The Tunisian Constitution of 2014: a story of crisis resolution

Kmar BEN DANA

As Tunisia recently completed three rounds of elections, we can follow the Tunisian Constitution as a history of crisis resolution, one of the many that marked the "transition". Complying with the desire to break with the regime of the 1st Tunisian Republic based on the Constitution of 1st June 1959, the constitutional text, a by-product of the demand from a National Constituent Assembly1, underwent several stages. Its form and content are not solely a result of the political environment in which it was created. The desire to break with the previous regime does not prevent the Constitution of 27 January 2014 from echoing other fundamental laws. Tunisian political history is interspersed with constitutionalism inherent to the birth of contemporary political thinking. Indeed, a series of constitutional texts marks the 19th and 20th centuries in Tunisia. To what extent did these texts feed/influence the immediate context? Which advisors guided proposals and negotiations? In what way did the legal culture enable the swaying balance that prevailed between politicians and legal experts during this transitional phase to be stabilised? Although it is still too early for any definitive answers, we can start to make comparisons over time, by contextualising this constitution using the texts that preceded it. At the university, the legal experts carried out research tracing back to the source of the Tunisian constitutional experience. In the historian environment, in which the history of law is a little-studied area2, the process is fairly uncommon. A tradition of studies and research dedicated to the links between the Tunisian constitutions fills the legal library3. This university tradition explains the active part played by jurists throughout the creation of the text4. Other voices joined these experts; those of historians were lacking slightly because the "current history" is a delicate undertaking that requires numerous studies5.

There were at least three chronological steps to the creation of the Constitution of 2014. The result of several versions, the final text was the fourth draft submitted to the ANC vote. From another perspective, we can classify this constitution as the third in the history of modern Tunisia, preceded by those of 1861 and 1959. Finally, this text is built upon a constitutional past that historical culture traces back to the Carthage constitution, known since the time of Aristotle6.

1 Elected on 23 October 2011, the ANC commenced its duties on 22 November 2011. The Assembly of Representatives of the People (ARP) was elected on 26 October 2014. The final meeting of the ANC was organised on 20 November 2014. 2A short-lived History and law programme at the Contemporary Maghreb Research Institute (IRMC) resulted in a few publications on the function of the justice system. Example: Nada Auzary Schmaltz (dir), The French justice system and law during the French protectorate, Tunis/Paris, IRMC/ Maisonneuve et Larose, 2007, 195 p. 3 A few titles from the legal library in use: Charles Debbasch: "Tunisian National Constituent Assembly", Revue Juridique et Politique d’Outre-Mer [Legal and Overseas Policy Review] 1959, n° 1, January-March, pp. 32-54; Victor Silvera, From the Beylical regime to the Tunisian Republic, Politique étrangère [Foreign policy] n°5, 1957, pp. 594-611, /web/reviews/home/prescript/article/; Abdelfattah Amor, "Al-Majliss-el-qawmî al-ta’sîsi 1956-1959" [National Constituent Assembly], El Majles el qaoumii ettaasissi, Meeting proceedings May 1984, Tunis, C. E. R. P-Faculty of law and economic sciences, 1986, pp. 21-32. 4 Example of a reaction to the last version: Ali Mezghenni "A weak and regressive Constitution in comparison with that of 1959", La Presse de Tunisie, 17 January 2014, http://www.lapresse.tn/17012014/77611/%C2%A0une-constitution-minee-et-regressive-par-rapport-a-celle-de- 1959%C2%A0.html 5 Taoufik Bachrouch, The crisis of the Tunisian conscience of the 19th Century, Tunis, Atlas Editions, 2014, 335p. The author, a university historian, provides reflection clearly fuelled by a knowledge of the archives and of the period. It is a shame that the reader does not have the means to access the references or events evoked by the author. 6 According to Houcine Jaïdi, "The Constitution of Carthage, its present events and the lessons of Aristotle" Anabase n°20, October 2014, pp. 315-323, the text is currently missing. Despite the volatility of the events have marked the turbulent life of the National Constituent Assembly, the purpose of this paper is to attempt a first approach to the referents, stages and players that made this text possible.

The constitutional frame of reference

The solution of suspending the Constitution of 1959 and rewriting the "Destour" is to connect the Tunisian political class to historical culture. This is strongly attached to the symbolism of a practice, inherited from the Ottoman and French influences of the 19th century, reincarnated in a political history that actually used the Constitution as a pivotal point for the national construction, through the State objective.

