Participants in the final seminar on the development of a new degree in legislation held in Tunis on 31 May to 1 June 2023. Tunisia
A new course is intended to train specialist personnel to help improve the quality of the law and thus modernise the judiciary in Tunisia.
The IRZ is advising the law faculty at El Manar University in Tunis on how to develop a new course in legislation as part of a project financed by the Federal Foreign Office to modernise the judiciary in Tunisia in the areas of criminal law and legislation technique. The fourth and final advisory seminar on the reintroduction of the course took place in Tunis from 31 May to 1 June 2023. Meetings in November and December 2022 and February 2023 had taken place prior to this final event.
Prof. Dr. Hans Hofmann, Humboldt University of Berlin and Prof. Dr. Klaus Messerschmidt, Friedrich-Alexander University in Erlangen-Nuremberg, attended the final seminar as the German experts. Mr. Kheireddine Ben Sultan, former head of the legislative department of the Tunisian government, spoke as a Tunisian expert.
Around 30 lecturers from various universities in Tunis took part in the series of events. The structure and methodology of the new course were developed by the Tunisian project partners alongside the advisory seminars. The curriculum has now been finalised so that the new course at El Manar University in Tunis can start immediately. The lecturers who will teach the course have already been selected. The course will also be incorporated into the Virtual University in Tunis (l'Université Virtuelle de Tunis), which was set up as a distance learning university by the Ministry of Education several years ago, to enable those working in this area to receive further training in the field of legislation.
Participants of the working group meeting in Tunis. Tunisia
Four working groups were set up to explore the subject areas within the scope of an IRZ project funded by the Federal Foreign Office to support the modernisation of the judiciary in Tunisia in criminal law and legislation technique. The first meeting of the Steering Committee of the working groups and the first working group meetings took place in Tunis on 8-9 May 2023.
The Steering Committee will assume a consulting role to assist the development of the guidelines in the various working groups and coordinate the work processes.
The project was launched in 2022 and is being implemented with various stakeholders from Tunisian civil society.
The four working groups will, among others, develop guidelines, manuals or recommendations on the following main topics of the project:
Development of a preventive criminal law policy
Increased efficiency in criminal proceedings
Codification and standardisation of draft legislation
Conformity and harmonisation of draft laws with international agreements / examination of draft laws
The aim of the first meeting was to jointly determine the respective focal points and detailed subject areas in the working groups and a timetable and organisational schedule for the creation of the guidelines and manuals.
Members of the working groups were lecturers from the law faculty of the University of El Manar and lawyers and judges.
Mr. Pascal Décarpes, EU expert in criminal law, took part as an IRZ expert.
The Tunisian team was highly committed and engaged in the discussions and in reforms in criminal law and legislation technique. Additional working group meetings will take place in the following weeks and months to develop the guidelines and manuals or recommendations by the end of 2023.
Five panellists discuss the role of the land registry in promoting investment in Tunisia. Tunisia
A one-day conference took place in Tunis on 30 May, 2023 to discuss the role of the Tunisian land registry in the purchase of real estate, organised by IRZ and the Tunisian Chamber of Notaries. Approx. 100 notaries and other legal practitioners met to explore a range of notarial aspects regarding the promotion of investment in the real estate sector.
The Tunisian land registry as a guarantor for investments
The conference was opened by Minister of State Properties and Land Affairs, Mohamed Rekik, who discussed the central role of real estate to encourage investment and the respective importance of the land registry. After the welcome address, the other contributions discussed notarial certification as a basis and guarantor for the promotion of investment, real estate jurisdiction and transaction security. The theme of the afternoon presentations was how to combat money laundering associated with the purchase of real estate and various taxes that can, and should, encourage investments.
In addition to the Tunisian experts, Mr. Wadii Rhouma (President of the Land Registry), Mr. Jaafer Rebaoui (Advisor to the Court of Cassation and Vice President of the Centre for Land Law and Urban Planning in Tunis), Mr. Kamel ben Mansour (Notary), Mr. Abdessalam Ben Hamouda (Tunisian Commission for Financial Analyses) and Mrs. Nour Alhouda Abid (Directorate General for Studies and Tax Legislation), Mrs. Monika Thull (notary public) as a representative from the Federal Chamber of Notaries and Mr. Harald Wilsch (District Auditor IV for Land Registry Affairs at the Munich District Court) also attended online to provide insights into the German land registry system. M. Thull spoke about notarial certification for real estate transactions in the German system and Mr. Wilsch explained transaction security for real estate investment in the German land registry procedure.
The development of the land registry in Tunisia
The conference was well attended with a great deal of lively participation. In particular, the lectures, which fundamentally tackled the theme of the land registry and real estate as the subject of investments, provoked some fascinating debates, which emphasised the need for ongoing discussion within the framework of meetings or conferences. We are planning a further event for the Tunisian judiciary for real estate courts.
