Preventive (Prior) Administrative Control Mechanisms over Classified Establishments in Algerian Legislation

Abstract

Classified installations for environmental protection occupy a prominent place within Algeria's administrative environmental policing system, being the principal source of industrial pollution and risk. Aware of the gravity of these installations, the Algerian legislator has built an integrated system of prior administrative control grounded in the principles of prevention and precaution, embodied in two legal mechanisms — administrative authorization and declaration — supplemented by two technical mechanisms, the environmental impact study and the risk study. This article analyses these four mechanisms in terms of their concept, conditions, procedures and legal effects, in an attempt to assess their effectiveness in averting industrial risk before it materialises.