Two major constitutional texts mark the history of the 19th and 20th century in Tunisia: The Tunisian constitution of 1861 and that of 1959. Constitutionalism and the importance of the constitution of 1861 were the subject of studies by historians7; the constitution of 1959–in regards to its text, circumstances, scope, authors and references–is less rich8.

The drafting of the Constitution of 26 April 1861 was assigned to Ahmed Ibn Abi Diaf, a high- ranking civil servant who would go on to become the most famous historian of the 19th century in Tunisia.9 Composed of 114 articles divided into 13 chapters, it follows the Fundamental Pact ('Ahd el aman of 1857) and forms part of the "necessary reforms" desired by Khayreddine and the intellectuals and politicians in power at the time10, to move Ottomanism towards the Tunisian political system11. Three years later, it was suspended following the revolution of 186412.

Several phases of political life under the protectorate, built around constitutional proposals, relate to this precedent. In 1908, Le Tunisien, the organ of the evolutionist movement Young Tunisians, requested a constitution similar to that of 1861 for Tunisia. In 1920, a draft constitution was presented by the Tunisian Party in "Our demands", an appendix to the book The martyrdom of Tunisia, its demands13. Transposed into the field of the dispute, the constitutional demand was based on the experience of the 19th century and was inspired by Ottoman precedent and the French model, which was built on the supremacy of the constitutional text. Thus the word Destour spanned a century and a half of Tunisian political history.

7See Hédi Timoumi "Characteristics of the modernism pathway of Tunisia (1846-1964)", Tunisia from one century to another, Carthage, Bayt al Hikma, 2002, pp. 19-90; likewise, 2006, Tunisia, 1956-1987, Sfax, Dar Mohamed Ali, 230 p. (Translation by A. Bannour, Tunis, National Translation Centre, 2008, 368 p.); Khélifa Chater, "Constitutionalism in Tunisia in the 19th century", Tunisian journal of social sciences, Tunis, CERES, 1975, 12th year, t. 40-43, pp. 243-272; Taoufik Bachrouch, "Tunisian reformism Essay on critical interpretation", Cahiers de Tunisie, , n° 127-128, 1984, p. 97-118. 8A special file on the Tunisian Constitution of 1959 was published in Rawafid n° 15, Journal of the Higher Institute of History of the National Movement, La Manouba, 2010, pp. 115-143 (fr.), pp. 185-312 (Arabic). In addition to the official brochure edited by the Centre for parliamentary research and studies, on the occasion of the fifth anniversary (2009, 67p.), we would like to highlight the article by Adel L’tfi, "Islam in the debate of the Tunisian constituent (1956 - 1959)", IBLA, n° 213, 1st half of 2014, pp. 27-63. 9 1804-1874. Ibn Abi Diaf was a scribe and keeper of the seals in the Beylical entourage under the reign of Hussein II Bey (1824-1835), Mustapha Bey (1835-1837), Ahmed Bey 1st (1837-1855), M’hammed Bey (1855-1859) and Sadok Bey (1859- 1874).. He is the author of a chronical: Ithaf ahl az-zaman bi akhbar Tounès wa ‘ahd al aman [Presenting Contemporaries the History of Rulers of Tunis and the Fundamental Pact], Ahmed J’dey, The social, political and cultural reflections of Ben Dhiaf, University of Nice, 1987, 3 volumes. 10 Eg.: Mahmoud Qabadou, General Husayn, Muhammad Bayram… 11The hatti sharif of Gulhane (1839) and then that of Humayun (1856) are the texts that inspired the Constitution of 1861. 12 Taoufik Bachrouch, The crisis of the Tunisian conscience in the 19th century, op.cit, pp. 241-334; Ali L’taïef, Intifadhat as- sahel at-tounisi sanat 1864: mahallat zarrouk wa ma’rakat al kala’a as-saghira [The Sahel revolution of 1864: la column of Zarrouk and the battle of Kalâa Seghira], La Manouba, Higher Institute of History of the National Movement, 2012, 286 p. (in Arabic). 13 The text of this appendix is repeated in the Revue Sadikienne n°48, June 2008, pp. 12-17. Independence and sovereignty were the essential attributes pursued through the search for a constitution and a Parliament that would proclaim it. The nationalist literature is filled with this demand. The anticolonial fight chose the name of "Destour" (=constitution) from the time it was structured into parties: El hizb el horr ad-dustouri at-tounisi [the Tunisian liberal constitutional Party] which was created under the leadership of Abdelaziz Thaâlbi in June 192014. In 1934, the party split into the Old and Neo Destour, who both shared the nationalist fight. One of the most well-known episodes of the anticolonial struggle is the demonstration of 9 April 1938, where the slogan "Tunisian parliament" was proclaimed15.

