Introduction In the words of Kaïs Saïed, the Supreme Judicial Council (CSM) should "consider itself as a thing of the past from now on", as he effectively buried the institution with the publication of decree n°11.In addition to this granting Kaïs Saïed newfound authority over the judiciary, it also established a Provisional Council, similar in structure but quite different in member composition, raising doubts about the true independence of theinstitution. CSM or provisional CSM: the same structure The Provisional Supreme Judicial Council is modelled on the same structure as the Supreme Judicial Council. Both are subdivided into three different councils: administrative, judicial and financial. Council of the JudicialMagistracy Council of the FinancialMagistracy Council of the AdministrativeMagistracy CSM A small provisional council, with no election system The CSM previously consisted of 45 members in total - 15 per sub-council. More than 70% of them were elected by their peers, ensuring wide representation of the different ranks of the judiciary, and a regular turnover of members. The Provisional Council is composed of appointed members only, the number of which has been reduced to 21. The electoral system has been completely abolished and Kaïs Saïed has the authority to directly appoint almost half of the members (9/21). The new decree also allows the President to refuse the appointment of specific magistrates, particularly those who are "ex officio" members, i.e. by virtue of their function within the CSM. The President thus has either direct or indirect decision-making power over all members of this new institution. A small provisional council, with no election system Council of theFinancial Magistracy Council of the JudicialMagistracy Council of theAdministrativeMagistracy CSM Provisional CSM Members appointed according to function Members elected by their peers 4 11 Members appointed according to function Members appointed from amongst retired magistrates, 4 3 Members appointed according to function Members elected by their peers 4 11 Members appointed according to function Members elected by their peers 4 11 by the President of the Republic Members appointed according to function Members appointed from amongst retired magistrates, 4 3 by the President of the Republic Members appointed according to function Members appointed from amongst retired magistrates, 4 3 by the President of the Republic A similar foundation Both the CSM and the provisional CSM are composed of a core group of 12 senior magistrates appointed 'ex officio'. For example, the First President of the Court of Audit is a member of the Council of the Financial Magistracy. However, some of the functions involving a seat on the Council have changed with the new decree. CSM Provisional CSM Council of theFinancial Magistracy Senior magistrates appointed according to function 4 Senior magistrates appointed according to function 4 Council of theJudicial Magistracy Senior magistrates appointed according to function 4 Senior magistrates appointed according to function 4 Council of theAdministrativeMagistracy Senior magistrates appointed according to function 4 Senior magistrates appointed according to function 4 The removal of elected magistrates In addition to the senior magistrates, there were previously 18 magistrates of various ranks elected by their peers. With Decree n°11, they are completelyreplaced by Kaïs Saïed's direct appointment of 9 retired judges, "renowned for their competence, their integrity and their independence". CSM Provisional CSM Council of theFinancial Magistracy Magistrates elected by their peers 6 Members appointed from amongst retired magistrates, by the President of the Republic 3 Magistrates elected by their peers 6 Members appointed from amongst retired magistrates, by the President of the Republic 3 Magistrates elected by their peers 6 Members appointed from amongst retired magistrates, by the President of the Republic 3 Council of theJudicial Magistracy Council of theAdministrativeMagistracy The removal of independent specialists The Provisional Council is devoid of independent specialists. The composition of the previous CSM included 15 lawyers, bailiffs, accountants and teacher-researchers. Elected by their peers, they provided expertise related to their profession and halted the corporatism of the institution. "The idea behind the representation of other professions within the Council is that justice impacts the entire population", explains Saïd Benarbia, the MENAregional director of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ). However, the new Provisional Council is composed exclusively of magistrates. CSM Provisional CSM No elected members Council of theFinancial Magistracy Independent specialists elected by their peers 5 No elected members Independent specialists elected by their peers 5 Council of theJudicial Magistracy No elected members Independent specialists elected by their peers 5 Council of theAdministrativeMagistracy The complete composition CSM Provisional CSM Senior magistrates appointed according to function 4 Council of theFinancial Magistracy Magistrates elected by their peers 6 independent specialists elected by their peers 5 Senior magistrates appointed according to function 4 Members appointed from amongst retired magistrates, 3 by the President of the Republic Council of theJudicial Magistracy Senior magistrates appointed according to function 4 Magistrates elected by their peers 6 independent specialists elected by their peers 5 Senior magistrates appointed according to function 4 Members appointed from amongst retired magistrates, 3 by the President of the Republic Council of theAdministrativeMagistracy Senior magistrates appointed according to function 4 Magistrates elected by their peers 6 independent specialists elected by their peers 5 Senior magistrates appointed according to function 4 Members appointed from amongst retired magistrates, 3 by the President of the Republic Conclusion The current Council is now subject to appointments made by the president, and the regular turnover of CSM members is prevented due to the absence of elections. With these changes, "the executive power has almost absolute control over the composition of the Provisional Council", commented Saïd Benarbia.Even though the Council is called 'provisional', Decree No. 11 does not provide a time limit for the implementation of a reform of the CSM, nor of the judiciary more generally. The institution could therefore remain as such until the new Constitution, promised by Kaïs Saïed, is drafted. In the meantime, any guarantee of independence for the judiciary would be lost. Introduction In the words of Kaïs Saïed, the Supreme Judicial Council (CSM) should "consider itself as a thing of the past from now on", as he effectively buried the institution with the publication of decree n°11.In addition to this granting Kaïs Saïed newfound authority over the judiciary, it also established a Provisional Council,similar in structure but quite different in member composition, raising doubts about the true independence