Prison for neglecting wives and severe punishment for beating them in front of children, Louh says
Tayeb Louh, Algeria's justice minister. Photo: archives
New mechanism will be adopted in the coming period and will allow trials for the accused “at a distance”, and the field of this technique will be limited in “specific issues related to misdemeanors, Justice Minister, Tayeb Louh, said in press conference on Monday at the Supreme Court, on the sidelines of launching the digitization of the files’ treatment and jurisprudence at the Supreme Court.
Tayeb Louh promised to reduce the files term at the level of the Supreme Court to Nine months at the latest, at the time some issues are still waiting for final decisions since six years ago.
Minister Tayeb Louh presented a part of the justice reform projects, both at the level of the Supreme Court, Criminal Court and temporary prison, concerning the cases that are archived at the Supreme Court, which reached 250.000 unresolved issues.
“The digitization of the legal file and the documentation services will help in reducing the duration of files’ treatment. Nine months will be enough to take final decisions for these files, after it was announced that some files are still stuck without a decision at the level of the Supreme Court for more than six years. Over 85% of the total outstanding issues concern misdemeanors and infractions.”
Regarding the draft reform of the criminal court, the minister said: “I was a member within the Committee for Justice Reform, which made three proposals in the matter, which are maintaining the professional judges in the composition of court, as a second part suggested to keep the court on its existing line, and another opinion about proposing to retain the current line, as its provisions should be be reasoned and subject to appeal.”
Minister avoids to respond to a question related to the error which occurred at the room of charges at Algiers Criminal Council, during the reign of the former Minister, when it issued an international arrest warrant against the former Energy and Mines Minister, Chakib Khelil, while the Procedure Act requires that the note should be issued by the Supreme Court, because of the judicial franchise enjoyed by Khalil being a former minister.
“I would like to teach this culture to everyone, so as the minister will not intervene in the work of judges, but he stuck on his entitlement as a Justice Minister in the membership of the Supreme Judicial Council, at a time when judges demand for removing the minister from the composition, as he is part of the executive branch and not the judicial one. There is a law that must be applied”, referring the matter to the results of consultations on the coming constitution.
“Reforms that will be added to the Code of Criminal Procedure, will notice a support of the presumption of non guiltiness. Temporary jail will be exceptional, and among the reforms that will be known by law, informing the orders to stop the arrest that is issued by justice to the judicial officers via technological means, as for the new Penal Code it contained new sanctions related to “economic violence”, and violence against women, whether it is a psychological or sexual violence, with strengthening more severe punishment if a husband beats his wife in front of his minor children, or leaving it for more than two months.”