• Text size  | | |
• Email this document
• Printable version

Tunisia: Update to TUN28125.F of 7 November 1997 on how people who are convicted in absentia can obtain a notice of judgment; whether each page of the photocopy of the judgment should bear the number of the lawyer who requested it

During an 18 December 2003 telephone interview, a spokesperson for the Tunisian Human Rights League (Ligue tunisienne des droits de l'homme, LTDH) said that only the first page of a copy of a judgment has to bear the lawyer's number, while the other pages are not marked with any particular numbers. He added that it is possible to obtain photocopies of a judgment, but only by following very specific steps (LTDH 18 Dec. 2003).

With regard to the procedure for obtaining a copy of a judgment for someone who was convicted in absentia, a member of the Executive Committee of the Tunisian branch of Amnesty International provided the following information in correspondence written on 31 December 2003:

[translation]

To obtain a copy of a judgment for someone who was convicted in absentia, the person concerned must appear before the court that convicted him or her and submit his or her request. The person who was convicted may be arrested by police, should they choose to execute an arrest warrant issued by the court that convicted the person. The person concerned is automatically released if he or she submits an objection to the judgment rendered in absentia.

If the person is convicted while he or she is outside the country, he or she can instruct a lawyer to file an objection on his or her behalf; but the instruction must be certified by an administrative authority (certified signature). The lawyer then has the right to request, in writing, a copy of the judgment. But the objection will only be accepted by the court if the person who was convicted appears before the court.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Amnesty International – Tunisian branch. 31 December 2003. Correspondence from a member of the Executive Committee.

Ligue tunisienne des droits de l'homme (LTDH). 18 December 2003. Telephone interview with a spokesperson.

Additional Sources Consulted

International Federation for Human Rights

IRB Databases

Lawyers Committee for Human Rights

Lawyers Without Borders

Tunisian Ministry of Justice and Human Rights

United States Department of State