A little late compared to those which preceded it, due to the change of government announced last Tuesday, the opening ceremony of the judicial year (2024-2025) took place yesterday at the headquarters of the Supreme Court in Algiers, in the presence of the President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, members of the civil and military judiciary, those of the Executive, but also senior civil servants and senior state executives. Lasting around thirty minutes, the Head of State's speech brought out two essential messages.
The first is addressed to judges and concerns the moralization of their work. “We can accept that a magistrate can make an error in the exercise of his function, but on condition that this error does not benefit his relatives or his acquaintances”, he affirmed, emphasizing: “I know that the majority of judges are honest. Justice must be used to protect the country's economy and not to repress. The profound reforms were made to moralize the business climate through the revision of the related laws which facilitate access to justice.
As such, the President praised “the moral and professional sense” of the magistrates in “the consecration of the law”. He spoke of “the efforts” in terms of “modernization and digitalization” of justice in order to “overcome all the problems that magistrates face in their private lives so that they can devote themselves completely to their mission” .
He also recalled that the new legislative texts were promulgated concretizing “my commitments to the people relating to the moralization of public life and the fight against corruption and abuses”, adding: “Algeria has completed the construction of “a republican judicial system, strengthened by the confidence of the people (…) The institutions of the Republic are strong with honest, loyal women and men of whom you, gentlemen judges, have my best regards.” The President also addressed the policy of modernizing the judicial sector which he said had “improved the level of performance” of the sector and expressed “confidence” of further achievements in the future.
“In the recent past, the “îssaba” (the gang) poisoned the climate at home and abroad, and accused the honest leaders of the country.” “Today we can speak with confidence about the measures that have been taken. Restore state confidence and consolidate governance requirements.” According to him, “the new Constitution has enabled the strengthening of the status of the judiciary and consolidated the independence of the judicial power”.
The second message from the Head of State concerned Palestine. “A year ago, and from this room, we called on free people around the world to take action against the butchery of the Palestinian people in Gaza. Today, thank God, Algeria's appeal has been heard and the murderers of the Palestinian people will answer for their actions,” declared the President before addressing “his thanks to these free men throughout the world, especially the brothers from South Africa.
During this ceremony, the President of the Supreme Court as well as the newly appointed Minister of Justice intervened, with speeches which highlighted the results of the high court and the Department of Justice respectively.
