The Republic of Tunisia can be regarded as a leader and a pioneer in the field of competition law in the Arabic world. Indeed, it is the only Arab country with a working system of competition law. Tunisia’s clear commitment to building a strong competition law and policy is but one aspect of a broader economic transition, in the wake of its structural adjustment agreement with the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in 1986 and subsequent accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and trade agreement with the European Union, from a highly controlled and regulated economy towards a market economy. Although the Tunisian system of competition law and its merger control regime remain in their infancy, they are serving increasingly as a source for consultation by several countries in the region.

Relevant legislation and statutory standards

The relevant legislation for merger control in Tunisia is the Loi N° 92–64 du 29 Juillet 1991 Relative à la Concurrence et aux Prix, telle que modifiée et complétée par la Loi N° 93–83 du 26 Juillet 1993 la Loi N° 95–42 du 24 Avril 1995 et la Loi N° 99/41 du 10 Mai 1999, or the Law No 92–64 of 29 July 1991 on Competition and Prices, as amended in 1993, 1995 and, more recently, 1999 (‘the Law’). The original Law on Competition and Prices was modelled extensively on the French 1986 ordinance, and the merger control aspect did not enter into force until the 1995 amendment.