Arab World : Tunisia

TunisiaInstitutions

Public administrations focusing on books

  • State publisher
    National Center for Translation and the General Directorate of Books

    State foundation Function: To support book and reading policies

    Also, academic institutions in universities and cultural organizations publish books.

  • Directorate for Books
    The General Directorate of Books

    State foundation Function: To support book and reading policies

  • Ministry of Culture
    Ministry of Cultural Affairs

    State foundation Function: To support book and reading policies

  • Copyright management societies
    The Tunisian Institution for Copyright and Neigbouring Rights

    State foundation Function: To manage rights

    The Tunisian Agency for Copyright and Neighboring Rights was established by Decree No. 2860 of 2013, with the following main tasks:

    • Protecting the rights of authors and neighboring rights, and defending the material and moral interests of these rights holders.
    • Collecting and distributing the revenues generated from the collective management of copyright and neighbouring rights for the benefit of their owners or their beneficiaries.
    • Issuing licenses related to the reproduction of works in any material form, including audio and audiovisual recordings, or others.
    • Setting the financial and material conditions for the exploitation of works.
    • Managing all rights whose proceeds are directed to the Social and Cultural Fund.
    • Coordinating with relevant bodies and foreign institutions concerned with copyright and neighbouring rights to protect the rights and privileges earned by authors and rights holders in those institutions and to establish reciprocal representation agreements.
    • Engaging in legal proceedings and taking all necessary actions to achieve its goals in the most effective way.
    • Promoting a culture of copyright and neighbouring rights in Tunisia and raising awareness among all stakeholders, especially authors, users of works, and the agencies responsible for ensuring the proper application of legislation.

  • Public institution dedicated to books and reading
    The General Directorate of Books

    State foundation Function: To support book and reading policies

    A Reading Committee under the supervision of the General Directorate of Books

     

  • National Council for Reading and Books
    The General Directorate of Public Reading

    Public program Function: To carry out a cultural policy

  • Public institution dedicated to books and reading
    The Directorate of Public Reading and Libraries

    Public institution Function: To carry out a cultural policy

    In addition to the (Reading Administration) in the Ministry, 24 regional libraries are designated as “institutions,” and there are 430 public libraries spread across Tunisia, along with dozens of mobile libraries.

Contribute

Professional associations

  • Booksellers' associations
    Associations of Library and Book Enthusiasts

    Public institution Function: To bring together bookstore professionals

  • Booksellers' associations
    Union of Librarians, Book Suppliers, and Distributors in Tunisia

    Public institution Function: To bring together bookstore professionals

  • Authors' associations
    Union of Tunisian Writers

    Public institution Function: To bring together writing professionals

  • Authors' associations
    Union of Independent Writers

    Federation Function: To bring together writing professionals

  • Publishers' associations
    Union of Tunisian Publishers

    Public institution Function: To bring together publishing professionals

    Member of the International Publishers Association (IPA)

  • Publishers' associations
    The General Union of Tunisian Publishers.

    Public institution Function: To bring together publishing professionals

  • Librarians' associations
    Book Sellers Union

    Public institution Function: To bring together documentation professionals

    It is one of the central unions of the Tunisian General Labor Union, the independent trade union organization.

  • Inter-professional associations
    The General Union for Printing, Paper, and Publishing.

    Public institution

    The General Union for Printing, Paper, and Publishing is one of the active structures of the Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade, the central organization for business owners in Tunisia.

Contribute

University programmes on books

  • Professional training
    Higher Institute of Documentation

    University Function: Professional training

    The Higher Institute of Documentation in Tunisia graduates specialists in Library Science, Documentation, and Archives.

  • Professional training

    Function: Professional training

    There is no clear and continuous strategy in Tunisia for teaching publishing tasks and professional training, but several governmental, associative, and institutional structures are available to carry out this work, including:

    • A university institution specialized in translation in Tunisia
    • A higher institute for library science and documentation
    • The Higher Institute for Printing Technologies and Multimedia
    • A Bachelor’s degree in publishing and printing from the Institute of Journalism (lasting 5 years)
    • The African Center for Training in Publishing and Distribution (lasting 20 years)
    • Cultural associations organizing training courses in publishing, library science, and information technology
    • A specialized diploma in writing professions from the Faculty of Arts in Sfax and Tunis.
    Comments

    What is needed is more attention and the development of these institutions and structures into a clear and structured plan for education and training.

