Samuel "Batto" Sfez was a young Tunisian Jew who worked as a cart driver for Nassim Shamama, the caid or officially recognised leader of the Jewish community in Tunisia. His execution for blasphemy in 1857 was a test case for the status of Jews and Christians in Tunisia and of the claim of the European powers to exercise jurisdiction over non-Muslims in the country. The affair caused an international diplomatic incident and led to the granting of the first Tunisian guarantee of equal rights for all citizens, regardless of their faith.

The Constitution of Tunisia is the supreme law of the Tunisian Republic. The constitution is the framework for the organization of the Tunisian government and for the relationship of the federal government with the governorates, citizens, and all people within Tunisia. Tunisia's first modern constitution was the Fundamental Pact of 1857. This was followed by the Constitution of 1861, which was not replaced until after the departure of French administrators in 1956, by the constitution of 1959. It was adopted on 1 June 1959 and amended in 1999 and 2002, after the Tunisian constitutional referendum of 2002.