Tunisia: Lessons learned from constitution-making: Processes with broad based public participation, Democracy Reporting International - 2011

Although there are various approaches to participatory constitution-making, past decades have seen a clear trend
towards broad public participation in constitutional reform all over the world. Such public participation entails the direct
involvement of citizens in constitution-making, giving them a chance to influence decision-makers and the outcome of the process. The paper concludes to useful issues for the Constituent Assembly of Tunisia to consider:

• devoting one of its first sessions to a debate about the type, degree and modalities of public participation it
deems most adequate in the current situation
• enacting suitable legal rules and procedures in order to guarantee agreed levels of consultation
• conducting public sessions and hearings, and publishing up-to-date reports on its deliberations
• establishing an outreach programme and working closely with media and civil society organisations to inform and
educate citizens about its work.