The President of the Republic of Tunisia, Kaïs Saïed, decided, this Wednesday, January 19, 2022, to put an end, by presidential decree, to the bonuses and privileges granted to the members of the Superior Council of the Judiciary (CSM), according to a press release published on the official Facebook page of the Presidency of the Republic.
The benefits in question consist of a monthly bonus estimated at 2364 dinars in addition to 400 liters of fuel, specifies the same source, which indicates that President Saïed signed, this Wednesday, a decree modifying the fundamental law n° 2016-34 of April 28, 2016, relating to the Superior Council of the Judiciary, stipulating the cancellation of these bonuses and privileges granted to members of the CSM.
Representatives of the “Tunisians for Fair Justice” observatory had asked the President of the Republic to dissolve the CSM by decree-law and to reform the judicial system. They had announced on January 8, 2022, the organization of an open sit-in in front of the headquarters of the CSM until their claim was satisfied.
In response to this sit-in, the Association of Tunisian Magistrates (AMT) warned, in a press release dated January 13, against “attacks on the guarantees and mechanisms of the independence of the judiciary”.
As a reminder, the CSM had expressed, in a press release made public on January 6, its rejection of any revision or reform of the judicial system by means of presidential decrees within the framework of the exceptional measures introduced by President Saïed since July 25. last. The CSM had warned, at the same time, against the danger that could arise from any pressure that would be exerted on the judges, calling for restoring confidence in the justice system and the Tunisian magistrates.
Receiving last November, the Tunisian Minister of Justice, Leila Jaffel, and the first president of the Court of Auditors, Najib Ktari, President Saïed had called for the revision of Organic Law No. 2016-34 of April 28, 2016, relating to the Superior magistrate counsel. Kaïs Saïed considered that this law is “no less important than the Constitution”, stressing the importance of reforming the judiciary.
“There can be no real progress without a radical reform of justice,” he insisted.
Created under Organic Law No. 2016-34 of April 28, 2016, the Superior Council of the Judiciary is “a constitutional institution that guarantees, within the framework of its attributions, the proper functioning of justice and the independence of the judicial authority, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and ratified international conventions”, according to article 1 of the said Law.
