Tunisian Constitution

The first modern constitution was called the “Basic Pact of 1857”. It was replaced by the Constitution of 1861, which remained in force until the fall of the French administration in 1956, and was replaced by the Constitution of 1959. It was adopted on June 1, 1959 and amended in 1999 and 2002, after a referendum.

After the revolution and lengthy mass protests in 2013-2014, the Constitutional Assembly was elected to draft a new constitution. It was adopted on January 26, 2014 and is currently in effect. ^[one]

Work on the preparation of a new draft constitution began on February 13, 2012 , with the establishment of six committees responsible for one of the topics of the constitution. The first committee was responsible for the preamble, general principles and amendments. Each committee consisted of 22 members, proportionally representing political parties. The most important and controversial issue was the form of government. The Islamic Renaissance Party advocated the adoption of a parliamentary republic in the country, while secular parties advocated a mixed system.

On December 24, political parties agreed to adopt a constitution until January 14, 2014. The deadline was chosen taking into account the fact that on January 14 it will be three years since the removal of President Zin al-Abidine Ben Ali from power. By the same time, the composition of the interim government will be agreed. After the constitution enters into force, dates for the presidential and parliamentary elections will be set. Then the current government of the Islamists will resign, and power will pass to the temporary cabinet ^[2] .

On January 6, the assembly approved article 20 of the constitution, which gives women equal rights with men, stating that "All men and women have the same rights and duties and are equal before the law." 159 out of 169 members of the assembly voted in favor. Previously, sections of the constitution were approved that enshrined the “civilian character of the state” and “the rule of law”, as well as an article on the state status of Islam in Tunisia (without using the so-called Islamic Sharia morality as an official source of law) ^[3] .

On January 26, 2014, the National Assembly of Tunisia by a majority vote adopted the new constitution of the country. 200 out of 217 deputies voted “for” ^[4] . For the adoption of the constitution, approval was required from at least three quarters of the deputies of the assembly, otherwise this issue would have been submitted to a national referendum. The final agreement on the content of the constitution was reached on January 24 . The new constitution established Islam as a state religion, but also contains clauses on the equality of men and women, the rule of law, the secular nature of the state, and guarantees freedom of religion ^[5] . The Financial Times notes that Tunisia is on the verge of democracy - “it is important that at least one country can set an example of what results can be achieved when secular and Islamist politicians are ready to put their differences aside for the benefit of all” ^[6] . The constitution, with a fixed provision on gender equality, made Tunisia the most advanced among other Arab countries. The constitution is published in the official language - literary Arabic , and in the dialect "holding" ^[7] .