GABÈS, Tunisia — A commission that has been working for four years to deliver justice to victims of Tunisia’s decades-long dictatorship has brought one case to court, which began last week with a single hearing.

And the commission’s four-year mandate expired on May 31, although the government granted it an extension until the end of the year to wrap up its work.

Parliament had the option in March to prolong the Truth and Dignity Commission’s mandate for another year, but voted against it. The commission’s president, Sihem Bensedrine, said in a recent interview that this was the latest in a series of obstacles that officials at the highest levels of government have thrown in the path of her panel’s work.

“This vote was a last attempt for those who fear accountability, especially the president of the republic and his entourage who have never supported the process of transitional justice,” she said.