Mechanisms of Negotiated Justice in Combating Economic Crime: An Analytical Reading of the Deferred Prosecution System for Legal Persons under Algeria's Code of Criminal Procedure (Law No. 25-14)

Abstract

This article analyses the deferred prosecution system for legal persons introduced by Algerian Law No. 25-14, which authorizes the public prosecutor's office to postpone the initiation of public criminal proceedings against a legal person in exchange for that entity's commitment to compensate for damages or to restore the assets that were the subject of the offence. The system seeks to strike a balance between the imperatives of criminal justice and the necessity of safeguarding economic stability, within the framework of a contemporary orientation in Algerian criminal policy grounded in the principles of negotiated justice. Drawing on both analytical and comparative methodologies, the article concludes that this system constitutes a qualitative transformation reflecting the Algerian legislator's openness to comparative legislative models — most notably the French one. Nevertheless, the system's effectiveness remains contingent upon sound judicial application and the degree to which legal persons honour the obligations imposed upon them. The system represents a promising instrument for reconciling criminal deterrence with procedural flexibility. Given the novelty of this procedure, future empirical studies of real deferred prosecution cases are warranted in order to assess its practical utility within the judicial process.