Int r oduction
In the wo r ds o f Kaïs S aïed, the Sup r eme Judi c ial Coun c il ( C S M) should "consider itself as a thing o f the past f r om n o w on", as he effectively buried the institution with the publication o f de c r ee n°11 . In addition t o this g r anting Kaïs S aïed n e wfound authority o ver the judi c iar y , it also established a Pr o visional Coun c il, similar in structu r e but qui t e diffe r ent in member composition, r aising dou b ts about the true independence o f the institution.
C S M or p r o v i sional C S M: the same s tructu r e
T he Pr o visional Sup r eme Judi c ial Coun c il is modelled on the same structu r e as the Sup r eme Judi c ial Coun c il. B o th a r e subdivided in t o th r ee diffe r ent coun c ils: administ r ative, judi c ial and finan c ial.
Coun c il o f the Judi c ial Mag i s t r acy
Coun c il o f the F inan c ial Mag i s t r acy
Coun c il o f the A dmin i s t r ative Mag i s t r acy
C S M
A small p r o v i sional coun c il, with no election s y s t em
T he C S M p r e viously consis t ed o f 45 members in t o tal - 15 per sub-coun c il. Mo r e than 70% o f them we r e elec t ed b y their peers, ensuring wide r ep r esentation o f the diffe r ent r anks o f the judi c iar y , and a r egular turn o ver o f members. T he Pr o visional Coun c il is composed o f appoin t ed members onl y , the number o f whi c h has been r educed t o 21. T he elec t o r al s ys t em has been comple t ely abolished and Kaïs S aïed has the authority t o di r ectly appoint almost half o f the members (9/21). T he n e w de c r ee also all o ws the Pr esident t o r efuse the appointment o f spe c ific magist r a t es, particularly those who a r e "ex o ffi c io" members, i.e. b y virtue o f their function within the C S M. T he Pr esident thus has either di r ect or indi r ect de c ision-making p o wer o ver all members o f this n e w institution.
A small p r o v i sional coun c il, with no election s y s t em
Coun c il o f the F inan c ial Mag i s t r acy
Coun c il o f the Judi c ial Mag i s t r acy
Coun c il o f the A dmin i s t r ative Mag i s t r acy
C S M
P r o v i sional C S M
Members appoin t ed acco r ding t o function
Members elec t ed b y their peers
4
11
Members appoin t ed acco r ding t o function
Members appoin t ed f r om amon g s t r eti r ed mag i s t r a t es,
4
3
Members appoin t ed acco r ding t o function
Members elec t ed b y their peers
4
11
Members appoin t ed acco r ding t o function
Members elec t ed b y their peers
4
11
b y the P r esident o f the R epublic
Members appoin t ed acco r ding t o function
Members appoin t ed f r om amon g s t r eti r ed mag i s t r a t es,
4
3
b y the P r esident o f the R epublic
Members appoin t ed acco r ding t o function
Members appoin t ed f r om amon g s t r eti r ed mag i s t r a t es,
4
3
b y the P r esident o f the R epublic
A similar foundation
B o th the C S M and the p r o visional C S M a r e composed o f a co r e g r oup o f 12 senior magist r a t es appoin t ed 'ex o ffi c io'. F or example, the F irst Pr esident o f the Court o f A udit is a member o f the Coun c il o f the F inan c ial Magist r ac y . H o w e ver, some o f the functions i n volving a seat on the Coun c il h a ve c hanged with the n e w de c r ee.
C S M
P r o v i sional C S M
Coun c il o f the F inan c ial Mag i s t r acy
S enior mag i s t r a t es appoin t ed acco r ding t o function
4
S enior mag i s t r a t es appoin t ed acco r ding t o function
4
Coun c il o f the Judi c ial Mag i s t r acy
S enior mag i s t r a t es appoin t ed acco r ding t o function
4
S enior mag i s t r a t es appoin t ed acco r ding t o function
4
Coun c il o f the A dmin i s t r ative Mag i s t r acy
S enior mag i s t r a t es appoin t ed acco r ding t o function
4
S enior mag i s t r a t es appoin t ed acco r ding t o function
4
T he r em o v al o f elec t ed mag i s t r a t es
In addition t o the senior magist r a t es, the r e we r e p r e viously 18 magist r a t es o f v arious r anks elec t ed b y their peers. With De c r ee n°11, th e y a r e comple t ely r eplaced b y Kaïs S aïed's di r ect appointment o f 9 r eti r ed judges, " r en o wned for their compe t ence, their in t egrity and their independence".
