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The draft organic law establishing the status of the judiciary before the specialized commission of the APN
Justice :
The draft organic law on ”Status of the judiciary” was presented by Mr. Lotfi Boudjemaâ, Minister of Justice Keeper of the Seals, before the committee on legal, administrative affairs and freedoms of the National People’s Assembly (APN).
During the presentation, held in the presence of the Minister of Relations with Parliament, Ms. Nadjiba Djilali, the President of the Commission, Mr. Toumi Abdelkader recalled that the bill constitutes “an essential step in the process of building the new Algeria”, highlighting that the 2020 Constitution “has laid solid foundations for an Algeria of justice and institutions, by giving the judicial authority a privileged place”.
In his intervention, the Minister of Justice, Mr. Lotfi Boudjemaâ indicated that the current status of the judiciary which was promulgated in 2004 and which is currently in force no longer corresponds, in many aspects, to the profound political, social and institutional changes that Algeria has experienced, particularly since the promulgation of the 2020 Constitution.
Comprising 110 articles, the bill is structured around several components, including “the consecration of the supervision of the Superior Council of the Magistracy (CSM) on all professional and disciplinary questions linked to the magistrate”, by proposing to “entrust exclusively to the CSM the management of the professional career of the magistrate”.
The text also provides for the creation of “new judicial positions giving right to promotion to exercise at the Supreme Court and the Council of State, by conferring on the CSM the prerogative of secondment for these positions, in particular that of deputy judge”. Regarding the section devoted to “strengthening the independence of the magistrate and preserving the honor of the judiciary”, the bill defines “the criteria for transfer of the magistrate and the possibility of requesting a transfer within the framework of the annual movement of magistrates or for objective reasons”, such as “professional competence, seniority, family or medical situation”. It also lists “the other rights enjoyed by the magistrate”, in particular “the right to organize, the right to leave and the protection of the State against any aggression or threat occurring in the exercise or on the occasion of his functions”. In order to guarantee “the proper functioning of justice”, the text prohibits the magistrate “from joining a political party or exercising any political activity, from holding an elective political mandate or from exercising a lucrative activity, with the exception of teaching and training subject to authorization from the president of the permanent office of the CSM”. The bill establishes “the guarantees governing the disciplinary proceedings of magistrates as well as serious professional misconduct leading to dismissal, suspension procedures and disciplinary or criminal proceedings”. It also gives “the General Inspectorate of the Ministry of Justice the prerogative to initiate disciplinary action against magistrates in the name of the Minister of Justice,” according to the minister. Furthermore, the bill defines “the provisions relating to the retirement system of magistrates, who benefit from the same retirement system as that applied to higher functions of the State”, by limiting the departure conditions to “the age and the effective duration of service”.
Moncef Redha