App. 033/2018_ Ali Ben Youcef vs Tunisia
Ali Ben Hassen Ben Youcef vs Republic of Tunisia
On October 12th, 2018, M. Ali Ben Youcef, the applicant, filed an application instituting proceedings against the Republic of Tunisia before the African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights (the ACHPR or the Court) for alleged violations for the African Charter of Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Charter) in its articles 2, 3, 7 and 13.
The applicant submits that on April 11th, 2017, the Assembly of the Representatives of the Tunisian People adopted an organic law amending another similar law relating to the Superior Council of the Judiciary system. Subsequently, an appeal for unconstitutionality was brought against the above-mentioned draft law. The body responsible for reviewing the constitutionality referred the bill to the Tunisian President on the grounds that the quorum necessary to decide on its constitutionality had not been reached. In spite of this, the Tunisian President promulgated the law without referring it to the Assembly of Representatives, which would constitute a violation of the country’s Constitution. The applicant successively lodged two appeals with the Administrative Court on grounds of illegality and unconstitutionality. None of the appeals were allowed.
Tunisia raised preliminary objections concerning the lack of Jurisdiction of the Court and the inadmissibility of the application. After examination, it concluded that it did have jurisdiction to hear the case but that the case was inadmissible to the extent that local remedies had not yet been exhausted and were pending before the national courts.
This summary is provided for informational purposes only, does not involve the responsibility of Dome and should in no way be used as a substitute for a careful reading of the judgment and order of the case.