Contribute

TunisiaPublic policies

Market regulation

  • Regulation of free competition

    Decree Functions: To supervise and to regulate

    Decrees No. 115 and 116 of the year 2011

     

  • Opinions of professionals

    The publishing scene in Tunisia is characterized by a high degree of centralization, with the production of school books being a state monopoly to this day.

    Percentage of imported books among the total books available in libraries: The proportion of books available in Tunisian libraries is considered high, sometimes exceeding 70%, despite the advancements in the publishing sector in Tunisia in recent years.

    Percentage of national publishing (with local capital) that wins public contracts for libraries: The National Pedagogical Center, as a government institution under the Ministry of Education, oversees all public contracts.

    Percentage of multinational or foreign groups that win public contracts for public and university libraries: None.

    Total value of public contracts for school books in your country: There are no public contracts related to school books due to the state’s monopoly on them. However, there are tenders for printing, with a budget of 60 million dinars for the year 2023.

     

Contribute

Public procurement

  • Public purchases for libraries

    Public program Function: To support book and reading policies

    Purchases are made through the acquisition of a number of books approved by a committee supervised by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs. This is carried out at the municipal, regional, and national levels.

  • Opinions of professionals

    Public purchases relevant to books in local languages: There are no specific purchases for books in dialects such as Tunisian Arabic or Berber. Public purchases cover all languages and their dialects equally.

    Total public purchases for public libraries in your country, in terms of financial value: None.

    Total public purchases for university libraries in your country, in terms of financial value: Tunisian universities, through obtaining financial autonomy, have freed themselves from state control and monopoly. They now make purchases from their own budgets based on their research needs.

    Public contracts for books for public and university libraries are legally obtained through clear tendering processes, but transparency is often lacking.

     

Contribute

Signing of international agreements

  • WIPO Copyright Treaty

    International agreement Function: Protection of literary and artistic works

  • Berne Convention

    International agreement Function: Protection of literary and artistic works

  • Florence Agreement

    International agreement Function: To facilitate the importation of educational, cultural, or scientific items

    “March 1962 ratification”

  • Nairobi Protocol

    International agreement Function: To facilitate the importation of educational, cultural, or scientific items

    “July 1995 ratification”

Contribute

Support for public reading and book distribution

  • Reading support

    Public program Function: To carry out a cultural policy

    Under the supervision of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, the General Directorate of Public Reading organizes regional competitions at the governorate level, culminating in a grand national festival to promote reading and literacy. Monetary prizes are awarded to winners of all ages and educational levels.

  • Support for bookshops

    Public program Function: To carry out a cultural policy

    Financial loans are available to continue the project for libraries, and there is support for libraries through the acquisition of a number of approved books, selected by a committee supervised by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs.

  • Opinions of professionals

    • There are no funds dedicated to supporting libraries.

      For writers: The Creativity Encouragement Fund supports writers by providing travel tickets for international events if they receive official invitations from prestigious festivals or conferences. Writers must submit a formal request for support addressed to the Minister of Culture. In most cases, writers receive travel tickets, but approval remains discretionary, often influenced by factors such as reputation, loyalty, or favoritism, with merit-based decisions being rare.

      For publishers: Support is provided for participation in 10 international book fairs through collective representation under the Publishers’ Union. This includes a free exhibition booth on a reciprocal basis, a travel ticket, or shipping support for up to 400 kg of books.

Contribute

Support for creation and publishing

  • Support for tanslation (intra-extra)

    Fund Function: To carry out a cultural policy

    Translation is supported by the National Institute for Translation, and this support is provided at the national level.

  • Support for literary creation

    Public program Function: To carry out a cultural policy

    There is support for authors through awards.

  • Support for book publishing

    Public program Function: To implement a book and reading policy

    There are grants for book publishing through the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, available at the municipal, regional, and national levels.

    The Creativity Support Fund.

  • Support for publishing houses

    Public program Function: To implement a book and reading policy

    Publishing houses are supported through the following mechanisms:

    • Financial contribution from the state through a publishing recommendation or the Creativity Support Fund.
    • Financial loans for publishing institutions, where publishers can borrow from banks as project owners or from other non-governmental entities.
    • Occasional acquisitions.

