On September 12 and 13, 2025, the ordinary general meeting of the Tunisian Bar Association was held at the Cité de la Culture in Tunis. As is the case every three years, it included elections for the President of the Bar and the members of the Bar Council: 14 elected members, plus the last President of the Bar and the 16 Section Presidents, to form the full Council.

Elections to the Bar, and in particular those for the position of President of the Bar, have always been a national event that extends far beyond the professional, judicial or legal sphere, attracting public, political and media interest. This is due to historical reasons, but also to the current situation, as demonstrated by the most recent elections.

A historic tradition of freedom

Historically, and especially since the late 1970s, these elections have been the sounding board for the country's political life. They were almost the only free, pluralist and democratic elections under the dictatorship of Bourguiba - himself a lawyer - and then under Ben Ali, whose regime confronted its dissidents in these polls, which served as a thermometer of the general political mood. The contribution of lawyers to the January 14, 2011 revolution illustrates their pioneering role in defending the rule of law and human rights. After the revolution, Decree-Law 79/2011 enshrined this:

"The legal profession is liberal and independent. It participates in the establishment of justice and defends freedoms and human rights."

A principle further reinforced by Article 105 of the 2014 Constitution.

After 2011, lawyers were highly visible in the public, media and political spheres. Admittedly, the Order was no longer the undisputed leader in the defense of democratic values and human rights as it had been in the past. The phenomenon of "migration" to politics also favoured the emergence of second-rate leaders within its structures. While the political divide did not completely disappear during the decade of democratic transition, elections took on clientelist rather than genuinely trade-union or professional dimensions.

The breakup on July 25, 2021

Kaïs Saïed's coup d'état on July 25, 2021 revealed an unprecedented bar. Under the presidency of Bâtonnier Brahim Bouderbela, the Bar Council supported the violations of the Constitution and the abortion of the democratic experiment. In a press release dated July 27, 2021, it expressed its allegiance to Kaïs Saïed, subsequently confirmed by its silence - or even support - for the regression: freezing of article 105 of the Constitution (before its repeal), expulsion of lawyers from the Supreme Council of the Judiciary, repression of colleagues... Never since these elections became independent had the Bar Council placed itself at the service of the regime in this way.

With the support of the government and certain opportunist factions looking for a "deal" with Kaïs Saïed - who was cruelly lacking in legitimacy - the dynasty of pro-regime bâtonniers (sometimes nicknamed the "bâtonniers of Carthage") continued with the election of Hatem Meziou and a majority of the same profile, under the guise of preserving the "neutrality" of the profession. Human rights abuses multiplied, crude and systematic, even affecting lawyers, who were often arrested and prosecuted without due process. The violation of the Lawyer's House on two occasions was a defining moment, revealing the regime's contempt for the profession, accompanied by a record number of lawyers being prosecuted and arrested.

In the face of this, Bâtonnier Meziou and the majority of the Council showed nothing but effacement and cowardice, encouraging the regime to persist. Worse still, the Conseil de l'Ordre officially declared that "the success of the July 25, 2021 process is a priority for the Conseil de l'Ordre". Even under Ben Ali, the Conseil de l'Ordre had never reached such a degree of instrumentalization.

The September 2025 elections

Postponed beyond the legal deadline and marred by procedural violations that did not, however, call into question the integrity of the vote, the elections began on September 12, 2025 with a low turnout. But the following day, almost 4,000 lawyers - or 40% of registered voters - turned out, a record that even posed logistical problems.

Candidates for the bâtonnat: eight candidates stood for election:

• three outgoing Board members - H. Toukabri (General Secretary), M. Mahjoub (Treasurer) and N. Triki (head of training) - all of whom support Meziou, despite their lip service,
• three "repeat offenders" - Mohamed Hedfi (former president of the Tunis section), Boubaker Bethabet (former secretary general of the Council), Abderaouf Ayadi (former member of the Council),
• two outsiders - N. Kraiem and Mhiri.

A resounding victory

Me Boubaker Bethabet won a veritable plebiscite, elected in the first round (a rare occurrence, with only two precedents in the history of the bar) with a record 2,193 votes. This result shows that the divide was not political or ideological, but a response to the degradation of the profession under the compromising and passive policies of Bâtonniers Bouderbela and Meziou. It was a sanction vote, but above all the expression of a desire for change.

A former figure in the profession's structures, Me Bethabet has a wealth of experience: member of the Tunis section, then Secretary General of the Conseil de l'Ordre alongside Bâtonniers Chawki Tabib and Mohamed Fadhel Mahfoudh. Three times unsuccessful candidate for the bâtonnat (2016, 2019 and 2022), he embodies the school of bâtonnier Bechir Essid and is close to the nationalist current (Mouvement du peuple). He was also Secretary General of the first electoral body (ISIE) chaired by Kamel Jendoubi.

Its program can be summed up as follows:

• independence of the profession and the judiciary,
• defense of detained lawyers,
• reform of the governance of the Ordre and the Caisse de prévoyance et retraite.

In his first statement after his election, he asserted his determination to return to the principles of the profession, and made the release of detained lawyers a priority. In front of an enthusiastic audience, the slogans "Liberté, liberté, l'État policier est fini!" and "Fidèles à nos confrères détenus!" could be heard being chanted.

The Council of the Order

The election of the members of the Council was more nuanced, with almost all tendencies represented: nationalist lawyers, leftists, Islamists, those close to Chawki Tabib and former members of the RCD. Alliances, personalities and individual strategies played a decisive role. Six former section presidents, including four from the regions, sit on the board. Three women lawyers were elected, including Saïda Akremi, a historic figure.

The positions of the new members on July 25, 2021 are diverse: some have supported it, others have remained silent, still others have contested it.

These elections are a clear message to the powers that be and to civil society. They can open up a positive dynamic in favor of the rule of law and human rights. Nevertheless, we must keep our feet on the ground: the Bar Association is a guardian of the Republic, invested by law with the task of defending rights and freedoms, but it cannot take the place of the political opposition. The Council's internal balances, yet to be established, will weigh heavily on its future positions.

The CRLDHT

• Welcomes the salutary and patriotic reaction expressed by lawyers at their general meeting on September 12 and 13, 2025;
• Congratulates the President of the Bar, Boubaker Bethabet, and all the elected representatives for the trust placed in them by their peers;
• Expresses its fervent hope that the Tunisian Bar Association will break with its complicity and allegiance to power and resume its pioneering and decisive role in protecting the profession and its representatives, human rights and the principles of the rule of law;
• Invites the Tunisian people, their institutions and civil society to work together to save their homeland and turn the page on dictatorship once and for all.