The 2014 Constitution of Tunisia guarantees access to justice and legal assistance to those without financial means, but the lack of pro-active communication by courts gives Tunisians the feeling that the justice system cannot help them. Furthermore, some court decisions have triggered controversial debates, sometimes based on misunderstandings, without the courts clarifying or explaining in plain language the meaning of their decisions. DRI Tunisia works with the Administrative Court to strengthen its communication with external actors, especially citizens and civil society organizations.
DRI held two training sessions outside Tunis for 26 participants – the Presidents of Regional Chambers of the Administrative Court and staff members, aimed at developing their communication capacities.
« The right to Access to information is enshrined in law, but citizens think it is only a right that only organisations have. What we need to work on, is to enhance the trust between citizens and the court and that’s what the present training aims at » stated a representative of the Communication Unit at the Administrative Court.
« Communication is the basis of every judge’s work and this training was a good opportunity for us as presidents of regional chambers to discuss the issues of the Administrative Court in terms of communication and networking » said a judge.
In its commitment to support access to information, DRI is also organising a study visit for the Tunisian Access to information authority (“Instance Nationale d’Accès à l’Information”) in collaboration with the Federal Commissioner for the Access to Information and Data Protection in Germany. The exchange visit, planned between the 11 and 16 August 2018, will contribute to consolidate the authority by learning from comparative experiences and best practices regarding the implementation of the right to access information.