Constitutional Amendments in Algeria: Getting Through the Bottleneck

Samia Abdellaoui

 

Abstract: National constitutions are the highest legal documents and hold the utmost legal authority in a state. Importantly, national constitutions also evolves over time to reflect the ideological, legal, social, political, and economic developments, and inevitably undergo revisions and modifications to adapt to such developments. Consequently, the constitutional text is shaped by, and has an impact upon, these diverse developments. In order to remain relevant and responsive to evolving circumstances, defined procedures for amendments in the constitutional provisions are mostly provided in a constitution. Although the procedure of amending the constitution in Algeria has evolved overtime, it still provides limited bases for amendments. This article argues that the existing limited possibility to amend the constitution in Algeria presents a challenge of accumulating the prevailing conditions, both internal or external to the state, that require constitutional change. Such limitations cause a bottleneck effect, restricting constitutional harmonisation with the changing conditions and potentially impacting the stability of the entire constitutional framework. This article makes practical suggestions to overcome the obstacles to making amendments in the Algerian constitution.