Constitutional Justice Arsul Sani fufilling an invitation to a bilateral meeting by Chief Justice Omar Belhadj of the Constitutional Court of Algeria, Sunday (6/23/2024). Photo by MKRI.

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ALGIERS (MKRI) — The delegation of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia (MKRI), led by Constitutional Justice Arsul Sani, fulfilled an invitation to a bilateral meeting by the Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of Algeria, Omar Belhadj, on Sunday, June 27, 2024 in the Emir Abdelkader meeting room of the Constitutional Court of Algeria. The meeting began at 10:30 local time, with Chief Justice Omar opening it by explaining the history of the Constitutional Court of Algeria as well as the changes to its authority based on the amendment to the Algerian Constitution in 2022. He also explained about the constitutional justice composition, including the requirements and election process of the current twelve justices. Four justices were nominated by the president, six justices were from academia, one justice came from the Supreme Court, and one justice came from the Council of State.

“The constitutional amendment confirmed our authority to interpret the Constitution, adjudicate disputes over the authority of state institutions, and cases related to the implementation of presidential and legislative elections and referendums,” he said.

In his closing remarks, he emphasized that the good relationship between the Constitutional Courts of Indonesia and Algeria was the continuation of the good relations between the two countries. Since Algeria’s fight for its independence, Indonesia has always provided concrete support.

In response to the remarks, Justice Arsul expressed his highest appreciation for the warm and friendly welcome. He emphasized that the visit was not only to follow up on the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two institutions and to strengthen their good relations, but also to share knowledge, experience, and information.

Furthermore, Justice Arsul offered that the two institutions exchange experiences, especially regarding case handling management and hearing technicalities, including support to constitutional justices both in terms of public relations and protocol.

“We would like to invite the constitutional justices of Algeria to visit Indonesia to give public lectures as well as to write in an English-language academic journal managed by the Constitutional Court,” he concluded.

During the hour-long meeting, they also discussed the current state of peace in the world, which was still far from ideal. Both parties agreed to jointly pursue justice and independence for Palestine.

Visit to CCJA Office

On the same day, the MKRI’s delegation also visited the permanent secretariat office of the Conference of Constitutional Jurisdictions of Africa (CCJA). They were welcomed by Secretary-General Moussa Laraba, who showed appreciation for the visit and officially extended a special invitation for the MKRI to attend a CCJA congress to be held in Zimbabwe at the end of November 2024.

In response, Justice Arsul expressed his gratitude and appreciation for the appreciative welcome and invitation. He also suggested that the CCJA and the MKRI, both being permanent secretariats for regional association of constitutional courts, strengthen their cooperation.

“Both secretariats need to have joint works that will benefit all, for example by publishing a special column in a joint newsletter,” he said.

Meeting with Supreme Court and Council of State

Next, the MKRI’s delegation visited the Supreme Court and the Council of State of Algeria on June 23. The Chief Supreme Court Justice of Algeria, Taher Mamouni, who welcomed them, expressed his hope and requested support from the MKRI to encourage cooperation between the Supreme Courts of Algeria and Indonesia. With this collaboration, both institutions are expected to learn from each other regarding the handling of concrete legal cases. Justice Arsul expressed his gratitude for the warm welcome from the Supreme Court and stated that he would deliver the invitation to the Supreme Court of Indonesia.

In the evening, Justice Arsul and the MKRI’s delegation also attended an invitation by the Council of State. The President of the Council of State Mohamed Bennacer, who welcomed the delegation, explained that since 2010, it has been a special court that handles state administrative matters.

During the discussion, Justice Arsul asked about the Council of State’s experience in implementing decisions in Algeria. In response to the question, President Mohamed explained that Algeria has three mechanisms that force all parties to comply with the decision. First, monetary fines through the state treasurer who will take budget allocations from the state agency for the party who wins the case. Second, criminal penalties for officials who do not comply with court decisions. Third, the threat of fines that are continuously accumulated against the party that loses the case and does not implement the court’s decision.

The visit to the Supreme Court and the Council of State of Algeria was initiated by the Constitutional Court of Algeria for comprehensive exchange of experiences. During the visits, the MKRI’s delegation received information about the seven judicial chambers in the Supreme Court of Algeria, including the average number of cases it handles, which is 72,000 cases a year.

Also read: Court Visits Constitutional Court of Algeria to Continue Cooperation

Author         : Rima, Reza, Winda, Aditya/NL
Editor          : Nur R.
Translator    : Putri Ratnasari/Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Disclaimer: The original version of the news is in Indonesian. In case of any differences between the English and the Indonesian versions, the Indonesian version will prevail.

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