Criminal Liability Resulting from the Violation of Consent in Human Organ Transplantation Operations

Abstract

Despite the Algerian legislator having established a set of legal provisions regulating the issue of human organ transplantation similar to other legislations these provisions constitute a safeguard ensuring that organ transfer and transplantation procedures do not deviate from their intended framework. However, the spread of organ trafficking has been observed, which prompted the legislator to amend the Penal Code and criminalize such acts in the 2009 amendment to the Penal Code. These operations were also given a specific section within Health Law 18/11 issued in 2018, due to their importance.

The legislator has authorized human organ transplantation under several conditions set out in the aforementioned Health Law, foremost among them being the patient’s consent and approval of such procedures. The legislator has explicitly stipulated the obligation to respect the rules related to the required consent for organ transfer and transplantation. If these operations fall outside the scope of these rules, they shift from a state of legality to a state of criminalization.