Algeria, France Sign A Judicial Convention On Exchanging Persons’ Data

A judicial agreement in the criminal field that was signed between Algeria and France provides for the objection, registration and exchange of telecommunications between the two parties, and the request to disclose bank accounts of any nature.

Algeria has concluded a judicial cooperation agreement in the criminal field with France to promote cooperation in the fight against crime in all its forms.

In accordance with the provisions of this Convention, both parties shall afford each other the widest possible judicial cooperation in all proceedings relating to offenses that are punishable at the time of the application for cooperation by the judicial authorities of the requesting party.

The agreement that was signed by the Justice Minister, Tayeb Louh, and his French counterpart, Jean-Jacques Urvoas, that was published in the latest issue of the Official Gazette, confirms that the two countries can request all information that are related to bank accounts of any nature in their territory, in addition to information relating to specific and completed bank accounts, within a specified period, on one or more accounts that are mentioned in the application that is filed by one of the countries, including information relating to any receiving bank account, as Article 5 of the Convention states in its fifth paragraph; “The party that requested cooperation takes the necessary procedures so that the banks do not inform the concerned customer or third party that the party that is requesting information was provided with information.”

The Convention also authorizes the parties to submit requests under a criminal investigation requesting cooperation in order to obtain, intercept, record and transmit information about communications.

Under the terms of the Convention, the judicial authorities of the parties may, within the framework of their respective legislation and without a request, send and exchange information concerning offenses that are punishable or dealt with, as Algeria and France may also send communications on acts that would constitute crimes, in order to allow one party to exercise penal sanctions on its territory.

The Convention provided for the need to protect the confidentiality of the use of such information and the protection of personal data, as Article 22 states that “the requested party shall cooperate … preserve the confidential nature of the request and the content of the cooperation.”

Article 23 states that “Personal data that is sent from one party to another should not be used from a party to another to implement the request for cooperation only for specific purposes”.

Judicial cooperation, in particular, includes the collection, management and delivery of evidence and judicial contracts such as certificates, statements and experiences, and the submission of original documents or copies of the original, copies of judgments and decisions, identification of the place and identity of persons and the temporary transfer of persons who are detained for judicial cooperation, in addition to the implementation of requests for inspection and identification of the proceeds or means of crime and their location, freezing and seizure or any other precautionary measures, and the implementation of confiscation and recovery of funds, and any other requests which are relating to criminal proceedings in line with the objectives of this Convention and respecting the constitutional rules of the parties.