Loi n. 87-17 du 1er août 1987 relative à la protection phytosanitaire.

After the preamble, referring in particular to Ordinance No.75-11 of 27 February 1975 creating the National Plant Protection Institute, to Act No.83-03 of 5 February 1983 relating to the protection of the environment, and to decree No.85-112 of 7 May 1985 providing for the accession of Algeria to the International Plant Protection Convention, the Act sets out, in five titles, the general principles of plant protection, intended to ensure: control of production, imports, exports and transit of plants; organization of plant pest control; control of the use of plant protection products (pesticides). Some of the definitions are partly reproduced from the International Code of Conduct on the Distribution and Use of Insecticides or from the International Plant Protection Convention (plants; harmful organisms; quarantines; pesticides or plan protection products; registration). It is provided for the establishment of a Plant Protection Authority responsible for plant pest control, and a Commission on Plant Protection Products for Agricultural Use, which would advise the Minister whether to grant or refuse registration of pesticides. Regulations under this Act will establish specialized bodies and define their terms of reference. Activities to control harmful organisms include: defining the conditions for compulsory declaration of pests; declaring the infestation of zones or regions of the country by harmful organisns; ordering or prohibiting the use of certain plant protection products; destroying, disinfecting or disinfesting plants;
prohibiting the cultivation and limiting the exploitation of land; ordering the disinfection and disinfestation of buildings and premises; enacting rules to protect animals and plants against the possible effects of tree protection products. The control or organisms harmful to plants: (a) is in the public interest; (b) is compulsory throughout the national territory, permanently if the said pests are declared particularly harmful and dangerous; (c) must be accompanied by special measures to be taken in emergencies when infestation by plant pests represents a large-scale danger threatening crops and becoming a national scourge. All plant protection products for agricultural use, and their manufacture, importation, marketing, distribution, use and activities incidental thereto are governed by this Act. It also lays down certain basic principles: (a) prohibitions (introducing into the national territory of any harmful organisms or plants that could be carriers of such organisms; use of non-registered plant protection products; advertising and free distribution of samples of non-registered plant protection products); obligatory plant protection control at the point of entry into the national territory; (c) publication of lists (plant pests to be controlled in the national terrritory; prohibitions and restrictions on the importation of plants carrying harmful organisms, and on particularly dangerous plant protection products) drawn up periodically by way of regulation;
(d) special permits (importation of plants, importation of pesticides reserved for the use of certain approved individuals or bodies corporate); (e) phytosanitary certificates established in accordance with the provisions of the International Plant Protection Convention (issued by the government services in the country of origin certifying that the plants imported are free from harmful organisms and meet the requirements set by the provisions of this Act; the same obligations apply to plants exported and in transit); (f) "additional declaration" (in the case of specific harmful organisms) and compulsory declaration (for the manufacture and importation of plant protection products for agricultural use); (g) system of authorizing or approving sales establishments or enterprises providing services in the field of plant protection treatment; (h) right to compensation in the case of destruction of non-infested or non-suspect plants, on condition that there has been no negligence or fraud (if, however, the plant protection control shows the existence of harmful organisns in the plants, the latter may be rejected or destroyed without compensation); (i) disinfestation and/or disinfection, rejection, seizure and destruction (if the excess over maximum levels does not consitute a danger of infestation or infection in the national territory.
As regards plant pest control, collaboration is called for; (a) from individuals or bodies corportate, whether owners or not, who have a responsibility for warehouse and storage buildings or other premises, or for transport vehicles [...} or whose activity includes the production, stirage or marketing of plant material (they have a duty to maintain the plants for which they are responsible in good state of health, and to inform the plant protection authority, or any administrative authority, whenever thay discover or suspect the presence of plant pests, indications of appearance or propagation of such pests or any other relevant facts);(b) from any individual or body corporate and all government services or public enterprises (they must assist plant protection agents who, in the exercise of their functions or the performance of their duties may require the intervention of the police). The Act establishes the powers and/or duties of investigation of the agents of the plant protection authority duly commissioned and sworn before the competant courts. They may, for inspection purposes within the country;(i) have access at all reasonable times to the property, buildings, etc., and take, on delivery of a receipt, samples of plants that are or could be carriers of plant pests.