The Destour party undertook to fight for independence, through adoption of a Constitution: the demand took on a legal form16. This implanted the constitutionalist story in Tunisian political and intellectual life during the century that separates the texts of 1861 and 1959. The political and intellectual generations took on this model of power management assimilated with sovereignty, also adopted by the beys, together with the nationalists. We can cite the examples of Naceur Bey17, with the memorandum presented on 5 April 1922, that of Moncef Bey18 (in August 1942, the memorandum of sixteen demands, first tackled the constitutional issue by suggesting the establishment of a legislative advisory board) and the case of Lamine Bey19, with the memorandum presented on 15 May 1951.

After independence, 1964 saw the term of the El hizb al ichtiraki ad-doustouri [Socialist Destourian Party]. Under Ben Ali, the constitutional revision of 25 July 1988 resulted in the El hizb al ichtiraki ad-doustouri [Socialist Destourian Party] being renamed Tajamu’ dusturi dimocrati [Democratic Constitutional Rally].

If we consider the Tunisian reform as a great political tale20, constitutionalism was one of its vectors. To the point where it can include the cases of institutional power grabs: that of Bourguiba against the Beylical regime in 1957 and the "medical coup d'état" of Ben Ali of 1987 were supplemented by constitutional work. The legalism of the State is one of the indicators of the strength of constitutionalism as a main instrument for power management, a textual legalism that was brought to a high degree of systematism: Bourguiba was elected president for life on the basis of a constitutional article in 1975; under Ben Ali, fifteen amendments were made to the text, based, among other things, on a constitutional council, created in 1995.

Stages and crises

In the short time of its creation, three dates are connected with the text of 2014: that of the vote, the signing and the publication in the Official Journal of the Republic of Tunisia (JORT). The session to vote in the constitution, article by article, was completed on 27 January 2014 at 1 AM, broadcast live by two national television channels. Its reception by the population was coupled with

14 Moncef Dellagi, Abdelaziz Thaâlbi, Birth of the Tunisian nationalist movement, Tunis, Cartaginoiseries, 2013, 332 p. 15 Roger Casemajor, The nationalist movement in Tunisia. From the fundamental pact of M'hamed Bey to the death of Moncef Bey. 1857-1948, ed. Sud Éditions, Tunis, 2009. 16 The Barthélémy and Weiss consultation of July 1921 that establishes the compatibility of a Tunisian constitution with the protectorate regime illustrates this concept. 17 1855-1922. 23rd bey of the Husainid dynasty, reigned from 1906 to 1922 18 1881-1948. Bey from 19 June 1942 to 15 May 1943, date of his deposing. 19 1881-1962. He succeeded Moncef Bey in 1943 and was the last bey of the dynasty, deposed in 1957 by the National Constituent Assembly. 20 Béatrice Hibou, "Reformism, a great political tale of contemporary Tunisia", Revue d’Histoire Moderne et Contemporaine, 2009, n° 56, 4 bis, pp. 14-39. exceptional participation of the constituents, who were all in attendance for the vote21, which was not always the case during the debates. An interesting situation for information purposes and a promise for the future: NGO watchdogs recorded this operation22, which enables the creation of future archives to write the history of the ANC and the texts drawn up. The ANC was criticised for having operated as a parliament that leaned towards "legislative" tasks, dismissing the priority of the constitutional text23. One of the major grievances of civil society and the political parties was to reiterate the respect of the term of one year granted to the assembly, a limit that was exceeded24. The Constitution was signed on Tuesday, 28 January 2014 by the three "presidents" of the tripartite25 governmental coalition: Mustapha Ben Jaâfar, president of the ANC, the prime minister, Ali Laârayedh and the President of the Republic, Moncef Marzouki. Spread over two governments (Jebali and Laârayedh), the drafting, interspersed by outbreaks of violence -in particular by a series of political assassinations26 - was sealed by a triple signature which marks the shared achievement of the main objective of the elections of 23 October 201127. A formal ceremony in the presence of foreign politicians followed this signing, on Friday, 7 February 2014. Third date in this immediate chronology: 10 February 2014, the JORT published the Arabic version. In addition to the French and English versions, there is a version in the Tunisian dialect, which was published at the end of March 2014, on the initiative of the Tunisian Association of Constitutional Law 28.

