16 January 2025
Targeting Disciplinary Courts
Hungary has faced significant challenges to judicial independence in recent years. The incumbent Chief Justice appears to have been working for some time to take control over disciplinary proceedings. In a recent development, the sweeping outrage of judges against planned structural reforms may have created the political opportunity to further silence dissenting voices. The Chief Justice’s New Year Greetings made it clear that the threat is real. Hungary could be on the verge of a full-scale judicial capture. Continue reading >>
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05 March 2024
Presidential Dismissals of Judicial Officers in Tunisia
The situation unfolding in Tunisia serves as a stark example of blatant executive overreach into the realm of the judiciary. On February 12, 2024, Youssef Bouzakher, one of the most senior judges in Tunisia, submitted an individual communication against Tunisia to the UN Human Rights Committee. Through a series of presidential decrees adopted during 2021-2022, he was removed from his position as High Judicial Council member and President and was later dismissed from his judicial position together with 56 other magistrates. In this blog post, I will analyze the centrepiece of the assault on the Tunisian judiciary by President Kais Saied, namely presidential decree 2022-35, in light of international standards on judicial independence, and particularly, the ones from the African system. Continue reading >>
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