Presenting the draft organic law on the status of the judiciary before the Legal Affairs Committee of the National People’s Assembly, the Minister of Justice and Keeper of the Seals, Lotfi Boudjem\u00e2a, defended a profound reform aimed at aligning the judicial body with the requirements of the 2020 Constitution. This text, which redefines the prerogatives of the Higher Council of the Judiciary and strengthens guarantees of judges\u2019 independence, seeks to modernize the functioning of justice, enhance magistrates\u2019 training, and bolster the transparency of the judicial system.<\/p>\n
The minister stated upfront that \u201cthe currently applicable law, promulgated in 2004 under the 1996 Constitution, no longer meets, over time and with changes, the demands of the political, social, and institutional context.\u201d He emphasized that the new draft is part of \u201ca comprehensive reform vision intended to strengthen judicial independence, guarantee career transparency, and improve the functioning of the public justice service,\u201d clarifying that composed of 110 articles divided into three main sections, the draft organic law aims to \u201cprovide the judiciary with a modern, coherent framework consistent with the constitutional principles of 2020.\u201d<\/p>\n
The first axis concerns the recognition of the role of the Higher Council of the Judiciary (HCJ) as the single body responsible for managing the judge\u2019s career, \u201cfrom appointment to retirement.\u201d Mr. Boudjem\u00e2a explained that the text provides that \u201cthe permanent bureau of the Council, in coordination with the Ministry of Justice, will handle the allocation of new judges within the different jurisdictions.\u201d It also assigns the Council the task of approving magistrates\u2019 continuous and specialized training programs, granting it new prerogatives regarding authorization of ancillary activities and monitoring career paths. Furthermore, the draft introduces new qualifying judicial positions allowing access to the Supreme Court and the Council of State, through the position of assistant judge, for which the Higher Council of the Judiciary will have approval and appointment powers.<\/p>\n
The reform\u2019s second axis aims, the minister assured, \u201cto consolidate judicial independence and preserve the dignity of the judiciary.\u201d The draft regulates conditions for magistrates\u2019 transfers, balancing the needs of the public justice service with the personal interests of those concerned. Judges may request transfers either during the annual movement or \u201cfor exceptional reasons provided by the organic law related to the Higher Council of the Judiciary.\u201d The minister highlighted that the text guarantees \u201cnew rights for judges,\u201d notably \u201cthe right to union activity, leave benefits, and state protection in case of aggression or threats linked to the exercise of their functions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wishing to reinforce magistrates\u2019 neutrality, Mr. Boudjem\u00e2a stressed the prohibition on judges from \u201cjoining a political party, holding an elective political mandate, or engaging in any lucrative activity,\u201d except \u201cteaching and training,\u201d subject to approval by the president of the HCJ permanent bureau.<\/p>\n
Moreover, the minister detailed disciplinary provisions, stating that \u201cthe draft precisely defines serious professional faults that may lead to the dismissal of a magistrate, as well as the guarantees recognized for them within the disciplinary procedure.\u201d He added that \u201cthe power to suspend a judge will now be transferred to the Higher Council of the Judiciary\u201d and procedures for abandonment of post will be \u201csimplified, clear, and accompanied by strictly regulated deadlines.\u201d The text also guarantees \u201crespect for the judge\u2019s right of defense at all stages of the disciplinary procedure.\u201d To separate investigative and decision-making powers, the minister specified that \u201cthe General Inspectorate of the Ministry of Justice will be responsible for initiating disciplinary proceedings on behalf of the Keeper of the Seals,\u201d aiming to \u201centrench the principle of separation between prosecution authority and judgment authority.\u201d<\/p>\n
Regarding training, Mr. Boudjem\u00e2a emphasized the \u201ccentral role of the Superior School of the Judiciary,\u201d charged with providing \u201cbasic training for student magistrates\u201d and coordinating with the HCJ for \u201cimplementation of continuous and specialized training programs.\u201d He noted that \u201cthe draft pays particular attention to the qualification of judges, essential actors in protecting rights and freedoms and guarantors of social justice.\u201d The text also maintains the possibility to extend magistrates\u2019 active service beyond the retirement age, up to 65 years for judges of administrative courts and courts of appeal, and up to 70 years for those of the Supreme Court and Council of State, with the possibility to use their expertise under contract.<\/p>\n
The draft organic law provides for a renewable one-year probationary period for magistrates graduating from the Superior School of the Judiciary, during which they cannot render judgments or order provisional detentions. It specifies their professional duties, including the prohibition on using social media to discuss judicial matters. The goal is to strengthen transparency, competence, and judicial independence, in line with constitutional commitments to a modern and fair justice system.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Presenting the draft organic law on the status of the judiciary before the Legal Affairs Committee of the National People’s Assembly, the Minister of Justice and Keeper of the Seals, Lotfi Boudjem\u00e2a, defended a profound reform aimed at aligning the judicial body with the requirements of the 2020 Constitution. This text, which redefines the prerogatives […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3149,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[142],"class_list":["post-3148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-domestic","tag-justice-system"],"byline":"Sihem Bounabi.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jeune-independant.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jeune-independant.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jeune-independant.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jeune-independant.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jeune-independant.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3148"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.jeune-independant.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3148\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3150,"href":"https:\/\/www.jeune-independant.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3148\/revisions\/3150"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jeune-independant.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jeune-independant.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jeune-independant.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jeune-independant.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}