June 2, 2021
The Provisional Body for Monitoring the Constitutionality of Bills decided, in its meeting today, Wednesday, 2 June, to return the revised and supplementary draft basic law to the law relating to the Constitutional Court, to the President of the Republic.
The meeting of the Provisional Body for Monitoring the Constitutionality of Bills did not reach a decision regarding the appeal submitted by a number of members of the House of Representatives, to consider the constitutionality of the bill or not.
According to Haider Ben Amor, the commission’s secretary-general, in a statement to the Tunisia-Africa News Agency, “It was decided to return the draft law to the President of the Republic, due to the lack of the required majority within the commission to make a decision in this regard.
Ben Amor also mentioned that decisions are taken within the temporary body to monitor the constitutionality of bills by a majority of four (4) members from among the six members of the commission, indicating that bills that did not have the required majority for a decision are referred to the President of the Republic in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 23 of Basic Law of the Authority.
On May 8, the Provisional Body for Monitoring the Constitutionality of Bills received a petition to challenge the constitutionality of the draft Basic Law on the revision and completion of Basic Law No. 50 related to the Constitutional Court, from more than 30 deputies, most of whom are from the Democratic bloc and independent ones (non-party members).
What does the law of the Provisional Body for Monitoring the Constitutionality of Bills say?
The law of the Provisional Body for Monitoring the Constitutionality of Bills stipulates that the authority considers the constitutionality of bills based on a request from the President of the Republic, the head of government, or at least thirty deputies, which is submitted to it within a maximum deadline of seven days from the date of the Council’s approval of the contested bill or one of its provisions and that the appeals are submitted by a written petition to be deposited with the secretariat of the Commission.
It is noteworthy that the Assembly of the Representatives of the People approved on Tuesday, May 4, the draft law after deliberating it a second time, following its response from the Presidency of the Republic, with the approval of 141 deputies, 10 deputies retained, and 15 deputies objected.