  • Support for the presence of publishing houses at international fairs

    Public program Function: To carry out a cultural policy

    There are specific mechanisms or assistance to support the participation of publishers in book fairs and exhibitions, both nationally and internationally, through the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and the Export Support Center.

  • Book support fund

    Public program Function: To implement a book and reading policy

    Preliminary public purchases of books are made through the Ministry of Cultural Affairs at the municipal, regional, and national levels.

    These public purchases are made when books win awards or receive a publishing recommendation.

  • Opinions of professionals

    The three key measures needed to support the publishing sector:

    ✔️ Reducing printing costs.  
    ✔️ Facilitating the participation of publishing houses in international book fairs.  
    ✔️ Increasing the book purchasing by the acquisition committee under the Ministry of Cultural Affairs. 

    • The Creativity Encouragement Fund, overseen by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, allows authors to apply for financial support to cover printing costs. Authors must submit a file including details about the book’s content, a copy of the publishing contract, and cost estimates. While full funding can be granted, the process is often influenced by favoritism and political affiliations.

    • There is no dedicated fund for publishers, but they receive support through subsidized paper costs.

    • There are no translation support funds. The field remains under the control of government institutions such as Beit Al-Hikma and the National Institute for Translation.

     

Contribute

Cultural policies

  • Books and/or reading

    Public program Function: To implement a book and reading policy

    There is support for paper of cultural books at the national level , and the Ministry of Cultural Affairs acquires books to make them available in public libraries.

  • Literacy

    Survey Function: To carry out a cultural policy
    Comments

    There are research studies on literacy and reading education, as well as scientific seminars issued by the General Directorate of Public Reading, along with studies conducted by the Ministry of Education.

  • National Reading Plan

    Public program Function: To implement a book and reading policy

    Under the supervision of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, the General Directorate of Public Reading organizes regional competitions at the governorate level, culminating in a large national festival to encourage reading and literacy, where monetary prizes are awarded to winners of all ages and educational levels.

  • Opinions of professionals

    • Key challenges related to public policies for books in Tunisia:

      • The Tunisian government monopolizes the production of school books and controls the prices, which prevents publishers from competing. Additionally, there is no law in Tunisia supporting public policies for book distribution.

      Measures needed to improve the state of books and reading:

      • Reduce the income tax from 30% to 10%.

      • Enact a special law for the Tunis International Book Fair, including customs reductions on books, which would contribute to lowering book prices and thus encourage reading and research.

      • The necessity of establishing a national institution for copyright, which would protect and defend the rights of authors.

Contribute

Freedom of expression

  • Obligation to declare publications

    Order Functions: To record and to regulate

    There is no prior censorship of books, but publishers are required to declare the publication of books to a governmental body, the National Library, within no more than one month of distribution in Tunisia, according to the legal deposit law for all cultural works of 2015.

    There is subsequent judicial censorship.

    Additionally, four copies must be deposited within a month of their circulation in the market at the National Library, which is responsible for the administrative follow-up and regulation of the publishing sector in Tunisia.

  • Control or regulation of content

    Law Functions: To control and to regulate

    Decree 115 of 2011

    As for electronic publishing, it was addressed in sections of Decree 54 of 2022, which prohibits infringements on others’ rights and the rights of authors via social media platforms. It also stipulates financial penalties and other measures that restrict freedom.

Contribute

Taxes

  • Full rate of VAT

    General tax code

    Only 25% on the used paper is subject to tax, and there is a 0% tax on the book upon sale.

  • Exemption or specific tax system for books

    General tax code

    There are general taxes on traditional books:

    • 10% tax on publishing houses, instead of a progressive tax on income.
    • 5% tax on authors.
    • 12% customs tax if the books are imported from outside Europe.

  • Taxation on paper

    General tax code

    The value-added tax (VAT) is 18%, and if the books are from outside Europe, an additional 20% customs tax is applied.

Contribute

International standards and book identification

  • Obligations relating to book identification data (ISBN, ISSN, ISN, RPI, etc.)

    Regulation Function: To record

    An ISBN number can be obtained for free from the National Library, and four copies of the book must be deposited in the National Library.

Contribute

Copyright law

  • WIPO Copyright Treaty

    Law Function: Protection of literary and artistic works

    Law No. 36 of 1994, dated February 24, 1994, regarding literary and artistic property.

  • Protection of traditional cultural expressions

    Law Function: Protection of literary and artistic works

    Law No. 36 of 1994, dated February 24, 1994, regarding literary and artistic property.

