The Criminal Liability of the Doctor for Issuing a False Medical Certificate for Favoritism in Algerian Legislation

Abstract

Although the law grants doctors the authority to issue medical certificates that describe a person's condition or grant them a certain legal status, this authority is restricted in some cases, especially when it involves certificates containing incorrect or false information. The trust that society places in doctors is not absolute and without condition. The reason for limiting a doctor's authority in this area is due to the significant impact of such documents and the potential rights, benefits, and undeserved legal statuses that a false medical certificate could grant its holder. To prevent manipulation of these documents, the Algerian legislator intervened by issuing a set of legal provisions that regulate and penalize any illegal and unlawful issuance and delivery of these documents. The most recent legislation in this area is Law No. 24-02, dated 26/02/2024, which addresses the fight against forgery and the use of forged documents. In this paper, we will study and analyze the crime of a doctor issuing and delivering a false medical certificate for the purpose of favoritism. We will outline the conditions and elements of this crime against the doctor and the penalties prescribed for the perpetrator under Algerian law.