Venice Commission - Report on Bicameralism

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Tunisia

1.Has the country always had a bicameral parliamentary (or congressional) system? If not, from when did the country adopt a bicameral system? Is there a public debate about keeping bicameralism or moving to a unicameral system? Why? What are the terms of the debate? What is the public perception of the usefulness and acceptability (legitimacy) of the second chamber?

Tunisia has not always had a bicameral parliamentary system. The new Constitution adopted by referendum on 25 July, 2022 establishes a bicameral parliament. De facto, the first elections for constituting the second chamber took place in December 2023.
However, the public perception on the new Constitution is largely unfavourable, as it is perceived to be designed to enhance the president's authority by granting him ultimate control over the parliament.

2.What is the population of the country? What is its size?

Tunisia has a population of 12.26 million. Its territory covers 163,610 km2.

3.What form of state and form of government has the country? Please provide details with reference to relevant constitutional provisions. a) Unitarian or federal/regional/other form of decentralization; b) Parliamentary, presidential, semi-presidential or mixed

Tunisia operates under a presidential regime and features a bicameral parliament, as outlined in Article 87 of the constitution that the executive function is exercised by the President of the Republic assisted by a Government presided over by a Head of Government and Article 56 that the people, holders of sovereignty, delegate the legislative function to a first representative chamber called the Assembly of People's Representatives, and to a second representative chamber called the Council of Regions and Districts.

4.How many members are in the lower house?

The lower chamber has 161 members.

5.How many members has the second chamber?

The second chamber has 77 members.(The first and most recent local elections, intended to establish a second chamber, were held on 24 December, 2023.)

6.How are members of the second chamber selected? Please describe: a) direct/indirect/mixed suffrage (if the suffrage is indirect or mixed, who elects or appoints the second chamber? b) territorial or other criteria; i) region/provinces/municipalities/others; ii) professional categories/ethnic/age/other; c) candidates’ independence from/affiliation with political parties; d) in case of indirect election, is there an imperative mandate or a similar practice?

As per Article 81 of the Constitution, the National Council of Regions and Districts (the second chamber) is made up of elected deputies from the regions and districts. The members of each regional council elect three members from among themselves to represent their regions within the National Council of Regions and Districts. The elected members of the regional councils of each district elect from among themselves a deputy to represent the district within the National Council of Regions and Districts.
As the Constitution has been newly amended, neither the Constitution nor any laws specify the mandate and powers of these local councils, how they differ from the originally established350 municipal councils or how the two will interact with each other.

7.Age. What is the age limit to elect and be elected or appointed to the second chamber? Does it coincide with the lower chamber? Are there other requirements for election than those for members of lower chambers?

The age limit of candidature for the lower chamber is twenty-three years on the day of the presentation of his candidacy. Any citizen of Tunisian nationality, aged eighteen and over and meeting the conditions set by the electoral law, is a voter.

8.Gender. Are there any requirements to achieve gender parity between men and women in the composition of the second chamber or is there any gender quota system? If so, is there a similar requirement or gender quota system for the lower chamber?

Following the 2011 Tunisian revolution, Article 16 of the 2011 electoral law mandated gender parity in elected assemblies. This commitment was later institutionalized in Article 46 of the 2014 Constitution and remained unchanged in Article 51 of the 2022 Constitution.

9.Term of office or tenure. Duration? Does it coincide with lower chamber? Does the second chamber follow the continuity rule (members are not replaced all at once, new elections concern only part of the chamber at a time)? Can the second chamber be dissolved and if yes, who and how exercises its competences in the meantime? Please report any particularity.

The tenure of both chambers is 5 years. The second chamber does not follow the continuity rule.

10.Congruence. Is it common for the second chamber to have a similar party composition (majority-minority) to that of the lower chamber?

The composition of Tunisia's second chamber is presently in progress following the adoption of a new constitution. Consequently, there is currently no available information regarding whether the party composition in the second chamber is similar to that of the lower chamber.

11.Status. Are there differences between the legal status of members of the two chambers, and if so, what (e.g., immunity, conflict of interest)?

As referred to in Article 83 of the Constitution that the provisions relating to the parliamentary immunity of members of the Assembly of People's Representatives extend to members of the National Council of Regions and Districts, there are no differences between the legal status of members of the two chambers.

