practice their profession may be imposed against the perpetrators who may also be
expelled.
89. Death penalty does not apply to minors below 18 years. Article 50 of the
Criminal Code provides that: "If it is decided that a minor below 18 must be subject to
a criminal conviction, the sentences are imposed as follows; if he/she has incurred
death penalty or life imprisonment, he will be sentenced to a term of 10 years to 20
years imprisonment. "
90. In Algeria, death penalty is not carried out against pregnant women or against
women breastfeeding a child below 24 months. The temporary postponement of the
execution of criminal sentences to the benefit of a pregnant or breastfeeding woman is
provided for in Article 16 of the Code of Prison Regulation.
91. In any case, Algeria has observed a moratorium on the execution of death penalty
since 1st September 1993.
92. In its articles 314 to 320 the Criminal Code punishes offenses related to exposure
and neglect of children. Family abandonment and child neglect are defined by article
330 as:
- The father or the mother who "abandons the family home without good cause for
more than two months or withdraw from all or part of their moral or material
obligations resulting from parental authority or legal guardianship". The two-month
period may be interrupted by a return to the home with the intention of permanently
resuming family life;
- The "husband, without good cause, voluntarily abandons his wife for more than two
months knowing that she is pregnant." Proceedings are initiated upon the complaint of
the abandoned spouse. The penalty under the Criminal Code is two months to one
year in prison with 25,000 to 100,000 dinars;
- The father and mother, whether the deprivation of parental authority is pronounced
against them or not, which through abuse or neglect, seriously undermine the health,
safety or morality of children. Failure to pay child support is punishable under article
331, which prescribes penalties from six months to three years and court fines of 500
to 5,000 dinars.
93. Article 58 of the Constitution establishes the fundamental principle that the
family, basic unit of society and natural environment that ensures harmonious growth
of the child, enjoys the protection of the state and the society.
94. This social dimension reserved for the family as the basic cell of the society,
results in the mobilization of substantial budgetary resources through the various
development programs initiated by the government to improve the lives of citizens by
fighting against poverty and exclusion, reducing inequalities between regions,
ensuring sustainable development for achieving the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs).
95. As part of the process of a dynamic national reconstruction, the public investment
programme 2010-2014, gives the human and social development a crucial importance.
The overall budget for this programme is about 286 billion dollars (21,214 billion
AD) with more than 10.000 billion AD which have been exclusively dedicated to
human development.
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