C S M
P r o v i sional C S M
Coun c il o f the F inan c ial Mag i s t r acy
Mag i s t r a t es elec t ed b y their peers
6
Members appoin t ed f r om amon g s t r eti r ed mag i s t r a t es,
b y the P r esident o f the R epublic
3
Mag i s t r a t es elec t ed b y their peers
6
Members appoin t ed f r om amon g s t r eti r ed mag i s t r a t es,
b y the P r esident o f the R epublic
3
Mag i s t r a t es elec t ed b y their peers
6
Members appoin t ed f r om amon g s t r eti r ed mag i s t r a t es,
b y the P r esident o f the R epublic
3
Coun c il o f the Judi c ial Mag i s t r acy
Coun c il o f the A dmin i s t r ative Mag i s t r acy
T he r em o v al o f independent spe c ial i s ts
T he Pr o visional Coun c il is d e void o f independent spe c ialists. T he composition o f the p r e vious C S M in c luded 15 l a w yers, bailiffs, accountants and t ea c her- r esea r c hers. E lec t ed b y their peers, th e y p r o vided expertise r ela t ed t o their p r o fession and hal t ed the corpo r atism o f the institution. " T he idea behind the r ep r esentation o f o ther p r o fessions within the Coun c il is that justice impacts the enti r e population", explains S aïd B enarbia, the MENA r egional di r ec t or o f the In t ernational Commission o f Jurists ( I C J). H o w e ver, the n e w Pr o visional Coun c il is composed ex c lusively o f magist r a t es.
C S M
P r o v i sional C S M
No elec t ed members
Coun c il o f the F inan c ial Mag i s t r acy
Independent spe c ial i s ts elec t ed b y their peers
5
No elec t ed members
Independent spe c ial i s ts elec t ed b y their peers
5
Coun c il o f the Judi c ial Mag i s t r acy
No elec t ed members
Independent spe c ial i s ts elec t ed b y their peers
5
Coun c il o f the A dmin i s t r ative Mag i s t r acy
T he comple t e composition
C S M
P r o v i sional C S M
S enior mag i s t r a t es appoin t ed acco r ding t o function
4
Coun c il o f the F inan c ial Mag i s t r acy
Mag i s t r a t es elec t ed b y their peers
6
independent spe c ial i s ts elec t ed b y their peers
5
S enior mag i s t r a t es appoin t ed acco r ding t o function
4
Members appoin t ed f r om amon g s t r eti r ed mag i s t r a t es,
3
b y the P r esident o f the R epublic
Coun c il o f the Judi c ial Mag i s t r acy
S enior mag i s t r a t es appoin t ed acco r ding t o function
4
Mag i s t r a t es elec t ed b y their peers
6
independent spe c ial i s ts elec t ed b y their peers
5
S enior mag i s t r a t es appoin t ed acco r ding t o function
4
Members appoin t ed f r om amon g s t r eti r ed mag i s t r a t es,
3
b y the P r esident o f the R epublic
Coun c il o f the A dmin i s t r ative Mag i s t r acy
S enior mag i s t r a t es appoin t ed acco r ding t o function
4
Mag i s t r a t es elec t ed b y their peers
6
independent spe c ial i s ts elec t ed b y their peers
5
S enior mag i s t r a t es appoin t ed acco r ding t o function
4
Members appoin t ed f r om amon g s t r eti r ed mag i s t r a t es,
3
b y the P r esident o f the R epublic
Con c l u sion
T he cur r ent Coun c il is n o w subject t o appointments made b y the p r esident, and the r egular turn o ver o f C S M members is p r e ven t ed due t o the absence o f elections. With these c hanges, "the executive p o wer has almost absolu t e cont r ol o ver the composition o f the Pr o visional Coun c il", commen t ed S aïd B enarbia. E ven though the Coun c il is called ' p r o v i sional' , D e c r ee No. 11 does n o t p r o vide a time limit for the implementation o f a r eform o f the C S M, nor o f the judi c iary mo r e gene r all y . T he institution could the r efo r e r emain as su c h until the n e w Constitution, p r omised b y Kaïs S aïed, is d r af t ed. In the meantime, a n y gua r an t ee o f independence for the judi c iary would be lost.
