President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, chaired, today, Monday at the People’s Palace (Algiers), a reception ceremony at the honor of the President of the Constitutional Court and its members on the occasion of assuming their duties.
The reception ceremony took place in the presence of the Speaker of the Council of the Nation Saleh Goudjil, the Speaker of the People’s National Assembly Ibrahim Boughali, the Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, Aïmene Benabderrahmane, the former President of the Constitutional Council Kamel Fennich, the Chief of Staff of People’s National Army Lieutenant-General Saïd Chengriha, and the Minister of Justice keeper of the Seals Abderrachid Tebbist, along with a number of government members, advisors to the President of the Republic and high ranking officials.
On the occasion, the President of the Republic greeted both the former President and members of the Constitutional Council, the President and members of the Constitutional Court, and a souvenir photo was taken of President Tebboune with the President and members of the new Constitutional Body.
It’s worth recalling that the President and members of the Constitutional Court took the constitutional oath last Thursday at the headquarters of the Supreme Court, the day after the President of the Republic signed presidential decrees related to the appointment and formation of the Constitutional Court, in accordance with Articles 91, Paragraph 7, 186 and 188 of the Constitution.
The Constitutional Court is made-up of members appointed by the President of the Republic, who are the president of the Court Omar Belhadj and members Laila Aslaoui, Bahri Saadallah and Mesbah Manas, in addition to elected members who are Djilali Meloudi from the Supreme Court and Amaleddine Boullenoir from the State Council, in addition to constitutional law professors Fatiha Benabbou, Abdelouahab Kharif, Abbas Ammar, Abdelhafid Ousoukine, Ammar Boudiaf and Mohamed Boufartas.
The President of the Constitutional Court is appointed for a single 6-year term, its members assume their duties once every 6 years, and half of its members are renewed every 3 years.
Article 186 of the Constitution stipulates that the Constitutional Court consists of 12 members, 4 of whom are appointed by the President of the Republic, including the president of the Court, while the Supreme Court elects one member among its members and the State Council also elects one member. As for the six (6) other members, they are elected by vote among the professors of constitutional law, and the President of the Republic determines the conditions and modalities for electing these members.
The Constitutional Court, according to Article 185 of the Constitution, is an “independent institution charged with ensuring the respect of the constitution.” It guarantees “the control of the institutions’ management and the activity of public authorities.” It has several prerogatives including “the examining of the appeals it receives about the provisional results of the presidential, legislative and referendum elections, and the announcement of the final results of all these elections,” in addition to “notifying them of the unconstitutionality based on a referral from the Supreme Court or the State Council.”
