labour in the prisons and added provisions relating to the definition of the crime of
« torture »;
- Law n° 99-90 of the 2nd August 1999, amending and completing certain
provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code, introducing extra guarantees for
private individuals temporarily deprived of their freedom such as the reduction of
the duration of custody, informing the families of the arrested persons, the
explanation of the reasons for the arrest and the legal grounds, the right to a
medical examination, the keeping of the arrest registers under the control of the
Public Prosecutor;
- Law n° 2000-53 of 22nd May 2000, amending and completing certain Articles of
the Child Protection Code aimed at strengthening child protection and
guaranteeing the child the right to survival, to protection and to development;
- Law n° 2001-52 of 14th May 2001, relative to the organization of the prisons is
the first of its kind in prison history to regulate the respective rights and
responsibilities of the detainee and of the prison administration and granting the
sole disciplinary council, in which the detainees are represented, the power to
impose disciplinary punishment against the offending persons. The provisions of
this new law are in conformity with the relevant international agreements;
- Law n° 2002-92 of 29th October 2002, amending and completing the Criminal
Procedure Code for the purpose of reinforcing the prerogatives of the Judge
responsible for the application of sentences by giving him the possibility to rule on
the release on parole for certain categories of convicted persons and to ensure
the execution of the sentence of community labour;
- Law n° 2002-93 of 29th October 2002, completing the Criminal Procedure Code
relative to the institution of the settlement of disputes through mediation,
instituting the system of reconciliation in criminal matters which consists in
granting the Public Prosecutor, in the case of certain offenses and
misdemeanors, the power to carry out a reconciliation of the parties, with their
agreement, which guarantees the rights of the party victim of the damages and
thereby put an end to the criminal proceedings;
- Law n° 2002-94 of 29th October 2002, relative to the compensation of individuals
who have been placed on remand or convicted and whose innocence had been
proven, aimed at the establishment of the principle of the State’s responsibility in
the prejudice caused through the application of justice;
- Organic Law n° 2004-63 of 27th July 2004, on the protection of personal
information, aimed at reinforcing the protection and promotion of human rights
and of guaranteeing the balance between the increasing use of modern methods
of communication and the protection of information relative to individuals’ private
life.
65. Furthermore, there is need to emphasize that the Tunisian judicial system is
developing convergent mechanisms to guarantee the freedoms recognised by the
International Agreement on Civil and Political Rights against all forms of violation.
The criminal jurisdiction reposes on the rule of the territoriality of laws. The
Tunisian criminal law applies to the entire Tunisian territory. The legislator
considers that if there is violation of public law and order, it is society itself which
deals with the matter through public action executed by the public Ministry.
Towards this end, Article 1 of the Criminal Procedure Code stipulates that « any
offense calls for the instituting of a public lawsuit with the objective of applying
penalties and if prejudice has been caused, a civil suit is instituted in reparation of
this prejudice ».
19