  • Regulation of the public domain

    Law Function: To regulate moral and patrimonial rights, and their duration

    Law No. 36 of 1994, dated February 24, 1994, regarding literary and artistic property.

    The protection of the author’s moral rights lasts for the duration of their life and for the remainder of the year of their death. The protection of the economic rights continues for fifty (50) years starting from January 1st of the year following their death.

  • Management of copyright

    Law Function: To regulate moral and patrimonial rights, and their duration

    Law No. 36 of 1994, dated February 24, 1994, regarding literary and artistic property, includes penalties for violations of authors’ rights in Chapter Nine of the law.

    This law has been reinforced by several codes, including Article 41 of the 2022 Constitution, Decree 115 of 2011, and Decree 54 of 2022, which dedicates Article 25 to the protection of intellectual property on social media platforms.

  • Protection of heritage rights

    Law Function: To regulate moral and patrimonial rights, and their duration

    Law No. 36 of 1994, dated February 24, 1994, concerning literary and artistic property, stipulates that the protection of the author’s economic rights lasts for the duration of their life and for the remain of the year of their death. This protection continues for fifty (50) years, starting from January 1st of the year following their death.

  • Marrakesh Treaty

  • Regulation of copyright and translation rights

    Law Function: To regulate moral and patrimonial rights, and their duration

    Law No. 36 of 1994, dated February 24, 1994, concerning literary and artistic property, does not specifically mention translators and their rights except in one clause, which is:

    Article 6: “The owners of translations, adaptations, or modifications of literary, scientific, or artistic works are entitled to the protection provided by this law, without infringing upon the rights of the original authors.”

    Comments

    Procedures and Penalties:

    Article 50: Importing copies of any work into the Tunisian territory is prohibited if such importation violates copyright as defined in this law and Tunisia’s international copyright obligations.

    Article 51: Anyone who does not respect the right of authorship, as defined in Article 2 of this law, is obliged to pay damages to the holder of that right. The court with jurisdiction will determine the amount of the damages.

    Failure to respect copyright is particularly evident if the user cannot present the prior authorization required by Article 2 of this law.

    In the case of recidivism, the fine can rise to up to ten thousand dinars, along with a prison sentence ranging from one month to six months, or one of these penalties.

    Article 53: The owner of a public establishment where a violation of this law occurs, whether by displaying protected works to the public or selling or renting copies of them, is jointly liable with the original infringer for compensating the material and moral damages resulting from the exploitation of those works, provided it is proven that the owner of the establishment was aware of the infringement.

    Article 54: Violations of this law and the issuance of reports concerning them can be inspected by all judicial police officers and officers authorized by the Minister of Culture, chosen from the staff of the Ministry of Culture, Class (A) officers, and sworn in for this purpose.

    Article 55: The court with jurisdiction may, either on its own initiative or upon the request of the author or the Tunisian institution for the protection of authors’ rights, order the temporary or permanent seizure, confiscation, or destruction of copies, or the closure of the establishment where the violation occurred.

  • Opinions of professionals

     

    • Tunisian authors barely receive their rightful dues. Often, the only right they truly enjoy is having their name on their work. Although a national institution exists to defend authors’ rights, it remains constrained by a societal mindset that only truly recognizes an author’s rights after their death—if they are lucky.

    • There is a lack of commitment to the agreed number of copies between the publisher and the author, as stipulated in publishing contracts.

     

     

Contribute

Piracy of physical books and free book download sites

  • Opinions of professionals

    The phenomenon of book forgery does not exist in Tunisia, as publishing is focused on Tunisian works due to the financial privileges, purchase support, and paper subsidies that publishers receive to promote Tunisian books.

    However, the phenomenon of e-book piracy affects publishers. It is expected that publishing houses with full rights should sell e-books before they are pirated and made available for free.

    Proposed solutions to overcome these phenomena:

    • I believe that the responsibility for solutions lies primarily with publishers, in terms of commitment and respect for publishing rights. There should be a law criminalizing the forgery of book prints, with a hefty financial fine imposed on the person responsible for the forgery, payable to the copyright holder.

    • Regarding free e-books, I believe it is state policy that prevents piracy, as is the case in many European countries. Publishers should provide e-books in digital formats and sell them at a lower price than printed books, making piracy a secondary option for readers.

Contribute