149. Persons sentenced for “human trafficking shall not benefit from the mitigating
circumstances provided by the Penal Code”, and shall be given one or several supplementary
sentences. All foreigners sentenced for any of the offences of human trafficking are prohibited
from living in the national territory permanently or for a maximum period of ten (10) years.
150. Shall be exempt from penalty whoever, before the commencement of execution
attempted commission of the offence of trafficking in persons, reports to the administrative
judicial authorities. The penalty shall be halved if the person reports after the commission
attempted commission of the offence, as long as it leads to the arrest of the perpetrators
accomplices of the offence (Section 303 bis 9).
or
or
or
or
151. Anyone who even when bound by professional secrecy, is aware of the commission of the
offence of trafficking in persons and does not immediately report to the competent authorities
shall be punished by imprisonment of one (1) to five (5) years and a fine of 100,000 DA to
500,000 DA. Apart from offences committed against minors of 13 years old, the provisions of
the preceding paragraph shall not apply to parents, collateral and allies of the perpetrator to the
fourth degree inclusive (Section 303 bis 10).
152. Legal persons are criminally liable under Section 51 bis of the Penal Code. If found guilty,
the courts shall order, subject to good faith third party rights, the confiscation of the means used
to commit the offence and the property obtained unlawfully.
Article 6:
Right to security of the person and prohibition of arbitrary arrest or detention
153. The right to freedom, to security of persons and property, to protection against any threat,
arbitrary or unlawful arrest and detention and the right to a fair trial within a reasonable period
are guaranteed by the Constitution. The Constitution also provides for the need to comply with
the laws governing extradition and political asylum and provides for compensation in cases of
miscarriage of justice.
154. Penal Code: Algerian legislation establishes mechanisms to deal with all forms of
infringements of the freedom and security of persons and property without distinction. The
protection provided under the Penal Code clearly extends to foreigners. This protection extends
to violations of personal freedom (Sections 107 to 111), abuse of authority (Sections 135 to
140), crimes and offences against persons (Sections 254 to 303) and crimes and offences against
property (Sections 350 to 417).
155. Code of Criminal Procedure: The amendments introduced in the Code of Criminal
Procedure by Law No. 01-08 of 26 June 2001 guarantee the right to compensation in the event of
unjustified pre-trial detention leading to a dismissal of proceedings, discharge or final acquittal
(Sections 137 bis to 137 bis 14), or in the event of the mistaken conviction of a person whose
innocence is subsequently established (Sections 531 bis and 531 bis 1).
156. It should be noted that arbitrary arrest and unlawful detention constitute infringements of
personal freedom. These offences, which are punishable under the Penal Code, carry very heavy
penalties.
Article 7:
Right to a fair trial
157. Fair access to justice is a right guaranteed by the various texts and mechanisms which
contribute towards making it simple and accessible:
- A simple administration of justice on the basis of two-tier proceedings; the judicial
system is composed of lower courts (213 of which 195 are operational), appeal courts
(48 of which 37 are operational), criminal courts (37) and a Supreme Court, and the
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