Advisory seminar on the reintroduction of a specialist degree in legislation

Participants of the seminar for the elaboration of a new course of studies in legistics on November 28-29, 2022 in Tunisia.
Participants of the seminar for the elaboration of a new course of studies in legistics on November 28-29, 2022 in Tunisia.
Tunisia

IRZ and the law faculty of El Manar University in Tunis, organised a seminar to develop a new course in legislation on 28-29 November 2022. The event was the launch event for a large-scale project to modernise the judiciary sector in Tunisia, funded by the Federal Foreign Office as part of the Ta'ziz partnership.

The IRZ expert was Prof Dr Hans Hofmann, who teaches a module on legislation theory at the Humboldt University in Berlin and also has many years of experience in the field of legislation through his work in the German Federal Ministry of the Interior and in the Federal Chancellery. Mr. Khaireddine Ben Soltan, the former head of the Tunisian government's legislative department represented Tunisia.

Approx. 30 lecturers from the law faculty of the University of El Manar attended the seminar, who will also design the new course and ultimately also teach the course. The advisory seminar was the first of four planned seminars and advisory sessions aimed at the full development, design and preparation of a degree course in legislation.

The following topics were explored at the seminar, and provoked some lively discussions:

  • Need to introduce a course of study in legislation
  • Law-making and legislation in Tunisia
  • Legislative procedures, methodical approach and legal impact assessment in Germany and Tunisia
  • Tools to implement to create good and transparent laws
  • Legal and linguistic review of draft legislation
  • Regulatory control and the role of the Regulatory Control Council in Germany
  • Role of the legislative department of the Tunisian government and the final control of legal texts

The young experts trained through the new course are urgently needed in both the Tunisian administration and the government to be able to guarantee good and effective legislation.

“Court communication and administration” seminar in Tunis

Participants in the seminar on “Court communication and administration” in Tunis
Participants in the seminar on “Court communication and administration” in Tunis
Tunisia

IRZ held a seminar on the topic of “Court communication and administration” in Tunis on 14 July 2022 in cooperation with the Tunisian Ministry of Justice. By organising this seminar, IRZ addressed the Tunisian judiciary’s current reform strategy, which, among other things, places a high priority on modernising the judiciary and its administrative structures and hence on improving efficiency in this area. The event is part of the Memorandum of Understanding on a Cooperation Work Programme 2022 between the Federal Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Tunisia.

The German side was represented Mr Christian Schmitz-Justen, Vice President of the Cologne Higher Regional Court (OLG), while Mr Hassen Miaadi, Communications Director and official spokesperson of the Tunisian railway company, was involved on the Tunisian side. Around 30 employees from the administration of various courts from the Tunis region joined with two experts to share their views on aspects of internal and external court communication.

The purpose of internal court communication is to ensure smooth administration and to maintain communication channels between judges and non-judicial staff. From an external perspective, courts must guarantee that their communication with other administrative authorities and judicial actors functions properly. The latter plays an import role in expediting court proceedings and workflows. Correct determination of the necessary staffing levels is another crucial aspect to make sure that the courts operate efficiently. 

While the Tunisian expert spoke on basic principles of communication science, the German expert fleshed out the theoretical part with numerous practical examples from the Cologne Higher Regional Court. Participants learned more about specific measures that are used to improve communication within the judiciary and received illustrative insight into the German experience from the viewpoint of the Cologne Higher Regional Court.

Overall, the one-day seminar was characterised by intense discussions and a lively communication. Participants were eager to share, which emphasised their considerable interest in an exchange of experience between German and Tunisian colleagues. Another event on this topic has been pencilled in for autumn 2022, involving other courts from a different region of Tunisia.

Conference on “Law and Digitisation” in Tunis

Inauguration of the conference. On the podium (from left to right): Hatem Rouatbi, Head of the Research Centre for Dispute Resolution and Enforcement Methods of the Faculty of Law and Political Science Tunis El Manar; Mustafa Ben Letaief, Dean of the Faculty of Law and Political Science Tunis El Manar; Mohamed Abidi, Head of the project area for Africa at IRZ (Image: IRZ)
Inauguration of the conference. On the podium (from left to right): Hatem Rouatbi, Head of the Research Centre for Dispute Resolution and Enforcement Methods of the Faculty of Law and Political Science Tunis El Manar; Mustafa Ben Letaief, Dean of the Faculty of Law and Political Science Tunis El Manar; Mohamed Abidi, Head of the project area for Africa at IRZ (Image: IRZ)
Tunisia

The topic of the conference was “Law and Digitisation”, which was organised by IRZ on 4th and 5th March 2022, together with the Research Centre for Dispute Resolution and Enforcement Methods of the Faculty of Law and Political Science at the University of Tunis El Manar in Tunis.

Dr Lars Bierschenk, Judge in the Regional Court of Bonn, previously deputised to the Central IT Service Provider of the Judiciary of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (ITD), participated in the hybrid format of the conference. There were around 200 participants in all.

The following experts took part from Tunisia:

  • Hatem Rouatbi, Head of the Research Centre for Dispute Resolution and Enforcement Methods of the Faculty of Law and Political Science
  • Chawki Gaddes, President of the National Authority for the Protection of Personal Data (INPDP)
  • Kamel Rezgui, Lecturer at the University for Communication in Tunis and Lawyer at the Court of Cassation
  • Badii Ben Abbes, Civil Court Judge, Grade Three, Sfax
  • Kaouther Selmi, Managing Director “SIMARL” (Legal service provider in the area of alternative dispute resolution)
  • Mélanie Clément-Fontaine, Professor at the University of Paris-Saclay
  • Valérie Laure Benabou, Professor at the University of Paris-Saclay
  • Khaylan Ben Abdessalem, Doctoral Candidate and Member of the Research Centre for Dispute Resolution and Enforcement Methods

The following topics were discussed, among others, during the conference:

  • Digitisation and Data Security
  • Online elections and E-Democracy
  • Algorithmising the law and digitisation of the judicial service
  • Digitisation and Civil Disputes
  • Effects of digitisation on contract law
  • Electronic legal transactions in Germany

Digitisation is a current topic right now in the judicial system, which is discussed as an opportunity with several obstacles. In this context, the focus of the conference was on legal aspects and methods of digitisation with regard to the legal systems in Tunisia, Germany and France. The discussions also addressed the peculiar challenges of digitisation in the field of the judiciary system, the legal effects on digital transition and the question, how far can the legal system keep up with digitisation. There was an overall consensus that digitisation now is a central challenge, which must be accompanied by law.

IRZ is planning more in-depth events in 2022 on this topic.