The drafting of the Constitution of January 2014 follows the twists and turns of the political situation. The suspension of the Constitution of 1959 in March 2011 created a void. From the start of the work by the ANC, an internal text, nicknamed "the little Constitution" 29served as instructions for the transitory period. Some forty proposals of texts were submitted as soon as the ANC entered into force: that of the "committee of experts"30 and initiatives signed by university constitutionalists31, associations and organisations32 were submitted to the assembly. The constituents chose a "blank page" which led them to discuss three drafts, without counting that of 12 August 2012, which was considered as a "rough draft"33: 14 December 2012, 22 April 2013 and 1st June 2013. It can be said that the Constitution was the written record of the internal and external friction in a weakened power struggle since 2011, one of the obvious signs of the weakness that lies in suspension of the constitution of 1959.

The first pitfall is the place of Sharia law, which removes article 1 of the Constitution of 1959. Rached Ghannouchi overcame the obstacle: after having threatened a referendum on the issue, in March 2012 he declared that article 1 would be kept in its original state. The relief of the opposition was met with objection among the Ennahdha party and other "Salafists", who were deprived of a

21 The attendance of members of parliament was measured thanks to televised broadcasts and monitoring work by the Bawsala NGO (= La Boussole, president Amira Yahyaoui; executive director: Sélim Kharrat). Site: http://majles.marsad.tn/ 22 The Al Marsad project (= L’Observatoire, project manager: Ghada Louhichi) consists of monitoring the working procedures of the commission, the presence of members of parliament, the casting of votes and the monitoring of the texts. 23 According to http://majles.marsad.tn/anc, 27 draft laws were discussed in 2012, 54 in 2013 and 57 in 2014. 24 ANC lasted three years, minus the breaks and the month of suspension between 6 August and 5 September 2013. 25 Coalition nicknamed the Troïka 26 The 2012-2014 period saw more than 70, involving political, military and police figures. 27 The final session of the ANC (22 November 2014) shall be dedicated to the members initialling the text. 28 Of which 4,000 copies were published. Cf . http://hctc.hypotheses.org/1070 29 Constitutional law n° 6-2011 regarding the provisional organisation of government authorities, voted in on 10 December 2011. 30 Group of jurists formed around Yadh Ben Achour, which became an association (Democratic transition research association) in October 2012. 31 Example, the draft presented by Sadok Belaïd, university lecturer. 32 Texts submitted by the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT), by the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women (ATFD), by the Doustourouna network (i.e Our constitution) 33 cf .Hatem M’rad, "The draft of the Constitution: more shortcomings despite the imperfections", pp. 116-121, article published in Le Courrier de l’Atlas, 16 January 2013. rallying theme. During the summer of 2012, the controversy surrounding the term "complementarity" with regard to the relationship between the sexes. Despite strong reactions, the battle was won by the term "equality". On 23 November 2012, the members of parliament were split with regard to the nature of the government to choose: parliamentary or semi-presidential regime? The draft of 14 December also created discontent, in particular with regard to article 15, which marked a break from international law.

The place of sacredness fuelled the political crisis, which culminated in two assassinations and a change of government between February and September 2013. The lawyer Chokri Belaïd, general secretary of the Party of the democratic patriots, (Watad) and one of the leaders of the popular front, (jib’ha chaâbiyya), were assassinated on 6 February 2013, while tension between "constitutional legality" and "revolutionary legitimacy" was at its height. Hamadi Jebali, the prime minister of the third provisional government, resigned on 19 February; Ali Laârayedh, his interior minister, formed a new government on 10 March. In the eyes of observers, the constitution remained a power struggle between two groups with regard to the "Tunisian identity", which directed the comments of members of parliament. The rise of the Nida Tounès coalition 34marked a redirection towards bipolarisation of opinion.

On 24 April 2013, the president of the ANC, Mr Ben Jaâfar presented to the media the "best Constitution in the world"35. According to this text, the State was "civil"36, the powers were separated, independence of the media was guaranteed and "gender equality" and "human rights" were recognised. However, "freedom of conscience" and reference to international texts were missing. Among the questions that were debated in the assembly room, on social networks and in the media was the question of "dual nationals" and that of non-Muslims excluded from the right to run for president37. The conflict regarding the mix between the religious and the political weighed heavily and certain articles reduced or contradicted the "civil" nature of the State38. On 2 May, the elected members of the opposition reported a falsification of the text, presenting the differences between the version drawn up by the six commissions and that of the "drafting and coordination commission"39.

