Home > 6 Political parties > TUNISIA - Opinion on the Draft Institutional Law on the Organisation of Political Parties and their Funding
 
 
 
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Paragraph 30
 

The ban on judges and certain members of the executive (e.g. governors, armed forces personnel and internal security forces personnel) belonging to a political party, as provided for in Article 23 of the draft law and already in Article 7 of Legislative Decree no. 2011-87, seems acceptable in the light of international standards: in particular, here, Article 11, paragraph 2, of the ECHR allows states to impose lawful restrictions on the freedom of association of members of the armed forces, of the police or of the administration of the state. The European Court of Human Rights has acknowledged that that can justify restrictions on political activities – including membership of a party – by these categories of persons with a view to ensuring their impartiality and the proper and non-partisan exercise of their duties, provided that this interference with the exercise of the right protected under Article 11 (and Article 10) of the ECHR is proportionate to the aim set out (and does not apply, for example, in absolute terms to all persons in government service). It could nevertheless be indicated more clearly in Article 23 of the draft law that the ban on membership of political parties applies to the categories of persons listed in the provision solely during the period when they exercise the relevant public duties (and, if appropriate, for a clearly specified, limited period after they cease exercising those duties).