The Ministry of the Environment launched the first draft environmental code on Wednesday, bringing together the legal framework governing this field, said Environment Minister Leila Chikhaoui. Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, the Minister said that the draft "will shortly be submitted to the Prime Ministry for examination". This code brings together the legislative, regulatory and institutional texts that have governed the environment for more than 30 years, she said, adding that the aim is to avoid a scattering of laws. Referring to a draft presented in 2013, she added that the code had been drawn up using a participatory approach, in cooperation with ministry officials, experts, civil society and all parties involved in the environmental field. In turn, Afef Hammami Marrakchi, professor of environmental law, said that the draft code would introduce a radical change to the Tunisian legal system, particularly in relation to environmental law. In Marrakchi's view, the old legislation governing the field has led to scattered texts, inconsistencies between environmental laws, contradictions and, above all, difficulties in applying certain texts, whether by the administration, citizens, civil society or even judges. Bringing all the texts together in a single code will allow easy access to environmental law and fairly straightforward application of this law, as well as making up for certain dysfunctions linked to very old laws dating back to the 80s and 70s," says the expert. The aim is to improve environmental governance, the coherence of environmental law, and the strengthening and unification of control, responsibility and sanctions. The main thrusts of this draft code are based on a methodological vision of the sector and companies, developed institutional governance of the sector, and transparent and secure control systems and mechanisms. The aim is also to guarantee coherent management of the sector throughout the country and access to a posteriori control against the dangers of disasters. This code contains several complementary and coherent chapters, such as general regulations, the protection of environmental systems, civil, administrative and criminal liability, the fight against pollution and all its sources (water pollution including that of the sea, waste, chemicals, noise and odours), while introducing a new chapter relating to climate change and the fight against its impacts. Each chapter contains a section on penalties, including criminal penalties that can be enforced in other ways, such as community service, which also has an awareness-raising aspect. The code also provides for the creation of a higher authority for ecological transition under the chairmanship of the government, which will be responsible for developing a forward-looking vision for the sector.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse