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Criminal penalties in Algeria
Checked in October 2026 against the Code pénal, Ordonnance n° 66-156 (consolidated to the law of 2 August 2011, as hosted by WIPO Lex).
These are statutory ranges for a first offence, from the least to the most the law allows. A court decides the actual sentence in each case. We read the code in its original language and give the offences in plain English, with the legal term where it helps. For anything that matters, rely on the code itself. Not legal advice.
How Algeria sets penalties
- The Penal Code (art. 5) lists the principal penalties for crimes as death, life imprisonment (réclusion criminelle à perpétuité), and fixed-term réclusion of 5 to 20 years. For délits it lists imprisonment of more than 2 months up to 5 years, unless the law sets other limits.
- Where the court finds mitigating circumstances, it may go below the penalty in the article, down to a stated floor (art. 53): 10 years' réclusion where the crime carries death, 5 years where it carries life, 3 years' imprisonment where it carries 10 to 20 years, and 1 year's imprisonment where it carries 5 to 10 years.
- The text we read is the consolidated Code as hosted by WIPO Lex, up to the law of 2 August 2011. Algeria has amended the Code several times since, including by the law of 2020, and the Journal officiel is the place to confirm the current text.
- The Code sets fines in dinars beside many penalties. Those amounts are not shown here, because they have been raised several times.
Death penalty: Yes, in the Code. Death is the penalty for assassination, parricide, poisoning, murder accompanied by another crime, and arson causing death, among others. Algeria has observed a moratorium on executions since 1993. Press reports in 2026 mention a reform to widen the death penalty. The text read here is the consolidated Code to 2011 and does not show it.
Read the Algeria legal-system profile in the Legal Families Atlas →
First-degree murder
Death (assassination, parricide, poisoning, and murder with another crime)
Assassinat (murder with premeditation or by ambush), parricide, poisoning (Crime (réclusion))
- Least
- No minimum term set by the statute
- Most
- Death
A mother who kills her newborn child is punished with réclusion of 10 to 20 years (art. 261).
Meurtre accompanying or following another crime, or committed to prepare or help a délit or to escape (Crime (réclusion))
- Least
- No minimum term set by the statute
- Most
- Death
Premeditated or ambush murder is 'assassinat' (arts. 255-257). The Algerian Code's penalty for it is death.
Second-degree murder
Life imprisonment
Meurtre (intentional killing) (Crime (réclusion))
- Least
- No minimum term set by the statute
- Most
- Life imprisonment (réclusion criminelle à perpétuité)
'Meurtre', an intentional killing without premeditation, is punished by life imprisonment, unless it falls in one of the cases that carry death. The court may go as low as 5 years' réclusion where there are mitigating circumstances (art. 53).
Voluntary manslaughter
6 months to 3 years (killing by negligence) up to 10 to 20 years (violence causing death without intent to kill)
Homicide by negligence (Délit (emprisonnement))
- Least
- 6 months
- Most
- 3 years' imprisonment
Blows or wounds given on purpose, without intent to kill, that cause death (Crime (réclusion))
- Least
- 10 years
- Most
- 20 years' réclusion
The same, with premeditation or ambush (Crime (réclusion))
- Least
- No minimum term set by the statute
- Most
- Life imprisonment (réclusion criminelle à perpétuité)
Algerian law has no separate offence for a killing in the heat of passion. The closest offence is violence that causes death without the intent to kill, shown here with killing by negligence.
Robbery
2 to 10 years (theft with violence) up to life (armed theft)
Theft with violence or threat of violence, or where the victim is vulnerable (Délit (emprisonnement))
- Least
- 2 years
- Most
- 10 years' imprisonment
Theft with two or more of: violence or threat, night, a group, break-in or climbing into a dwelling, and other listed circumstances (Crime (réclusion))
- Least
- 10 years
- Most
- 20 years' réclusion
Theft where one of the thieves carries a weapon, visible or hidden (Crime (réclusion))
- Least
- No minimum term set by the statute
- Most
- Life imprisonment (réclusion criminelle à perpétuité)
Algerian law treats robbery as theft made worse by violence or a weapon. Carrying a weapon during a theft, even if it is not used, brings the highest penalty.
Burglary
5 to 10 years (one aggravating circumstance) up to 10 to 20 years (a dwelling and other circumstances)
Theft by break-in, climbing or false keys, even in a building not used as a home, or at night, or by two or more persons (one circumstance) (Délit (emprisonnement))
- Least
- 5 years
- Most
- 10 years' imprisonment
Theft by break-in, climbing or false keys in a home, together with another of the listed circumstances (Crime (réclusion))
- Least
- 10 years
- Most
- 20 years' réclusion
Algeria has no offence named 'burglary'. Theft by break-in or climbing is an aggravated theft.
Arson
5 to 10 years (own property, to harm others) up to life (a home); death if someone dies
Setting fire to one's own property in order to harm another person (Crime (réclusion))
- Least
- 5 years
- Most
- 10 years' réclusion
Setting fire to another's unoccupied building, vehicle, forest, crops and similar property (Crime (réclusion))
- Least
- 10 years
- Most
- 20 years' réclusion
Setting fire to an occupied building or home, or to a vehicle or train carrying people; or to State property (Crime (réclusion))
- Least
- No minimum term set by the statute
- Most
- Life imprisonment (réclusion criminelle à perpétuité)
Arson that causes the death of one or more people (Crime (réclusion))
- Least
- No minimum term set by the statute
- Most
- Death
Where the fire causes wounds or permanent infirmity, the penalty is life imprisonment.
Aggravated assault
1 to 5 years up to 10 to 20 years (mutilation, with premeditation)
Wounds or blows causing illness or total incapacity for work for more than 15 days (Délit (emprisonnement))
- Least
- 1 year
- Most
- 5 years' imprisonment
Blows or wounds followed by mutilation, loss of the use of a limb, blindness or another permanent infirmity (Crime (réclusion))
- Least
- 5 years
- Most
- 10 years' réclusion
The same, with premeditation or ambush (Crime (réclusion))
- Least
- 10 years
- Most
- 20 years' réclusion
Rape and sexual assault
5 to 10 years (rape) up to life (rape in the aggravated cases)
Rape (Crime (réclusion))
- Least
- 5 years
- Most
- 10 years' réclusion
Rape of a girl under 16 (Crime (réclusion))
- Least
- 10 years
- Most
- 20 years' réclusion
Rape by an ascendant, a person in authority, a teacher, a public official or minister of religion, or with the help of others (Crime (réclusion))
- Least
- No minimum term set by the statute
- Most
- Life imprisonment (réclusion criminelle à perpétuité)
Kidnapping
5 to 10 years up to life (torture, ransom, or uniform or false order)
Abduction, arrest, detention or confinement of a person without lawful order (Crime (réclusion))
- Least
- 5 years
- Most
- 10 years' réclusion
10 to 20 years if the detention lasted more than a month.
Abduction by violence, threats or fraud, of a person of any age (Crime (réclusion))
- Least
- 10 years
- Most
- 20 years' réclusion
Abduction with a uniform or false order, by motor vehicle, under threat of death, with torture, or for ransom (Crime (réclusion))
- Least
- No minimum term set by the statute
- Most
- Life imprisonment (réclusion criminelle à perpétuité)
Embezzlement
3 months to 3 years
Abus de confiance (breach of trust) (Délit (emprisonnement))
- Least
- 3 months
- Most
- 3 years' imprisonment
Algerian law calls it 'abus de confiance', breach of trust: wrongly diverting items handed over to be returned or used in a set way.
Forgery
1 to 5 years (private documents) up to life (by a public official)
Forgery in private or commercial or bank writings (Délit (emprisonnement))
- Least
- 1 year
- Most
- 5 years' imprisonment
Forgery in a public or authentic writing, by a private person (Crime (réclusion))
- Least
- 10 years
- Most
- 20 years' réclusion
Forgery in a public or authentic writing, by a judge, a public official or an officer in the exercise of the post (Crime (réclusion))
- Least
- No minimum term set by the statute
- Most
- Life imprisonment (réclusion criminelle à perpétuité)
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