الاليات القانونية لمكافحة جريمة المخدرات في الجزائر

Abstract

The Algerian legislator has adopted an integrated legislative framework to combat the drug phenomenon, primarily founded on preventive and therapeutic approaches alongside repressive mechanisms, in recognition of the serious threat posed by narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances to public security and social stability. Law No. 04/18 of 25 December 2004, as amended and supplemented by Law No. 25/03, constitutes the principal legal framework governing the prevention of drug abuse and the suppression of the illicit use and trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. The legislator has therefore adopted a criminal policy combining awareness, prevention, treatment of addicts, and the imposition of aggravated criminal sanctions against persons involved in drug-related offenses. The legal mechanisms adopted in this field operate through two principal dimensions. The first is preventive and therapeutic, through awareness campaigns, public health measures, and medical and social care programs aimed at limiting the spread of drug abuse and ensuring the social reintegration of addicts. The second is repressive and procedural, through the strengthening of criminal penalties and the authorization granted to competent authorities, particularly judicial police officers, to employ special investigative techniques and derogate from certain ordinary procedural rules provided under the Code of Criminal Procedure, thereby enabling the detection and dismantling of organized criminal networks. This legislative framework reflects the Algerian legislator’s intention to maintain a balance between the effectiveness of combating drug-related crimes and the protection of constitutional rights and procedural guarantees during criminal proceedings.