The Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession (ACIJLP) expresses its strongest condemnation of the ruling issued against the notable judge Anas Al-Hammadi, President of the Tunisian Judges Association, by the Court of First Instance in Tunis on 6 April, sentencing him to one year’s imprisonment in connection with his exercise of his right, as a judge, to engage in public matters and to defend the independence of the judiciary in Tunisia. The ACIJLP considers that Judge Al-Hammadi exercised his legitimate right, in his capacity as a judge and President of the Tunisian Judges Association, to defend judicial independence and to protect its members against interference by the executive authority in the work of the Tunisian judiciary, in accordance with the United Nations Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1985. Articles 7 and 8 of these Principles affirm that members of the judiciary, like other citizens, are entitled to freedom of expression, belief, association, and assembly, and that judges have the right to form associations or other organizations to represent their interests, promote their professional training, and safeguard their independence.
The ruling against the President of the Tunisian Judges Association is a violation of Tunisia’s judicial Independence
