Algeria’s Ministry of Justice has launched a new digital platform that allows lawyers to request and receive certified copies of court decisions entirely online, removing the longstanding requirement to appear in person at judicial offices. The announcement was made on February 15, 2026, by Minister of Justice Lotfi Boudjemaa during a visit to the Court of Biskra.
What the Platform Does
The platform enables lawyers to submit online requests for ordinary copies of judgments and decisions issued by both ordinary and administrative courts and to obtain them electronically signed. Once a request is submitted, it is processed automatically, and the lawyer can retrieve the electronically signed document within a maximum of 24 hours.
Access is granted through the Ministry of Justice’s website using credentials already linked to the existing digital platform for exchanging civil matter requests and memorandums, meaning lawyers already registered on that system can transition to this new service without creating fresh accounts.
The End of the Courthouse Run
For years, obtaining a certified copy of a court ruling meant physically visiting the issuing court; this was a burden that translated into real costs in time, travel, and logistics, especially for lawyers practising far from major judicial centres. The new system aims to simplify procedures, expand public services, and eliminate the need for lawyers to travel to the judicial court.
The inconvenience was compounded by Algeria’s geography. With 48 courts of appeal spread across a country that is the largest in Africa, lawyers in remote wilayas could face significant travel simply to collect paperwork. The new platform sidesteps that entirely.
Part of a Wider Digital Push
The February launch is not an isolated initiative. The Ministry of Justice has made several recent steps in digitising its services, including enabling Algerian expatriates and foreigners to obtain digitally signed criminal record certificates through diplomatic missions abroad, allowing copies of decisions from the Supreme Court and Council of State to be retrieved electronically from regional courts without visiting the issuing authority, and continuing the digitisation of judicial files including the electronic exchange of pleadings outside court sessions.
In November 2025, a related platform was also launched, enabling lawyers and litigants to submit online applications for certificates of non-recours (this covers non-opposition, non-appeal, and no petition for cassation) in respect of final judgments and decisions. Together, these tools form a growing ecosystem of remote legal services that the ministry is building out under broader national digital transformation commitments.
What It Means in Practice
The practical implications are considerable. A lawyer handling a civil dispute in Tamanrasset no longer needs to factor in the cost and time of travelling to the court that issued a ruling simply to obtain a certified copy. The document arrives electronically, carries an official digital signature, and is available within a day.
There are also implications for legal research and case management. Faster access to certified decisions means lawyers can build arguments, prepare appeals, and advise clients more efficiently. Over time, as the platform’s archive grows, it could serve as a meaningful resource for tracking judicial patterns across the country’s court system.
A Benchmark for the Region
Algeria’s steady rollout of judicial e-services places it among a growing number of countries rethinking what access to justice actually requires in a digital age. While courtroom proceedings still demand physical presence, the administrative scaffolding around them (obtaining documents, tracking cases, and filing certain applications) is increasingly being moved online.
The success of this platform will likely depend on how reliably the 24-hour turnaround is maintained at scale and whether the system proves robust enough to handle demand from the country’s legal profession. If it does, it could set a practical template for extending similar services directly to litigants and expanding the range of documents available through remote requests.
