TITLE I. THE GENERAL PRINCIPLES GOVERNING THE ALGERIAN SOCIETY
CHAPTER I. ALGERIA
ARTICLE 1
Algeria shall be a People’s Democratic Republic. It shall be one and indivisible.
ART 2
Islam shall be the religion of the State.
ART 3
Arabic shall be the national and official language.
Arabic shall remain the official language of the State.
A High Council for the Arabic Language shall be established under the auspices of the President of the Republic.
The High Council for the Arabic Language shall be assigned the special task of working towards the affluence of the Arabic language, the generalisation of its use in scientific and technological fields and promoting the translation into it for this purpose.
ART 4
Tamazight shall also be a national and an official language.
The State shall endeavour to promote and develop it in all its linguistic varieties in use throughout the national territory.
An Algerian academy for the Tamazight language shall be established under the authority of the President of the Republic.
It shall be supported by the work of the experts and assigned the task of providing the necessary requirements to develop the Tamazight language in order to integrate it as an official language in the future.
The modalities of implementing this Article shall be stipulated by an organic law.
ART 5
The capital of the Republic shall be Algiers.
ART 6
The national emblem and the national anthem are conquests of the Revolution of November 1, 1954. They shall be unalterable.
These two symbols of the Revolution, having become those of the Republic, shall have the following features:
- The national emblem shall be green and white with a red star and crescent moon placed at the centre.
- The national anthem shall be “Qassaman” with all its stanzas.
The seal of the State shall be determined by law.
CHAPTER II. THE PEOPLE
ART 7
The people shall be the source of all powers.
National sovereignty shall belong exclusively to the people.
ART 8
The constituent power shall belong to the people.
The people shall exercise their sovereignty through the institutions they establish.
The people shall exercise this sovereignty by means of referenda and through their elected representatives.
The President of the Republic may have direct recourse to the expression of the will of the people.
ART 9
The people shall establish institutions with the objective of:
- safeguarding and consolidating national sovereignty and independence;
safeguarding and consolidating the national identity and unity; protecting the basic freedoms of the citizens and the social and cultural flourishing of the Nation; promoting social justice; eradicating regional disparities in the domain of development; encouraging the building of a diversified economy that appreciates all the country’s faculties, be they natural, human or scientific. protecting the national economy against all forms of misappropriation, speculation, bribery, illegal trading, abuse, unlawful acquisition and arbitrary confiscation.
ART 10
The institutions shall not indulge in:
- feudal, regionalist and nepotistic practices;
establishing relations of exploitation and bonds of dependency; infringing the Islamic morals and the values of the November Revolution.
ART 11
The people shall be free to choose their representatives.
The representation of the people shall have no restrictions save for those specified in the Constitution and the electoral law.
CHAPTER III. THE STATE
ART 12
The State shall derive its legitimacy and raison d’être from the volition of the people.
“By the people and for the people” shall be the motto of the State.
The State shall exclusively be in the service of the people.
ART 13
The sovereignty of the State shall extend to its territory, airspace and territorial waters.
The State shall also exercise its sovereign right, established by international law, over each of its different zones of maritime space belonging to it.
ART 14
It shall be emphatically prohibited to relinquish or forsake any part of the national territory.
ART 15
The State shall be founded on the principles of representational democracy, the separation of powers, and the guarantee of right, freedoms, and social justice.
The elected Assembly shall constitute the framework within which the people shall express their volition and monitor the action of public authorities.
The State shall promote participatory democracy at the level of local authorities.
ART 16
The local authorities of the State shall be the Municipality and the Wilaya.
The Municipality shall be the basic authority.
The law may confer a special system upon some municipalities.
ART 17
The relationships between the State and the local authorities shall be based on the principles of decentralization and deconcentration.
ART 18
The elected Assembly shall epitomise the basis of decentralisation and the setting where citizens partake in running public affairs.
ART 19
Public property shall be an asset of the national community.
It shall encompass the subsoil, mines and quarries, natural energy sources, and the mineral, natural and living resources in the various areas of the national maritime properties, waters and forests.
It shall also encompass the railways, maritime and air transports, the post and telecommunications, as well as all other assets stipulated by the law.
ART 20
The State shall strive to:
- Guarantee a safe environment to protect individuals and achieve their well-being.
- Improve bio-diversity and the guarantee of ongoing awareness of environmental risks.
- Make rational use of water, fossil fuels, and other natural resources.
- Protect the environment’s land, sea, and air dimensions and the implementation of all appropriate measures to suppress pollutants.
ART 21
The national domain shall be defined by the law.
It shall comprise the public and private domains of the State, the Wilaya and the Municipality.
The management of the national domain shall be in conformity with law.
ART 22
The organisation of foreign trade shall be the competency of the State.
The law shall determine the stipulations pertaining to foreign trade practice and control.
ART 23
Any combination between public offices and private activities or self-employment shall be prohibited.
The creation of any public office or making any public tender whose goal is not in the public interest shall be prohibited.
Positions and tenures in the civil service shall not constitute a source of enrichment or a means to serve private interests.
All public officials, in the context of performing their duties, shall avoid conflicts of interest.
Any person appointed to a senior government position, elected or appointed to Parliament, or elected to a local council, shall disclose their assets before assuming office and at the end of their tenure.
The modalities of implementing these provisions shall be stipulated by the law.
ART 24
In all cases, public authorities shall respect and apply good governance in public affairs and shall ensure adherence to the law and transparent regulations that do not contain provisions that lead to corruption.
ART 25
Abuse of authority and influence-peddling shall be punishable by law.
ART 26
The administration serves the citizens.
The impartiality of the administration shall be guaranteed by law.
For requests requiring the issuance of an administrative decision, laws shall include a stipulation that the administration must return a reasoned response within a reasonable time.
The administration shall deal impartially with the public within the framework of respecting legitimacy and shall provide service without delay.
ART 27
Public facilities shall ensure equal service and non-discriminatory treatment to all clientele.
Public facilities shall be based on the principles of continuity, continuous adjustment, and equitable coverage of the national territory and, when necessary, shall guarantee a minimum level of service.
Public facilities shall operate in accordance with the standards of quality, efficiency, oversight, and accountability.
ART 28
The State shall be responsible for the security of people and properties.
ART 29
The State shall endeavour to protect the rights and the interests of its citizens abroad in compliance with international law, the conventions concluded with the host countries or countries of residence.
The State shall attend to preserving the identity and dignity of its citizens residing abroad, consolidating their ties with the Nation and mobilising their contribution to the development of their motherland.
ART 30
The consolidation and development of the Nation’s defensive potential shall be regulated by the National People’s Army.
The National People’s Army shall assume the permanent task of preserving national independence and defending national sovereignty.
It shall also assume the task of protecting the unity of the country and the integrity of its land, as well as defending its land, airspace and the various zones of its maritime domain.
ART 31
Algeria shall not resort to war to impinge on the legitimate sovereignty and the freedom of other peoples.
She shall endeavour to settle international differences through peaceful means.
Within the framework of the United Nations, the African Union, and the Arab League, and in full compliance with their principles and goals, Algeria may participate in peace-keeping and restoration operations.
ART 32
Algeria shall extend her solidarity to all the peoples struggling for political and economic liberation, for the right of self-determination and against all forms of racial discrimination.
ART 33
Algeria shall work towards strengthening international cooperation and promoting amicable relations between the states on the basis of equality, mutual interest and non-interference in domestic affairs. She shall adopt the principles and objectives of the United Nations’ Charter.