12.Rules of procedure. How are the rules governing the second chamber established? Are they different from the lower chamber’s and what are the most relevant differences? Are the internal regulations controlled by the constitutional judge?

As amended very recently in 2022, neither the Constitution nor any laws have yet specified the mandate and powers of the second chamber.

13.Powers/competences: Are the powers and competences the same in the two chambers (symmetrical bicameralism)? If the bicameralism is asymmetrical, what are the powers of the second chamber? Please describe: i) financial; ii) legislative; iii) oversight/control; iv) other specific powers, in particular as regards constitutional reforms, confidence motions, international treaties, etc; v) interim powers (e. g. in case of dissolution of the first chamber). a) Distinguish issues which are not submitted at all to the second chamber/where the final decision is taken by the first chamber/where the second chamber has a limited veto right etc. Please address these questions the other way round if the second chamber has more powers than the first one; b) Are there specific appointments that must be done solely by the second chamber? If so, the appointment must be done by supermajority/qualified majority/simple majority/absolute majority? c) What kind of parliamentary initiative can the first and second chamber exercise? d) What happens in case of disagreement (in case of asymmetrical as well as of symmetrical bicameralism); how many readings before the final decision? Does a mixed commission meet? e) To which chamber are draft laws and other drafts to be examined by Parliament or the legislature submitted first? f) Is the government responsible to the second chamber (when it is before the first one)? g) Are decisions taken by a joint meeting of both chambers and, in the affirmative, which ones? h) Does the second chamber have a specific role in emergency situations?

The powers and competences are not the same in the two chambers.
i) financial; According to Article 85 of the constitution, the Council of Regions and Districts exercises the powers of control and accountability in various issues related to the implementation of the budget and development plans.
Also, in Article 84, it is stipulated that projects relating to the state budget and regional, district and national development plans are obligatorily submitted to the National Council of Regions and Districts to ensure balance between regions and districts.
ii) legislative; Article 84 of the constitution dictates that for the finance law and development plans, they are only approved by a majority of the members present in each of the two chambers, provided that this majority is not less than a third of the members of each chamber.
iii) oversight/control;
iv) other specific powers, in particular as regards constitutional reforms, confidence motions, international treaties, etc; According to Article 74 of the constitution, treaties relating to State borders, commercial treaties, treaties relating to international organization, those relating to the financial commitments of the State and treaties containing provisions of a legislative nature, can only be ratified after their approval by the Assembly of People's Representatives.
v) interim powers (e. g. in case of dissolution of the first chamber); N/A

a) The first chamber, under Article 79 of the constitution, exercises sole authority in adopting organic bills with an absolute majority of its members and ordinary bills with a majority of the members present, provided that this majority is not less than a third of the total chamber members. And yet, the upper chamber involves in the matter of Projects relating to the state budget and regional, district and national development plans and the finance law and development plans, as stipulated in Article 84.
b) There are no specific appointments that must be done solely by the second chamber.
c) According to Article 67 of the constitution, members of the Parliament (both the upper and second chambers) have the right to submit legislative proposals, provided that they are presented by at least ten members of the Parliament.
d) When it comes to the adoption of the finance and budget regulation bills, there are two readings by the first chamber before the final decision, as referred in Article 78 of the constitution. Within three days following the adoption of the law by the Assembly on second reading, after referral or after the expiry of the deadlines for referral without it having been exercised, the President of the Republic, one third of the members of the first chamber or one third of the members of the upper chamber, may file an appeal for unconstitutionality against the provisions of the finance law before the Constitutional Court, which rules within a period not exceeding the five days following the appeal. The first and upper chambers adopt the draft within three days of receiving the decision of the Constitutional Court.
e) As amended very recently in 2022, neither the Constitution nor any laws have not yet specified the rules of drafting laws, except on the finance and budget regulation bills under Article 78 of the constitution.
f) No provisions in the constitution speculates the government’s responsibility with the second chamber.
g) According to the 2022 constitution, decisions are not made through joint meetings of both chambers.
h) No.

14.Is there a form of intergovernmental conference of regions in your country (conference of ministers or presidents of regions, Landers, states members of the federations)? Does it interact with the second chamber? How often does it meet? What is its specific relevance?

No, there is not a form of intergovernmental conference of regions.