of theinstitution. CSM or provisional CSM: the same structure Council of the JudicialMagistracy Council of the AdministrativeMagistracy Council of the FinancialMagistracy CSM CSM or provisional CSM: the same structure The Provisional Supreme Judicial Council is modelled on the same structure as the Supreme Judicial Council. Both are subdivided into three different councils: administrative, judicial and financial. A small provisional council, with noelection system The CSM previously consisted of 45 members intotal - 15 per sub-council. More than 70% of them were elected by their peers, ensuring wide representation of the different ranks of the judiciary, and a regularturnover of members. The Provisional Council is composed of appointed members only, the number of which has been reduced to 21. The electoral system has been completelyabolished and Kaïs Saïed has the authority to directly appoint almost half of the members (9/21). The new decree also allows the President to refuse theappointment of specific magistrates, particularly those who are "ex officio" members, i.e. by virtue of their function within the CSM. The President thus has either direct or indirectdecision-making power over all members of this new institution. CSM Council of theFinancial Magistracy Council of theJudicial Magistracy Council of theAdministrativeMagistracy 1/2 A small provisional council, with noelection system Members appointed according to function Members elected by their peers 4 11 Members appointed according to function Members elected by their peers 4 11 Members appointed according to function Members elected by their peers 4 11 Provisional CSM 2/2 A small provisional council, with noelection system Council of theFinancial Magistracy Council of theJudicial Magistracy Council of theAdministrativeMagistracy Members appointed according to function 4 Members appointed from amongst retired 3 magistrates, by the President of the Republic Members appointed according to function 4 Members appointed from amongst retired 3 magistrates, by the President of the Republic Members appointed according to function 4 Members appointed from amongst retired 3 magistrates, by the President of the Republic 1/2 A similar foundation CSM Council of theFinancial Magistracy Council of theJudicial Magistracy Council of theAdministrativeMagistracy 4 Senior magistrates appointed according to function 4 Senior magistrates appointed according to function 4 Senior magistrates appointed according to function 2/2 A similar foundation Provisional CSM Council of theFinancial Magistracy Council of theJudicial Magistracy Council of theAdministrativeMagistracy 4 Senior magistrates appointed according to function 4 Senior magistrates appointed according to function 4 Senior magistrates appointed according to function Both the CSM and the provisional CSM are composed of a core group of 12 senior magistrates appointed 'ex officio'. For example, the First President of the Court of Audit is a member of theCouncil of the Financial Magistracy. However, some of the functions involving a seat on the Council have changed with the new decree. A similar foundation 1/2 The removal of elected magistrates CSM Council of theFinancial Magistracy Council of theJudicial Magistracy Council of theAdministrativeMagistracy Magistrates elected by their peers 6 Magistrates elected by their peers 6 Magistrates elected by their peers 6 2/2 The removal of elected magistrates Provisional CSM Council of theFinancial Magistracy Council of theJudicial Magistracy Council of theAdministrativeMagistracy Members appointed from amongst retired 3 magistrates, by the President of the Republic Members appointed from amongst retired 3 magistrates, by the President of the Republic Members appointed from amongst retired 3 magistrates, by the President of the Republic In addition to the senior magistrates, there were previously 18 magistrates of various ranks elected by their peers. With Decree n°11, they are completely replaced by Kaïs Saïed's direct appointment of 9 retired judges, "renowned for theircompetence, their integrity and theirindependence". The removal of elected magistrates 1/2 The removal of independent specialists CSM Council of theFinancial Magistracy Council of theJudicial Magistracy Council of theAdministrativeMagistracy Independent specialists elected by their peers 5 Independent specialists elected by their peers 5 Independent specialists elected by their peers 5 2/2 The removal of independent specialists No elected members No elected members No elected members Provisional CSM Council of theFinancial Magistracy Council of theJudicial Magistracy Council of theAdministrativeMagistracy The Provisional Council is devoid of independent specialists. The composition of the previous CSM included 15 lawyers, bailiffs, accountants and teacher-researchers. Elected by their peers, they provided expertise related to their profession and halted the corporatism of the institution. "The idea behind the representation of other professions within the Council is that justiceimpacts the entire population", explains Saïd Benarbia, the MENA regional director of theInternational Commission of Jurists (ICJ).However, the new Provisional Council iscomposed exclusively of magistrates. The removal of independent specialists 1/2 The complete composition Senior magistrates appointed according 4 Magistrates elected by their peers 6 independent specialists elected by 5 CSM Council of theFinancial Magistracy Council of theJudicial Magistracy Council of theAdministrativeMagistracy to function their peers Senior magistrates appointed according 4 Magistrates elected by their peers 6 independent specialists elected by 5 to function their peers Senior magistrates appointed according 4 Magistrates elected by their peers 6 independent specialists elected by 5 to function their peers 2/2 The complete composition Provisional CSM Council of theFinancial Magistracy Council of theJudicial Magistracy Council of theAdministrativeMagistracy 4 Members appointed from amongst retired 3 magistrates, by the President of the Republic Senior magistrates appointed according to function 4 Members appointed from amongst retired 3 magistrates, by the President of the Republic Senior magistrates appointed according to function 4 Members appointed from amongst retired 3 magistrates, by the President of the Republic Senior magistrates appointed according to function The current Council is now subject toappointments made by the president, and the regular turnover of CSM members isprevented due to the absence of elections. With these changes, "the executive power has almost absolute control over the composition of the Provisional Council", commented Saïd Benarbia.Even though the Council is called 'provisional', Decree No. 11 does not provide a time limit for the implementation of a reform of the CSM, nor of the judiciary more generally. Theinstitution could therefore remain as such until the new Constitution, promised by Kaïs Saïed, is drafted. In the meantime, anyguarantee of independence for the judiciary would be lost. Conclusion Next Previous