The government (finally) sends the criminal procedure reform project to Parliament

Rachid Maboudi
|

11:55 – January 13, 2025

The government transmitted, after a long wait, the bill relating to the reform of criminal procedure to Parliament, several months after its adoption by the government council. This approach was officially notified to the office of the lower house. The announcement will be made in plenary session during the oral questions scheduled for Monday January 13.

As a reminder, the executive approved, on August 29, 2024, bill no. 03.23 modifying and supplementing law no. 22.01 relating to criminal procedure. However, the text was not immediately submitted to Parliament, having been returned to the general secretariat of the government for revision and rewriting of certain provisions.

In a press release issued at the end of the meeting of August 29, the Governing Council indicated that the approval of the text had been made taking into account the observations made.

This reform bill introduces important modifications intended to strengthen the guarantees of a fair trial. Among these measures are a rationalization of the use of police custody, which must henceforth be considered as an exceptional measure, and precise regulation of pre-trial detention. The text also provides for the strengthening of defense rights, the modernization of criminal justice tools and the improvement of means of combating crime, using modern technologies, while ensuring better protection of victims.

In addition, the reform includes significant developments in criminal policy. It proposes the establishment of new frameworks aimed at integrating this policy into the State’s public strategies, by specifying their definitions and implementation methods. Particular attention is also paid to the protection of minors, the simplification of appeal procedures as well as the reorganization of powers in this area, with the aim of increasing the autonomy of the public prosecutor’s office.

Finally, the project contains provisions relating to the execution of sentences, including an extension of the powers of the sentence enforcement judge and a mechanism to encourage the discipline of prisoners through a system of automatic reduction of sentences.