Criminal
A 1966 penal code with broad security offences and a de facto death penalty moratorium
The Penal Code of 1966 and the Criminal Procedure Code follow French structure. No execution has been carried out since 1993, and 2021 amendments broadened terrorism definitions considerably.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Tribunals, appeal courts with criminal chambers, and the Cour Suprême. Specialised judicial poles handle terrorism and economic crime.
- Deadline — Garde à vue is 48 hours, extendable to 12 days in terrorism cases
- Deadline — Appeal against a criminal judgment lies within 10 days
Governing law
- Penal Code, Ordinance 66-156
- Code of Criminal Procedure, Ordinance 66-155
- Ordinance 21-08 amending the penal code on terrorism and sabotage
- Law 20-06 on false news and discrimination
In practice
Ordinance 21-08 is the most consequential recent change: it widened the statutory definition of a terrorist act to include acts aimed at changing the system of government by non-constitutional means or harming state institutions, and created a national list of terrorist persons and entities with administrative listing effects. Its breadth has drawn criticism because conduct associated with protest can fall within it. Article 87 bis and the 2020 false-news provisions have both been used in speech cases. The death penalty remains in the code for many offences but has not been carried out since 1993. Pre-trial detention is available for extended renewable periods in serious cases, and access to counsel during initial custody remains narrower than in Morocco or Tunisia.