Joining the discussions from the IRZ office in Tunis were: Imed Derouiche (on the right), Public Prosecutor General in Tunisia and Head of the Judicial Service at the Tunisian Ministry of Justice, and Mohamed Ben Said, a lawyer, university professor and member of the commission for the reform of the Tunisian penal code
Joining the discussions from the IRZ office in Tunis were: Imed Derouiche (on the right), Public Prosecutor General in Tunisia and Head of the Judicial Service at the Tunisian Ministry of Justice, and Mohamed Ben Said, a lawyer, university professor and member of the commission for the reform of the Tunisian penal code
Tunisia

On 18 November 2020, IRZ organised an online exchange of experiences on “Alternative forms of punishment and alternatives to pre-trial custody”, which was joined by representatives from the Tunisian Ministry of Justice, as well as a number of criminal court judges from various courts in Tunisia. The event took place as part of the current working programme on legal cooperation between the German Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection and the Tunisian Ministry of Justice.

The following experts took part on behalf of IRZ:

  • Andreas Stüve, Senior Public Prosecutor at the Düsseldorf Public Prosecutor’s Office
  • Pascal Décarpes, criminologist and international consultant on criminal justice and prison management

The following took part on behalf of the Tunisian project partner:

  • Imed Derouiche, Public Prosecutor General in Tunisia and Head of the Judicial Service at the Tunisian Ministry of Justice
  • Mohamed Ben Said, a lawyer, university professor and member of the commission for the reform of the Tunisian penal code
  • Dr. Farid Ben Jeha, presiding judge at the Court of Appeal in Monastir

The penal code in Tunisia has been undergoing a fundamental and comprehensive reform programme since 2014. The reforms include better protection of human rights in Tunisian criminal law, with a firm commitment from Tunisia in the form of the ratification of a large number of international human rights treaties. The reform process also aims to introduce more efficient processes and develop alternative penal sanctions, in order to reduce the workload of the courts and public prosecutors and relieve the increasing overcrowding of Tunisian prisons. The online exchange of experiences also addressed this aspect.

The Tunisian partners reported on the plans for wide-ranging new provisions in Tunisian criminal law, covering the definition of criminal offences and the prosecution and sentencing of offences, which are to be introduced as part of the current reform process. The presentation of experiences from the German criminal justice system highlighted the increased efficiency of criminal proceedings, sentencing and alternative penal sanctions, with the aim of limiting pre-trial custody and avoiding prison sentences. The alternative penal sanctions applied in Germany, such as fines and probation, are already used to some extent in Tunisia. They will, however, need to be developed further in the framework of the reforms in criminal law. It was in these areas in particular that the Tunisian partners were able to gain some valuable inspiration during the exchange of experiences and the Tunisian Ministry of Justice expressed its thanks to IRZ in this respect.

IRZ will therefore continue and intensify its cooperation with the Tunisian justice system in the field of alternative sanctions.