Tunisia: Legal Framework for Swearing-in Session of President of the Republic

Tunis, Oct. 20 — The Tunisian Constitution of 2022 provides in Chapter IV devoted to the Executive Function, Article 92, that the elected President of the Republic takes the oath before the Assembly of People's Representatives and the National Council of Regions and Districts in a joint session.

The procedures governing the plenary session for taking the oath are also provided for in Decree-Law No. 1 of September 13, 2024, related to the organization of relations between the Assembly of People's Representatives and the National Council of Regions and Districts, as well as in the rules of procedure of the two parliamentary chambers, which provide for this session.

Under Article 92 of the Constitution, the elected President of the Republic takes the following oath before the Assembly of People's Representatives and the National Council of Regions and Districts together:

"I swear by Almighty God to preserve the independence and integrity of the nation, respect the Constitution and the laws of the State, and fully protect the interests of the nation."

The same article specifies that if, for any reason, it is impossible to take the oath before the Assembly of People's Representatives and the National Council of Regions and Districts, the President of the Republic shall take the oath before the Constitutional Court.

Decree-Law No. 1/2024 of 13 September 2024 on the organization of relations between the Assembly of People's Representatives and the National Council of Regions and Districts provides in its second chapter devoted to the plenary session for taking the oath, and in its Article 22, that: "The elected President of the Republic shall take the constitutional oath provided for in Article 92 of the Constitution before the Assembly of People's Representatives and the National Council of Regions and Districts meeting at the seat of the Assembly of People's Representatives, under the chairmanship of the President of the Assembly of People's Representatives."

Article 24 of the same decree-law specifies that the session that will bring together the two parliamentary chambers and which will be devoted to the swearing-in of the President of the Republic (...) is officially convened by the President of the Assembly of People's Representatives in coordination with the President of the National Council of Regions and Districts.

The rules of procedure of the Assembly of People's Representatives, in its article 87, and that of the National Council of Regions and Districts, in its article 79, stipulate the holding of an extraordinary plenary session dedicated to the swearing-in of the President of the Republic, on the basis of the decree-law governing the relations between the two councils (Decree-Law No. 1 of 2024).

The bureau of the Assembly of People's Representatives met on Thursday, October 3, to discuss preparations for the start of the work of the third ordinary session, the parliamentary calendar and the scheduled events including the extraordinary plenary session dedicated to the swearing-in of the elected President of the Republic.

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