The effectiveness of legal protection for juveniles in Algerian correctional institutions

The legal framework for the protection of juveniles within Algerian penal institutions forms an essential part of modern criminal policy, as it aims to ensure humane and correctional treatment of child offenders. This framework is based on Child Protection Law 15-12, which enshrines the principle of the best interest of the child and calls for the adoption of educational measures instead of custodial sentences, and Prison Organization Law 18-01, which guarantees the separation of juveniles from adults and provides them with the right to education and health care. Algeria is also committed to several international agreements, most notably the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Havana Rules, which stress that deprivation of freedom must be the last solution. However, there are legal and application gaps such as weak coordination between legislation, lack of specialized training, and the absence of effective oversight mechanisms, which limits the achievement of full protection for juveniles within penal institutions.