A joint law between the Ministries of Interior and Foreign Affairs to regulate the status of stateless persons – New Algeria

The Minister of Justice, Keeper of the Seals, Lotfi Boudjemaa, revealed preparations for preparing a joint draft law between the Ministries of Interior and Foreign Affairs, in order to regulate the situation of stateless persons.

The first official in charge of the justice sector, Lotfi Boudjemaa, stopped during his presentation of the draft law containing Algerian citizenship to members of the National Assembly, to discuss it in a public session, at the reasons for amending and completing Order No. 70-86, as well as the objectives and content of the text, as he considered this text imposed by several factors, and falls within the context of improving the national legal system and protecting the state’s sovereignty, with strict adherence to the provisions of the constitution and Algeria’s international obligations.

The Minister of Justice began his presentation of the aforementioned draft law by saying that stripping a person of Algerian nationality is not a new procedure, but rather a legal mechanism stipulated in Order No. 70-86 containing the Algerian nationality law, and that the text of the law under study specifies, by way of limitation, the cases in which it is possible to strip a person of original or acquired Algerian nationality, as it is an exceptional procedure that can only be resorted to for the reasons specified in the text and in accordance with the legal guarantees contained therein. He stated that the provisions of this text apply to every Algerian against whom there is strong evidence. It is consistent that he committed one of the acts stipulated in Article 22 bis outside the national territory, and that the stripping of Algerian citizenship does not occur automatically, but is subject to a precise process based on submitting applications and files that are studied in accordance with legal procedures.

Regarding the repercussions of stripping Algerian citizenship on the family members of the person concerned, the same government official said that the stripping procedure does not extend to the family members of the person concerned with the stripping, which is stipulated in Article 24 of the applicable law relating to Algerian citizenship, as the aforementioned article recognizes the personal nature of the stripping and does not apply to others.

Regarding the effects of permanent stripping of Algerian nationality on inheritance, the Minister of Justice stated that stripping of nationality does not affect inheritance rights, given that stripping is based on the bond of paternity and kinship and not the bond of nationality, and therefore it does not lapse by losing it, and stripping does not result in expropriation or infringement of ownership rights.

Regarding the silence of the person concerned about the stripping from submitting his written comments after being notified, the government representative said that silence is considered a refusal, since the notification regarding the issue of stripping Algerian citizenship aims to enable the person concerned to exercise his right to submit his written comments, which is one of the basic guarantees approved by this law.

Regarding the legal status of a person stripped of Algerian nationality and residing in Algeria, Minister Lotfi Boudjemaa stated that he is treated as a foreigner if he possesses another nationality, or a stateless person if he does not have any nationality, indicating that the latter is subject to a special legal framework in the United Nations, and in this context, preparations are underway to prepare a joint draft law between the Ministries of Interior and Foreign Affairs in order to regulate the status of stateless persons.

Regarding the people who will be stripped of citizenship, the Minister of Justice, Keeper of the Seals, said that those concerned are those who are active within terrorist entities or organizations or countries hostile to Algeria and are responsible for implementing the agendas of these entities or countries and reside outside the country, whether through intelligence, conspiracy, involvement, collusion, or implementing the agenda of these entities, organizations or countries against Algeria, and identifying the category that has declared its hostility to Algeria, its work abroad, and its betrayal of its homeland, which is active through… Social media outlets, which incite the Algerian people to rebel against the state and take up arms against it, and receive money from foreign parties in exchange for their incitement actions and malicious plots to undermine national security, dismantle social cohesion, destabilize national stability, and disrupt the development path, as this group is known to national public opinion as a traitor to their country and an agent of foreign parties hostile to Algeria.

According to the Minister of Justice, in light of the increasing danger to our country and the increasing severity of the threats, it was decided to resort to reviewing the Algerian nationality law, as it is of an exceptional nature, and the cases concerned with stripping Algerian nationality are specific.

Mohammed . for