Ms Emna Yahyaoui

Occupation:

Country Conditions Expert on Tunisia - Lawyer at the Court of Cassation

Summary

Tunisian lawyer and legal expert with more than twenty years of professional experience at the intersection of constitutional law, human rights, environmental law, labour law, anti-corruption and governance reform. Admitted to the Tunisian Court of Cassation, with an Advanced Studies Diploma in Land Law and a Master's in Law from the Faculty of Law and Political Science of Tunis. Her practice spans legal representation before the Tunisian courts, advisory roles inside the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mines, international expert assignments with UNDP, GIZ, the OECD, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and the European Union, and university teaching in human rights and business law. Contributor to the World Justice Project Rule of Law Index for 2018, 2019 and 2020. Instructed by legal practitioners to prepare country-context analysis for asylum and international protection proceedings focused on Tunisia.

Countries of Expertise

Tunisia as the core. Instructions across the wider Maghreb: Algeria, Morocco and Libya.

Details of Country Expertise

Country conditions knowledge of Tunisia grounded in more than twenty years of legal practice and professional engagement inside Tunisian institutions, courts and civil society. Practice before the Court of Cassation and advisory work at ministerial level in two government ministries give direct operational knowledge of how Tunisian legislation is applied and where institutional protection fails.

The asylum-relevant issues covered include the use of criminal law and security legislation to suppress political dissent, independent journalism and civil society activity, which intensified after the concentration of executive power in 2021 and the 2022 Constitution; the application of Decree 54 on cybercrime against journalists, lawyers and political opponents for the peaceful expression of opinion; the treatment of human rights defenders and political opponents; the transitional justice process since 2011; anti-corruption and whistleblower protection frameworks and how they work in practice, including Framework Law No. 10; environmental rights and land law; and labour rights and occupational health and safety.

Direct knowledge of the courts comes with cases on the right to be free from torture and work on investigation files from the 2011 revolution period within the UNDP programme in Tunisia. Sustained engagement with the National Anti-Corruption Authority, international development agencies and Tunisian civil society gives a field-grounded view of how legal and institutional change affects the safety of individuals.

Experience

Country conditions research and legal expert, Tunisia, The Human Rights Experts.

Attorney at the Court of Cassation, Tunis. Nineteen years of practice before the Tunisian courts. Specialist in human rights law and environmental law since 2011. Attorney and consultant to the National Waste Management Agency. Contributed to the conceptual framework of the transitional justice law.

Legal expert on institutional studies for international organisations: Konrad Adenauer Stiftung study on local governance after the 2022 Constitution; GIZ REFIS project with the Tunisian Ministry of Finance; PRO-ECO project on freshwater ecosystem governance; A'SIMA Tunis project on strategic planning and multilevel governance, funded by the EU Delegation.

Legal adviser, Office of the Minister of Cultural Affairs, Tunisia. Work on the UNESCO-Aschberg Programme on the statute of artists, the regional centre for underwater heritage and amendments to the code protecting archaeological heritage.

Chargee de mission, Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mines. Worked with the General Inspectorate on investigations from the National Anti-Corruption Authority, advised on whistleblower protection requests and on governance in the hydrocarbons sector.

Expert, United Nations Development Programme, Tunisia. Investigation files relating to the 2011 revolution period.

Contributor, World Justice Project Rule of Law Index, 2018 to 2020.

Trainer for CIFED, OECD, GIZ and the National Anti-Corruption Authority with KOICA, including seminars on whistleblowing and whistleblower protection across Tunisian governorates.

University lecturer in human rights and business law at five Tunisian institutions.

Education

Advanced Studies Diploma in Land Law, Faculty of Law and Political Science of Tunis. Master's Degree in Law, Faculty of Law and Political Science of Tunis. Mini MBA, Canadian Centre for Human Development, Tunis. TenStep Project Manager certification. Anti-money-laundering specialist preparation with GIZ. Anti-corruption investigations, Council of Europe and European Union. First Prize for her end-of-internship dissertation, Tunisian National Bar Association.

Languages

Arabic (native), French (fluent), English (professional).