President reiterates “respect for the independence of the judiciary”
(ANSA) – TUNIS, FEBRUARY 13 – One week after his announcement, Tunisian President Kais Saied “promulgated a decree law establishing a provisional Superior Council of the Judiciary, underlining the need for a fair judicial system that promotes equality before the law and reiterating its respect for the independence of the judiciary “. This is what we read on the Twitter profile of the Tunisian presidency with a text accompanied by a photo that portrays the president in the act of receiving Prime Minister Najla Bouden and Justice Minister Leila Jaffel. The decision to dissolve the CSM last week unleashed harsh criticism from the Tunisian judges themselves who observed two days of strike and from a large part of the international community which highlighted the non-respect of the independence of the judiciary and one-sidedness of the action. President Saied responded harshly by stating that Tunisia is a sovereign state and repeatedly reiterated the need for an uncorrupted judiciary. “We talk to everyone, we are a sovereign state that respects the law and we aspire not to what they call the rule of law, but to a society of law,” said the President in response to criticism. According to the first indiscretions on the text of the decree law leaking into the local media, the new provisional CSM contains rather strict rules that increase Saied’s powers and interference and the imposition at this stage of the ban on “all kinds of strikes” and forms of “organized collective action”. (HANDLE)