On 1 June, although the arbitration meetings of the National dialogue had not finished, the draft Constitution was signed. The president of the ANC submitted the text for consideration by the Venice Commission. A few days after the publication of the requested report, the constituent Mohamed Brahmi was assassinated on 25 July 2013. An unprecedented mobilisation began. After the resignation of some sixty members of parliament, Mr Ben Jaâfar suspended the work of the ANC on 6 August 2013, and negotiations began. The version of 1 June 2013 was put back on the table, again subject to debates that determined its final appearance. The summer ended in the revision of important passages, such as the question of the death penalty40 - and work on the "transitional legislative provisions" defended by the General Rapporteur of the Constitution41.

34 Coalition of parties and independent groups founded and chaired by Béji Caïd Essebsi, launched in April 2012 and legalised as a party in July 2012. 35 See the account of Mustapha Ben Jaâfar, A very long road to democracy, Interview with Vincent Geisser, Tunis, Nirvana publishers, 2014, 244 p. 36 Articles 1 and 2. 37 Article 72. 38 Example: article 136 which stipulates that no modification of the Constitution can harm Islam. 39 Habib Khedher: a trained jurist, he was elected general rapporteur of the constitution on 1st February 2012, 113 votes against 84 for Fadhel Moussa. 40 Article 21 eventually declared that "the right to life is sacred... except in extreme cases set out by law..." 41 With the provision, among other things, to freeze the Constitutional Court for a period of three years in order to avoid the challenging of laws voted in during this period. Crises and direct and indirect interventions from civil society controlled the process of writing a text with which numerous constituents, in the heat of debates, declared themselves to be in disagreement42. Despite or thanks to the debates and disputes, it was finally voted in by 200 votes (+ 12 against and 4 abstentions). At the moment, it is difficult to consider in detail the levers activated thanks to new technologies and the place of the NGOs present, which monitored the process. Time and in-depth studies are necessary in order to assess this contribution and evaluate its impact on the writing process.

Writing and Constitution: questions for the future

The writing/constitution combination marks the political and institutional history of modern Tunisia. In 1861, when the Constitution was proclaimed by Sadok Bey, printing was officially introduced in Tunisia and the official journal, then named Er-Raïd et-tounsi, began its role in the service of the Beylical State. Minister Khayreddine43 led an administrative reform, introduced legislation on the management of habous, the role of the notary... The institutionalised writing at the head of the State established an administrative culture and reflexes within the following political and administrative generations.

With the arrival of the internet, one may wonder about the future of the administration and the remnants of operation that the institution of the ANC will leave. Have provisions been made to preserve the current documentation for the future? For the moment, websites provide information, but what has happened to paper archives44? Does the institution possess methods for archiving in the future? The question is all the more important since the creation of the constitution is the product of several "tributaries".

"The representatives of the Tunisian people, the members of the National Assembly"45 participated in the writing, but not in a uniform or unanimous way. Their collegiality is complex, unequal and far from being the only one: the ANC was linked to the outside in a great number of ways, in particular thanks to the live broadcast of the debates on television. At the top of the observers who followed, discussed, proposed and acted on the creation of the texts, the Tunisian jurists were questioned by actual people. Connected via technology, they provided explanations and contributed to developing legal solutions to the political crises that followed. Thanks to their mobilisation around the creation of the text and with the media representatives and the internet, an explanation of laws, their meaning and their hierarchy was circulated. This learning process created a feeling and an effect of belonging, which experienced high points, such as for the "complementarity" between men and women46 during the summer of 2012, which was the pivotal point for the demonstrations around international women's day (13 August). Emerging from the debates of the "Rights and freedoms" commission, article 28 was met with outcry. Under pressure, it was eventually condemned from within the ANC, where it was refused since it contradicted the principles of equality set out by article 22.

