Emergency provisions and exceptional measures in Tunisia: establishment of a new constitutional order

Examining the use of emergency powers in Tunisia is worthwhile because of the political and security upheavals in the MENA region in general since 2011. Indeed, political upheaval in many countries of the region has pushed the different governments to adopt emergency provisions with the aim of restoring security order. Emergency provisions are legal rules specifying who can announce a state of emergency and what powers political actors have once a state of emergency is declared (Ackerman 2004). This analysis could be even more valuable if we consider governments that have allowed a deep opening of the political system, with the aim of enabling more freedom. Indeed, from the moment the state of emergency is declared, these governments find themselves between the security need to suspend rights and freedoms at a time when rights and freedoms need to be protected. Writing about the Tunisian case would have a particular significance since the political change that happened in the country since 2011. This revolution was also unique during the Arab Spring since it was peaceful and not sanguinary, in contradiction with other revolutions that happened in the MENA region at that period, and in all over the world in the past. It is difficult to speak of emergency provisions under an authoritarian or a totalitarian regime. Indeed, since the executive has no countervailing power and cannot be held accountable for his decisions, it would not be beneficial to grant him more powers for a temporary period, since he already enjoys all the powers during ordinary circumstances. Hence, the constitutional history of emergency provisions is, generally speaking, rather close to democratic governments than to dictatorial ones. The effectivenesś of the adoption of emergency provisions or exceptional measures – considering that the substantial role of these provisions consists in the restoration of the constitutional order, and that the legal rule in the transitional law should be exceptional, necessary, and limited in time – can