Physical Address
Indirizzo: Via Mario Greco 60, Buttigliera Alta, 10090, Torino, Italy
Each year, several cases of cheating at the BEM and the baccalaureate are recorded. However, the sanctions are quite dissuasive and cheaters are subject to legal action. This year again, justice has decided to crack down in order to guarantee the integrity, regularity and credibility of end-of-year school exams, particularly the baccalaureate.
Strict measures are being taken, in coordination with the various stakeholders concerned, in order to combat this phenomenon which has taken on worrying dimensions in recent years. This was indicated by the Deputy Attorney General at the Court of Algiers, Tahar Larabi, during his appearance on national radio.
He affirmed that the public authorities have put in place a strict repressive policy to fight against fraud in these exams and guarantee their integrity, highlighting the combined efforts of other sectors, namely the ministries of National Education and of Justice, as well as the security services.
The Deputy Attorney General returned in detail to, in particular, the sanctions provided for in the penal code which was the subject of amendment, under law 06-20 of April 24, 2020, by the addition of chapter 9 entitled “Attack on the regularity of examinations and competitions” (articles 253 bis 06 to 253 bis 12), in order to adapt to the evolution of crime in this area.
He indicated, to this end, that “the public prosecutors and public prosecutors remain in constant and continuous coordination with the security services (National Gendarmerie and other services), on alert throughout the period of these examinations. , in particular the teams fighting against cyber crime, in order to arrest, in real time, violators of the provisions of this law and bring them before the courts, which will take strict measures against them.
In the part relating to the initial sanction, Tahar Larabi indicated that Law 20-06 provides strict provisions with regard to offenders undermining the integrity of exams, whether they are linked to middle or secondary education. .
According to article 253 bis 06 of this law, “anyone who disseminates or discloses, before or during exams or competitions, questions and/or answers to the subjects of final primary, middle or secondary education exams, or competitions for higher education or vocational training and education, as well as competitions national professionals. Anyone who takes the place of the candidate during examinations and competitions is liable to the same penalties.”
Dissuasive sanctions
The Deputy Attorney General recalled, in this sense, that article 253 bis 07 stipulates that “the publication or disclosure of the subjects or answers of the final examinations of middle or secondary education, before or during the examinations, by the persons responsible for preparing, organizing, supervising examinations or supervising them using the data processing system and means of remote communication, will be punished by penalties ranging from 5 to 10 years of imprisonment and a fine amounting to 1,000,000 DA, in the event that these facts lead to the total or partial cancellation of the examination.”
These penalties will be 7 to 15 years of imprisonment and a fine of 1,500,000 DA when the facts are reclassified as a crime, according to article 253 bis 08, when they go so far as to cancel the examination.
Regarding additional penalties, Mr. Larabi explained that article 253 bis 9 provides that “attempted offenses provided for in this chapter are punishable by the same penalties provided for the completed offense.” “In the event of conviction for the offenses provided for in this chapter, the perpetrator may be punished by the prohibition of one or more of the rights provided for in article 9 bis 1 of this code”.
He may be deprived of one or more national, civic and family rights, consisting of dismissal and exclusion from all higher functions or jobs, as well as from any job related to the offense, in addition to deprivation of the right to being a voter or candidate and the right to wear any decoration.
Furthermore, the legal text provides for the incapacity of the person concerned to be a “jury assessor, expert, to serve as a witness in any act and to testify in court other than to provide simple information”, in addition to the deprivation of the right to bring weapons, to teach, to direct a school or to be employed in an educational establishment, as a professor, as well as the incapacity to be a tutor or subrogated tutor.
Regarding additional sanctions, according to article 253 bis 11, “the devices, programs and means used to commit the offense will be seized, the money obtained will be confiscated, the website or account through which the offense was committed will be closed or access to it will be made impossible, and the store or places of operation for which the owner’s knowledge has been proven will be closed.
As for the legal person, article 253 bis 12 provides that the legal person will be punished if it commits an offense in accordance with the provisions of the Penal Code.
The Deputy Attorney General launched an appeal, on the occasion, to all stakeholders, to “demonstrate a high sense of responsibility, in order to ensure the success of these examinations and their holding in serenity”. He also emphasized the role of citizens and civil society organizations, in particular parents’ associations, urging them to “report any suspect to the public prosecutor’s office or to the security services, via the numbers green, or by contacting them directly in order to intervene in a timely manner to arrest these people and take legal measures against them.