42 Article 6 on freedom of conscience, for example, is much disputed and gives rise to contradictory declarations, in particular within the Ennahdha parliamentary group. 43 1820-1890. Mamlouk of Circassian origin. Grand Vizier of Sadok Bey 1873 to 1878, author of "The reforms necessary for Muslim States.... Paris, Paul Dupont, 1968, a political treaty built around a summary of European constitutional experiences. For the Arabic version, cf. Moncef Chenoufi, Aqwam al masalik fi ma’rifati ahwal al mamlik. Carthage, Bayt al Hikma……French text presented and annotated by Magali Morsy, (ed.), Khayr ed-din Essay on the reforms necessary for Muslim states, Paris, Edisud, “North African archives”, 1987, 155p. 44 Enquiries to be made with the UNDP, al Bawsala and other bodies. 45 This expression is the first sentence of the introduction. 46 The campaign was launched by parliament member Selma Mabrouk in July 2012. 200 "yes" votes out of a total of 21647 ratified the text of the Constitution. However, during the two and a half years of debate, much discord was witnessed. What meaning can we take from the participation of members of parliament in the drafting of the texts? Article 1, which was written in 195948 was adopted without revision49: in March 2012, it was renewed in its original form after passionate debates and the threat of a referendum being held. One may wonder whether the versions proposed by the Assembly affected the preparatory versions and/or fuelled each other's arguments. At the very end of the elaboration of the text, two strong final battles were led from the outside: during January 2014, the Association of Tunisian Magistrates (AMT) played a decisive role in imposing the independence of the judicial authorities, which was threatened by the text. Another shorter and less organised controversy was ignited by article 3950 regarding the Arabic language; the constituents were hasty to add openness towards languages51, a "universal" solution that alleviated the memory of the heated and hostile debates from parliament members, from France in particular, who were not at ease with the Arabic language52.

Without denying the hard work of the commission, it can be said that the Tunisian constitution of 2014 was not written in isolation from the world and only by members of the majority, although this majority had the key position of editorial secretary. The requirement to start with a "blank page" had its integrating effect through the work of the commissions53 and in the rituals of the plenary assemblies, carried out in front of the cameras on national television and the watchful eyes of observers, commentators and analysts. The finalisation of the text was completed in twenty two days in January 2014, thanks to the creation of the consensus commission, but also due to the horizontality created by the regional consultations54 and the interest spread by the local associations and the media. The drafting of the constitution was the subject of comments, speeches and propositions, sometimes brought together on exchange platforms or emerging from discussion forums55.

The new technologies certainly favoured participation “from the ground”. However, we must await specific studies, a comprehensive ethnography and a detailed monitoring of this phenomenon to be carried out using the appropriate methods. Future historians will be required to use New Information and Communication Technologies (NICT), considering, in particular, the uses, user profiles and the efficiency of mediums.

Conclusion

The Tunisian constitution of 2014 is a long road of crisis resolution and a transposition of the conflicts and ignorance experienced within Tunisian society on the political scene. The 23 months taken to draft this text were tortuous but the length of the ordeal will have served to spread political culture throughout many areas of society and create groups on the actual scene, by providing

47 The vote of Mohamed Brahmi, the assassinated member of parliament, was missing. 48 With regard to the consultation of Mohamed Chédli Ennaïfar (1911 - 1997), ‘alim zaytounien transferred to the Bourguibian educational system, as a secondary teacher, and then the faculty of theology from 1968 onward. 49 Adel L’tifi, op. cit. 50 "The State ensures the anchoring of the Arab-Muslim identity and the Arabic language, promotes it and generalises its use among the younger generations." 51 Myriam Achour, "‘The Rolls and the Volkswagen’: "Controversies of writing or the political scope of writing on Facebook", in Massimo di Felice (dir.),), Net-activism, digital networks and new practices of democracy, 52 I am referring, in particular, to the comments of Karima Souid, who exercised the right to the translation stipulated by article 77 of the internal regulation of the ANC. 53 Seventy working sessions of the coordination and drafting commission, according to Mr Ben Jaâfar, op. cit. , p.189. 54 Cf. Mr Ben Jâafar, Interviews….op.cit, pp. 173-174 and 188-190. 55 We can cite the example of the El Kasbah Facebook page created in April 2011, which was filled with comments during the writing of the constitution. A book resulted from this, Tunisie. Fragments of revolution, Tunis, Imprimerie Simpact, 2014, 317 p. http://hctc.hypotheses.org/930 material - through the media, supported by the internet and social networks - for an expanding and demanding public opinion. The constitution was fuelled by public opinion, as much as it was a catalyst for political interest, as well as a driving force that modified the place and the image of political action. Through its writing, it "absorbed" part of the tensions that exist within society. The extraordinary notoriety of the final phase of writing is commensurate with the mobilisation channelled by the ordeal and an accumulation of the energy that brewed during the drafting.

But not everything is concluded with this completed task. The history, that of this "transitional" period and the different contexts that comprise it, is not limited to this drafting, nor does it end with this instructional text. The political experience is important in itself, but with regard to the journey through Tunisian constitutional history, no safeguard is guaranteed. A historian can hardly take note of a few links that determine the creation and the update of a text that is still to enter into force. Another story.