constitutional Council will, in accordance with the Amendment, examine the election of members of the Chamber of Deputies and of the Chamber of Advisers, and will monitor the validity of referendums and announce their results.

To reaffirm the neutrality and independence of the members of the Constitutional Council, the proposed Amendment of the Constitution provides for new rules on the makeup of the council and specific functions of its members.

Finally, the draft Amendment to the Constitution provides for provisional arrangements aimed, in particular, at guaranteeing the continuation of legislative action till the creation of the Chamber of Advisers and the adoption of its internal regulations. Also and as far as the Constitutional Council is concerned, constitutional rules now in force, including organic laws which were promulgated on the basis of these rules, will remain in force up to the adoption of the new organic law concerning the Constitutional Council and the appointment of its members according to the new makeup provided for by the draft Amendment.

President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's Address to Tunisian people

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