Parliamentary Debate On Police Use Of Force In Confrontations!

Article 40 of the amended draft Penal Code confused the members of the Legal Affairs and Freedoms Committee of the National People’s Assembly, who were faced with two options: either reject the article, which allows security personnel to use public force in self-defense, which in some cases can lead to death, or accept it after hearing the justifications for security interests.
Although the controversial article was clearly worded in the text of the law presented by the government to the parliament, the fear of the consequences of the use of public force by security agents led the committee in charge of studying the project to think about referring Article 40 to the plenary session to decide on it, especially after hearing the representatives of the General Directorate of National Security.
According to Echorouk’s sources, the security services have justified the importance of adopting this article based on the fact that the policeman, or what is known as the public force man, is obligated to intervene and confront him, and he does not have the right to escape and shirk the performance of his noble duties of maintaining public order and fighting crime. .
Also, according to them, the job of the security agent requires the use of force, and therefore this confrontation may sometimes lead to the occurrence of similar incidents that fall within the framework of self-defense and not a crime, according to their justifications, especially if the circumstances and situation surrounding the security agent were what prompted him to use force.
The representative of the security services explained that the fear of criminal prosecution has reduced the level of initiative and confrontation among security agents, especially since some criminals have become very familiar with the legal loopholes, which has made them evade the police, and many members of the public force are exposed to malicious complaints that put them in the position of criminal follow-up.
Although human rights activists stressed that the article included in the amended draft by the government could sometimes open the door wide to abuse in the use of public force, the representative of the security services stressed before the representatives that there are legal guarantees that prevent the misuse of these provisions, similar to the internal regulations of Police and professional ethics, which include strict penalties for security personnel who commit violations that undermine their duties.
Article 40 of the draft Penal Code, which is on the table of the Parliament for discussion, states that: “The case of necessity for legitimate defense includes murder, wounding or beating committed to prevent an attack on the life or physical safety of a person, or to prevent the climbing of barriers, walls or entrances to houses or inhabited places.”
This article includes in the third part: “An act committed in self-defense and against perpetrators of theft or robbery by force, or killing, wounding or beating, committed by members of the public force during or on the occasion of the exercise of their duties to put an end to the crime whenever necessary to avert danger.” “A serious matter affecting their life or physical safety, or the life or physical safety of others.”
It is known that the Legal Committee heard the representatives of the General Directorate of National Security within the framework of the study of the draft law amending and supplementing decree no. 156-66, which includes the Penal Code, and the meeting took place in the presence of representatives of the Ministry of Justice.
The Chairman of the Legal Committee, Ahmed Boubakar, explained that this meeting comes within the framework of the Committee’s working methodology to expand consultations with the aim of achieving legal security as well as addressing the problems encountered in the implementation of laws.