Physical Coercion as a Means of Ensuring the Enforcement of Obligations under Algerian Legislation

Abstract

Physical coercion is a means of exerting pressure on the debtor to fulfill his obligation through physical restraint, by imprisoning him for a period proportionate to the amount of the debt. The Algerian legislator expressly provided for this measure in the former Civil Procedure Code, enacted by Order No. 66-156, prior to its repeal. This enabled the creditor to recover his funds in cases where other enforcement methods proved ineffective. However, following Algeria’s signature and ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and its subsequent accession to the United Nations General Assembly, the country became bound by the Covenant’s principles—particularly Article 11, which states: “No one shall be imprisoned merely on the ground of inability to fulfil a contractual obligation.” The publication of the Covenant in the Official Gazette in 1997 resulted in the suspension of the provisions on physical coercion contained in the repealed Civil Procedure Code, pending the enactment of the new Civil and Administrative Procedure Code. These provisions were retained, with amendments, in the Criminal Procedure Code. Consequently, creditors have faced significant difficulties in securing their rights due to debtors’ evasion of obligation enforcement through the concealment of assets.