Constitutions preceding the creation of the Tunisian state The territory of modern-day Tunisia knew its first form of political organization with the of
ancient Carthage. Its text was extensively referred to by
Aristotle in his work,
Politics. In this, Aristotle speaks highly of the Carthaginian constitution and describes it as a model of a balanced constitution, having the best characteristics of other political regimes; It combines elements of monarchic (kings or
shophets), aristocratic (senate) and democratic (people's assembly) regimes.
Fundamental Pact of 1857 Beginning in 1839, the
Ottoman Empire introduced a number of reforms in government starting with the
Hatt-ı Şerif of the Gülhane, but these were not applied in Tunisia due to the independence of the
Husainid Dynasty and the conservatism of the ruling Bey,
Ahmad I ibn Mustafa. It was the death of Ahmad I and the
Batto Sfez Affair and its aftermath that allowed France and England to pressure the Bey into granting reforms.
Samuel "Batto" Sfez was a Jewish teamster who worked for Jewish political boss Nasim Shamama. Following a traffic accident, Sfez was involved in an altercation with a Muslim. His opponent subsequently brought charges against Sfez, charging him with insulting Islam, a capital offense under
Maliki law. There were plenty of witnesses who had heard Sfez curse his opponent and his religion. A notary investigated and took sworn statements. The court considered the matter for some time, while Shamama tried to muster support from the British and French legations. However, Nasim Shamama had previously upset the Bey,
Muhammad II ibn al-Husayn, by forcing him to deal with a case of a Muslim who had murdered a Jew, where the unpopular conclusion was the execution of the Muslim. As a result, Muhammad II issued the execution order the same day that the court came down with its decision of guilty, and Sfez was summarily beheaded. This upset not only the local Jewish community but also the local European businessmen and hence the legates from France, Leon Roches, and Britain, Richard Wood, who had already been pressuring the Bey for greater religious tolerance and equal treatment before the law, primarily in support of European commercial interests. European warships steamed into Tunisian harbors including an entire French squadron into
the port of Tunis (Halq al-Wadi). Under this pressure and given the support of the liberal former general and Marine Minister
Hayreddin Pasha, Muhammad II agreed to what became known as the
Fundamental Pact of 1857. That document, which had many similarities to the 1839 Ottoman Hatt-ı Şerif, abolished slavery, guaranteed people to be secure in their lives and property, granted equality of taxation (thus implicitly abolishing the
jizya), granted religious freedom, granted equality before the law, granted foreigner the right to own land and participate in all types of businesses and set up separate commercial courts, among other things. Although adopted under foreign pressure, to open the country to international trade, these ideas of equality from the
Age of Enlightenment found fertile ground in the Tunisian reform movement, contributed to the ideas advocated by
Mahmud Qabadu and
Ahmad ibn Abi Diyaf and gained the support of Hayreddin Pasha and his followers, especially generals Rustum and Hussein, despite concerns about the broadening wedge of European commerce. These ideas later inspired the
national movement in its claims against the
French protectorate, especially within the
Constitutional Party (Destour Party).
Constitution of 1861 Following the Fundamental Pact, a commission was set up to draft a real constitution; it was submitted on 17 September 1860 to
Muhammad III as-Sadiq, the new Bey after Muhammad II. The
constitution came into effect on 26 April 1861. It was the first written constitution in Arab lands, as well as the first constitution established by a state with Islam as its religion. The Ottoman Empire newspaper
Ceride-i havadis printed an Ottoman Turkish version on 17 March 1861 (Turkish date: 6
Ramadan (
Ramazan) 1861). It used portions of the
Edict of Gülhane from the Ottoman Empire. The constitution was amended on 12 July 1988, 29 June 1999,
1 June 2002, 13 May 2003, and 28 July 2008.
Law on the provisional organization of public authorities During the
Tunisian revolution,
President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali left Tunisia on 14 January 2011 and Prime Minister
Mohamed Ghannouchi stated that he became the acting President under Article 56 of the Constitution.
Al Jazeera claimed that lawyers disagreed with Ghannouchi's claim, since under Article 57 of the Constitution of Tunisia, the Constitutional Council should meet and the leader of one of the houses of the Tunisian parliament should become an
interim President. The Constitutional Council declared that "the post of president is definitely vacant" and declared that, under Article 57,
Fouad Mebazaa should become the interim President, with the obligation to call for elections within 45 to 60 days. On 15 January 2011, Mebazaa was sworn in as interim president. On 12 December 2011,
Moncef Marzouki was elected president.
Constitution of 2014 , from right to left: the head of government
Ali Laarayedh, the president of the republic
Moncef Marzouki, the president of the Constituent Assembly
Mustapha Ben Jafar. On 23 October 2011, a
Constituent Assembly was
elected to draft the text of a new constitution. On 16 December 2011, they issued a constitutive law , which superseded the Legislative Decree of 23 March 2011 and the 1959 constitution. This law provided for three branches of government and guaranteed human rights during the time it takes for the new constitution to be written and ratified. It was initially hoped that a constitution would be drafted within a year's time. However,
vigorous debate and two assassinations delayed the document. President Marzouki remarked: "With the birth of this text, we confirm our victory over dictatorship", and signed it into law the following day. During the drafting process, the main points of contention were the role of religion in the government, the requirements to run for president, and the details of how the transition period after the document was passed would be handled. The new constitution makes Tunisia a decentralized and
open government. It provides for some restrictions on
free speech, most notably in banning attacks on religion and accusations of being a non-believer. protects the nation's natural resources and demands the government take steps to fight corruption. While the 2014 Tunisian Constitution and its outcomes were met with various reactions across the globe and among Tunisians both at home and in the diaspora, a summary of the process and outcomes can be found in the following article.
Constitution of 2022 In September 2021, President
Kaïs Saïed announced an
upcoming reform of the 2014 Constitution. A
constitutional referendum was scheduled for 25 July 2022. The new Constitution establishes a presidential regime and a
bicameral parliament. Bills tabled by the President are given priority consideration. The president appoints the government without needing a vote of confidence from parliament. For a motion of censure to be adopted, it must be voted on by two-thirds of the members of the two chambers of Parliament sitting in joint session. Binationals can no longer be presidential candidates. The President of the Constitutional Court is in charge of the presidential interim. MPs are barred from introducing bills making alterations to the budget and can be revoked. The President appoints the members of the Constitutional Court and Tunisia is described as a member of the "
Islamic Ummah" and the "State alone must work for the realization of the purposes of
Islam". The Superior Council of the Judiciary is abolished and replaced by three councils for each of the three judicial orders. ==References==