Int r oduction
In the wo r ds o f Kaïs S aïed, the Sup r eme Judi c ial Coun c il ( C S M) should "consider itself as a thing o f the past f r om n o w on", as he effectively buried the institution with the publication o f de c r ee n°11 . In addition t o this g r anting Kaïs S aïed n e wfound authority o ver the judi c iar y , it also established a Pr o visional Coun c il, similar in structu r e but qui t e diffe r ent in member composition, r aising dou b ts about the true independence o f the institution.
C S M or p r o v i sional C S M: the same s tructu r e
Coun c il o f the Judi c ial Mag i s t r acy
Coun c il o f the A dmin i s t r ative Mag i s t r acy
Coun c il o f the F inan c ial Mag i s t r acy
C S M
C S M or p r o v i sional C S M: the same s tructu r e
T he Pr o visional Sup r eme Judi c ial Coun c il is modelled on the same structu r e as the Sup r eme Judi c ial Coun c il. B o th a r e subdivided in t o th r ee diffe r ent coun c ils: administ r ative, judi c ial and finan c ial.
A small p r o v i sional coun c il, with no election s y s t em
T he C S M p r e viously consis t ed o f 45 members in t o tal - 15 per sub-coun c il. Mo r e than 70% o f them we r e elec t ed b y their peers, ensuring wide r ep r esentation o f the diffe r ent r anks o f the judi c iar y , and a r egular turn o ver o f members. T he Pr o visional Coun c il is composed o f appoin t ed members onl y , the number o f whi c h has been r educed t o 21. T he elec t o r al s ys t em has been comple t ely abolished and Kaïs S aïed has the authority t o di r ectly appoint almost half o f the members (9/21). T he n e w de c r ee also all o ws the Pr esident t o r efuse the appointment o f spe c ific magist r a t es, particularly those who a r e "ex o ffi c io" members, i.e. b y virtue o f their function within the C S M. T he Pr esident thus has either di r ect or indi r ect de c ision-making p o wer o ver all members o f this n e w institution.
C S M
Coun c il o f the F inan c ial Mag i s t r acy
Coun c il o f the Judi c ial Mag i s t r acy
Coun c il o f the A dmin i s t r ative Mag i s t r acy
1 /2
A small p r o v i sional coun c il, with no election s y s t em
Members appoin t ed acco r ding t o function
Members elec t ed b y their peers
4
11
Members appoin t ed acco r ding t o function
Members elec t ed b y their peers
4
11
Members appoin t ed acco r ding t o function
Members elec t ed b y their peers
4
11
P r o v i sional C S M
2 /2
A small p r o v i sional coun c il, with no election s y s t em
Coun c il o f the F inan c ial Mag i s t r acy
Coun c il o f the Judi c ial Mag i s t r acy
Coun c il o f the A dmin i s t r ative Mag i s t r acy
Members appoin t ed acco r ding t o function
4
Members appoin t ed f r om amon g s t r eti r ed
3
mag i s t r a t es, b y the P r esident o f the R epublic
Members appoin t ed acco r ding t o function
4
Members appoin t ed f r om amon g s t r eti r ed
3
mag i s t r a t es, b y the P r esident o f the R epublic
Members appoin t ed acco r ding t o function
4
Members appoin t ed f r om amon g s t r eti r ed
3
mag i s t r a t es, b y the P r esident o f the R epublic
1 /2
A similar foundation
C S M
Coun c il o f the F inan c ial Mag i s t r acy
Coun c il o f the Judi c ial Mag i s t r acy
Coun c il o f the A dmin i s t r ative Mag i s t r acy
4
S enior mag i s t r a t es appoin t ed
acco r ding t o function
4
S enior mag i s t r a t es appoin t ed
acco r ding t o function
4
S enior mag i s t r a t es appoin t ed
acco r ding t o function
2 /2
A similar foundation
P r o v i sional C S M
Coun c il o f the F inan c ial Mag i s t r acy
Coun c il o f the Judi c ial Mag i s t r acy
Coun c il o f the A dmin i s t r ative Mag i s t r acy
4