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.
On 5 November 2020, IRZ and the Moroccan and Tunisian Ministries of Justice organised an online exchange of experiences on the Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (HCA). Morocco acceded to the HCA in 2010. Germany has already accepted Morocco’s accession, whereas it has yet to accept Tunisia's entry to the HCA in 2017.
Around forty representatives from both countries’ Ministries of Justice and justice systems took part in the discussions. Also in attendance was a representative of the Legal and Consulate department at the Germany Embassy in Rabat.
The experts taking part in the event on behalf of IRZ were Sabine Brieger, a former judge at the Local Court of Pankow/Weißensee and a former German liaison magistrate, and Martina Erb-Klünemann, a judge at the Local Court of Hamm and a German liaison magistrate.
The participants discussed the following three main topics:
mechanisms and instruments in national laws on the implementation of the HCA
judicial repatriation processes including enforcement
mediation in international child abduction proceedings
There were lectures on the first two subjects to outline current developments in the countries concerned and to discuss their respective experiences. Various aspects of the practical application of the Convention were discussed. For example, the HCA provides for support by a central state authority. This function is fulfilled in Germany by the German Federal Office of Justice, whereas in Morocco and Tunisia the Ministry of Justice is responsible as the central authority in international child abduction affairs. The participants also discussed the specific nature of proceedings to comply with the HCA. Afterwards, the German participants presented the mediation approach in connection with the HCA. Mediation is not yet in use in either Morocco or Tunisia.
This regional event led to a lively and wide-ranging exchange of experiences, with many people getting involved in the discussions. Both Morocco and Tunisia have expressed their needs and interests in continuing and expanding on cooperation in this field. IRZ is therefore planning a follow-up event for next year. The exchange of experiences was supported by the German Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection.
On 10 June 2020, IRZ organised a online seminar on “Apostille, new Technologies and Notary Services”. The online event was aimed at thirty or so notaries from all over Tunisia. The experts participating in the online seminar from Tunisia and Germany were:
Kais Kabada, President of the Tunisian Chamber of Notaries,
Richard Bock, Justizrat and former Vice-President of the German Federal Chamber of Notaries,
Dr. Torsten Jäger, notary,
Houcine Lagrem, Secretary of the Tunisian Chamber of Notaries,
Dr. Peter Stelmaszczyk, Managing Director of the German Federal Chamber of Notaries in Brussels, and
Sourour Abidi, notary.
The initiative for the online seminar came from the Tunisian Chamber of Notaries, due to the restrictions and hurdles resulting from the current legal and political situation during the coronavirus pandemic. The event focussed on the challenges facing notarial services because of the restrictions, curfews, closures and distancing measures in place. The aim was to find solutions to these challenges. The participants also discussed the effects of the coronavirus pandemic with a view to economic and private law issues.
Since notarial certification, the verification of the authenticity of documents, seals, signatures, identities and stamps, is usually almost exclusively carried out in person and on presentation of original documents, the coronavirus pandemic is hitting notarial transactions particularly hard. Many notary’s offices have been affected by the restrictions in the wake of the crisis and have remained closed, which means that citizens have to a large extent been unable to gain access to the law and legal transactions.
During the online seminar, individual problems concerning notary services and legal transactions in Tunisia and Germany were discussed, as well as potential solutions such as the e-Apostille system. At present, both countries have a low level of digitalised legal transactions. Within this context, the participants discussed the e-Apostille system, as well as the dangers, advantages and disadvantages of digital legal transactions. They talked about how the safety, confidentiality and authenticity of persons, documents and contents can be protected, without any obvious inspection being carried out. They also discussed the risk of authenticating and legalising documents, which could be counterfeits. The experts put forward proposals for the conditions under which the digital verification of documents could be possible. In this context, the Belgian model was presented: A third-party online platform provides all verified documents with an encrypted code to prevent any manipulations.
There are also efforts at EU level to set criteria and standards for harmonising legalisation procedures, with a regulation due to come into force in 2022. The envisaged procedures will require an electronic identity document with PIN and video identification with PIN. Since not all EU countries allow the collection of biometric data, it will be difficult for members to agree on a standardised procedure to cover the entire EU. The participating Tunisian and German notaries did, however, agree that the simplification and harmonisation of legal transactions must also be reflected digitally.
Whilst Tunisia has joined the Hague Apostille Convention, the Convention does not yet apply with relation to Germany. There is therefore not yet any universally valid and recognised digital process to qualify and legalise documents, seals, signatures and stamps. The participants also agreed that the certification process should not be allowed to proceed exclusively via an app and algorithms, without any human intervention.
Background information
With the help of institutional funding, IRZ has been organising bilateral projects on legal reform with its Tunisian partners since 2011. These are currently established between the German Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection and the Tunisian Ministry of Justice as part of the working programme for 2019 - 2020. Within the framework of this programme, the IRZ has a partnership with the Tunisian Ministry of Justice and therefore also with the Tunisian Chamber of Notaries, which itself has good relations with the German Federal Chamber of Notaries. The continuation of these relations is fundamental for the improvement of legal transactions between Tunisia and Germany.
