Tunisia

Symposium in Berlin on the practice of international legal cooperation in criminal cases

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Published: December 10, 2019
Participants and speakers at the symposium in Berlin
Participants and speakers at the symposium in Berlin
Tunisia

On 9 and 10 December 2019, the IRZ held a symposium on supporting international legal cooperation in criminal cases. This event, which was financed by the German Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection (BMJV), was attended by delegations from the IRZ partner countries Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Senegal and Jordan. The Managing Director of the IRZ, Dr. Frauke Bachler, and Dr. Ralf Riegel, Head of the International Criminal Law division at the BMJV, welcomed the participants to the symposium. They were very pleased with the fact that the format allowed expert discussions on the first day, followed on the second day by bilateral talks with delegations from the participating partner states. The partner countries thanked the IRZ and the BMJV for the symposium and underlined their desire for closer cooperation.

Dr. Riegel and his colleague Çiğdem Görmez started by presenting the German perspectives and experiences to the participants. During subsequent discussions, the delegations established the basic similarities with practices in their own countries as far as the legal framework, procedures and responsibilities are concerned. For all the participating countries, international cooperation in criminal cases is based on bilateral and multilateral agreements, international law and national law. In Germany, there are also legally binding treaties from the European Council and the EU.

International legal cooperation in criminal matters focusses mainly on individual cases involving help with enforcement abroad or deportations. Most of the problems arising in partner countries are with the issue of requests for legal assistance and these are mainly due to language difficulties. Requests for assurances from countries, which have been asked for legal assistance by a country, are often an impediment to implementation. Steps must be taken to prevent a person being sentenced more than once for the same crime and, at the same time, a balance needs to be found between the different sentences issued by the countries involved.

Within the framework of bilateral talks with BMJV divisions responsible for international criminal law and international legal cooperation, the delegations expressed their desire to strengthen the cooperation in this area and to find effective solutions for the problems in the relevant countries.

Study trip to Karlsruhe, Hamm and Düsseldorf on the “Integrity of the Constitutional Judge”

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Published: November 29, 2019
Talks with Prof. Dr. Gabriele Britz (centre), a judge at the German Federal Constitutional Court, and Press Officer Dr. Max Schoenthal (2nd from left)
Talks with Prof. Dr. Gabriele Britz (centre), a judge at the German Federal Constitutional Court, and Press Officer Dr. Max Schoenthal (2nd from left)
Tunisia

From 25 to 29 November 2019, the IRZ welcomed a delegation from the Supreme Judicial Council of Tunisia and the “Provisional Authority for the Control of Constitutionality of draft-laws” (IPCCPL) for a five-day study visit on the “Integrity of the constitutional judge”. The event was held as part of the project for judicial reform in Tunisia, which the IRZ is implementing between 2017 and the end of 2019 with the support of the German Foreign Office. The study trip is part of the project component that is supporting the development of the constitutional court in Tunisia. The creation of a constitutional court was set out in the Tunisian constitution of 2014.

The delegation visited the German Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe, the Higher Regional Court of Hamm and held talks with representatives of the Ministry of Justice for North Rhine-Westphalia in Düsseldorf. The following people attended meetings with the Tunisian guests:

  • At the German Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe: Prof. Dr. Gabriele Britz, a judge at the German Federal Constitutional Court, and Dr. Max Schoenthal, Press Officer at the court;
  • at the Higher Regional Court of Hamm: Norbert Koster, a judge at the Higher Regional Court, and Martin Brandt, a judge at the Higher Regional Court and Press Officer at the court;
  • at the Ministry of Justice for NRW: Dr. Christian Reitemeier, Chief of Department and Head of the Department of Public Law, Constitutional Law and Department Coordination, Dr. Andreas Klenke, a Higher Administrative Court judge from the same department, and Dirk Reuter, Deputy Press Officer at the Ministry of Justice.

During the study visit, the Tunisian delegation discussed with their German hosts the relations between the media and the public on the one hand, and judges on the other hand. They shed light on the challenges involved in this area of conflict from a variety of perspectives. The main focus of discussions was on how the independence of the judiciary can be maintained in this context and the tasks and responsibilities of press officers at court. They also discussed conflicts, potential ways of providing help and practical discrepancies between judicial and executive authorities.

Since the parliamentary elections held in Tunisia in September and October 2019, the Tunisian government, in particular the Tunisian Ministry of Justice, has been working intensively under the newly elected President without a party, Kais Saied, to set up a workable constitutional court. Once the law on setting up a constitutional court has come into force, the court will be able to formally start work. However, this is being prevented from happening because of the failure of parliament to agree on the appointment of suitable candidates for judges. Until the time when the Tunisian Constitutional Court becomes fully functional, the IRZ is supporting the IPCCPL with specialist expertise. The aim of this project is to support the political and legal institutions of judicial and executive authorities in the implementation of the functions that are embedded in its constitution. In concrete terms, this means that the IRZ plans to continue with the constitutional support it has provided until now. However, more time is still required to achieve these objectives.

Exchange of experiences on consumer protection in Tunis

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Published: November 15, 2019
Werner Kannenberg (back row, centre), BMJV, and Iwona Husemann (on his right), NRW Consumer Organisation, pictured with participants in the exchange of experiences
Werner Kannenberg (back row, centre), BMJV, and Iwona Husemann (on his right), NRW Consumer Organisation, pictured with participants in the exchange of experiences
Tunisia

On 29 and 30 October 2019, the IRZ, together with the Tunisian consumer protection authority, organised the first exchange of experiences on consumer protection in the Tunisian and German legal systems. The event was aimed at Tunisian consumer protection workers. It took place within the framework of the institutional funding provided by the German Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection (BMJV).

Werner Kannenberg, Head of the Consumer Rights Enforcement department at the BMJV, and Iwona Husemann from the Consumer Organisation for North-Rhine Westphalia, represented the IRZ as experts at the talks. They discussed the following topics, amongst others, with the participants:

  • Consumer protection mechanisms in Tunisia and Germany
  • The role of civil society in consumer protection
  • Innovations in legal and economic consumer protection
  • Consumer protection and food safety

During the talks, the significant differences between standards of consumer protection in Germany and Tunisia soon become clear. In Tunisian consumer protection, food safety and the implementation of health standards are currently given a very high priority. The participants were therefore very interested in the structures of consumer protection in Germany and the possibilities that are available in Germany for exercising consumer rights. The new model declaratory action in Germany was also the subject of lively discussions.

This first exchange of experiences on consumer protection was a great success. The many participants from regional offices of the Tunisian consumer protection authority will share knowledge gained from the event far beyond the capital city. They also made the most of the opportunity to network with one another.

The subject of consumer protection will be discussed further next year within the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding on a working programme for cooperation between the BMJV and the Tunisian Ministry of Justice.

Morocco