- Law n° 2002-94 of 29th October 2002, relative to the compensation of individuals
who have been placed on remand or been convicted and whose innocence had
been proven, institutes the principle of payment by the State of appropriate
compensation to any individual who has undergone custody and whose guilt had
not been established, and the payment of compensation to any individual
condemned to imprisonment then declared innocent by the legal authorities after
review of his case.
89. Equality before the law means that every individual should be protected by
the law and in case of injury can bring the matter to court and has a right to equal
treatment before the courts. Study of the law reports of the past twelve years
shows a constant application of the Articles 101 to 106 of the Tunisian Criminal
Code suppressing the abusive acts committed by a trustee of the public authority
against private individuals.
90. In effect, the concern for a transparent and independent justice system
resulted in, among other things, reforms creating the office of a penalty
application Judge so as to monitor the conditions of execution of the judgments,
as well as the institution of the rule of two tier proceedings in criminal matters.
The latter provision allows the ruling on criminal cases in the first instance then on
appeal, whilst maintaining the system of two tier proceedings (examining Judge
and Criminal Division of Appeals Court), which contributes to the strengthening of
the criminal justice Courts.
91. Furthermore, Tunisian legislation provides for both disciplinary and legal
sanctions against public servants who, in the exercise of their duties, violate the
physical integrity of the human being.
In this respect, it is worthy to cite in particular, law n° 99-89 of 2nd August 1999,
amending and completing certain provisions of the Penal Code, and which
provides, in its Article 101 bis, for severe penalties going up to eight years
imprisonment for any public servant or officer of similar category who subjects, in
the exercise of or during the exercise of their duties an individual to torture.
92. Very recent data shows that for the period between 2000 to June 2005, 104
Police Officers had been brought to justice and convicted with penalties of up to
10 years in jail. Disciplinary measures had also been taken against several
officers responsible for applying the laws. The Ministry of the Interior had, in
effect, brought several officers before the Council of Honour, among whom more
than twenty had been dismissed for acts of violence and abuse of authority.
93. Among the measures taken to strengthen the protection of human rights and
to block the « culture of impunity », figure in particular the adoption of a Code of
Conduct for the officials responsible for applying the law, training on human rights
issues for their benefit, the monitoring of the conditions of detention and the
manner in which the detainees are treated in the police stations, legal assistance
or any other assistance which is appropriate for the detainees.
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