The System of Prior Admission of Guilt: A Study in Light of Law No. 25-14 Introducing the Algerian Code of Criminal Procedure

Abstract

Through the renewal of the criminal procedural system, the Algerian legislator introduced the system of prior admission of guilt as an alternative to public prosecution, seeking thereby to enhance the effectiveness of criminal justice in view of the accumulation of judicial cases before the courts, with the time limits for adjudication extending to unacceptable periods. The legislator therefore surrounded this system with a set of procedural safeguards in accordance with the legal provisions regulating it and the conditions required for resorting to it, with the aim of preserving the purpose for which it was established, namely simplifying procedures and expediting the adjudication of cases, while taking into consideration the rights and guarantees of the parties to the public prosecution. This is achieved by attempting to strike a balance between society’s right to punish offenders and the victim’s right to claim compensation and redress for the resulting harm, on the one hand, and the guarantees of a fair criminal trial for the accused, on the other, through precisely defining the powers of the prosecuting authority and the adjudicating authority