Lawyers: constitution does nor forbids neither allows president to excercice prerogatives abroad

Lawyers say there is a legal vacuum due to the absence of a clear article about prerogatives of the President of the Republic as he is abroad. They stressed the necessity of catching up this point in the next constitutional amendment.

Lawyer Mokrane Ait Larbi said all the indicators show that the crisis will be managed in that way until 2014’s presidential elections.

According to constitutional law specialist Amar Rekhila, there is no clear legal text which allows or forbids the President of the Republic from following up the country’s affairs either inside or outside Algeria.

“As long as there is no legal text which allows or forbids that, I think that there is no problem,” he said.

“Yet, from a political point of view, it is totally different. Politically speaking, managing the country’s affairs abroad is unacceptable,” he added.

Lawyer Omar Khebaba believes that the law does not organize the management of the country’s affairs by the President of the Republic while he is convalescing.

“If the President of the Republic is ill and can exercise his missions, the Constitution should find a mechanism to transfer his prerogatives to the Vice-president or Prime Minister. The current constitution does not give this prerogative to the Prime Minister who can only hold cabinet’s meeting,” he said.