In the north African country Algeria the Algerian Constitution was created in 1963. The was done after the Algerian War of Independence. It is important to understand that Algeria was occupied by France before this. Due to the French occupation much of Algeria’s legal systems resembles that of European nations.
Once the Algerian Constitution was adopted Algeria was declared to be a one party state. It was ruled by the National Liberation Front. The National Liberation Front was once a resistance party. However in 1965 there was a coup d’etat and the leader of the Revolutionary Command Council put in place a second constitution in 1976. This new constitution emphasized the importance of socialism in Algeria.
The constitution was amended again in 1986. The new rules allowed free market reforms for Algeria. In 1988 the constitution was modified again. This time it introduced a multi-party political system into Algerian government. Up until now the country was run by a leading political party. The changes made no mention of socialism. Instead it talked about the freedom of expression, association and assembly.
Algeria faced another military coup in 1992. This led the country to a state of emergency. The state of emergency meant that parts of the new constitution were now suspended. An Algerian civil war begun.
The constitution was further amended in 1996. The new changes allowed political parties to formed based on issues such as race, gender, religion and a few other factors. This new constitution does not allow political parties to violate the liberties, values, components, unity, security and identity of Algeria.
Today Algeria is a republic that is run by the President of Algeria, the prime minister and parliament. Issues are debated in parliament and opposing views can be heard during parliamentary session or by sending a question to parliament in writing.
