458. The authorization of the judge shall not be necessary where the minor under guardianship benefits from an act which enriches his property. 459. Finally, the minor placed under a guardian cannot be compelled to go into marriage and cannot be married without his consent; as consent is a constituent element of marriage. The ascendants (father and mother) are also part of the family unit as long as they live under the roof of the head of the family. If they live under their own roof, the ascendants benefit from maintenance obligation put on their dependent son pursuant to Section 77 et seq. of the family code. 460. Maintenance shall be in the form of providing food, clothing, medical care, housing or rent and any other thing that may be necessary according to customs and practices. Failure to pay alimony due the ascendants will expose the person to sanctions set forth in Section 330 of the Criminal Code. The Algerian legislation protects the child when he is a victim of a criminal offence and when he is the author. 461. Child victim of a criminal offence: Ordinance No. 66-156 of 8 June 1966, as amended and supplemented, on the Criminal Code provides for and sanctions offences which violate the physical or moral integrity of the child irrespective of his gender. 462. Sentences of detention or imprisonment are aggravated where the victim is a child of either gender. The competent courts judge perpetrators of such crimes more severely for committing such acts. The age of the victim is a determining factor; it sometimes is a constituent element of the offence and sometimes aggravating circumstances. 463. Other legislative texts take care of certain aspects of the protection of children who fall victim to such offences. T h e y i n c l u d e O rdinance No.72-03 of 1 0 February 1972 on the protection of childhood and adolescence and Ordinance No. 75-64 of 26 September 1975 establishing centres and institutions for the protection of childhood. 464. Child perpetrator of the criminal offence: The judicial procedure applicable to minors is governed by the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code contained in book III (rules governing juvenile delinquency). These rules contribute to the objective of protecting childhood and they take into account the concern for their reform. In the Criminal Procedure Code: 465. Section 442 fixes the criminal age of discernment at over 18 years. Section 443 stipulates that the age to be retained for the determination of criminal responsibility is that of the delinquent on the day of the offence. Section 444 establishes the principle that in matters of crime or offences, the minor aged 18 years can be subjected to only one or several of the following protective or reform measures: - returning the child to his parents, guardian or a trustworthy person; - enforcing the option of releasing the child on probation; - placing the child in an institution or a public or private educational establishment or vocational institution competent in such matters; - placing the child in a medical or medico-pedagogical institution competent in such matters; placement in the care of a public agency to provide assistance; - placing the child in a boarding institution capable of receiving delinquent minors of schooling age. 466. However, a minor of more than 13 years may also be placed in a public educational institution responsible for supervision and reform. Section 456 provides that a delinquent who is not more than 13 years of age cannot even temporarily be placed in a penitentiary institution. The delinquent person of between thirteen and eighteen years can be placed provisionally in a penitentiary institution only where such a measure seems indispensable or if it is impossible to take any other decision. In this case, the minor is kept in a special ward or failing that, in a special premise. As much as possible, he is subjected to solitary confinement at night. 75