Provides references to local service providers and other professional associations

You should retain a lawyer with experience in Algeria as soon as you decide to establish an Algerian business entity. The U.S. Embassy in Algiers maintains a list of local lawyers practicing in Algeria who have made themselves known to the Embassy. However, the listing of an attorney should not be construed as an evaluation or endorsement of their services. 

Algeria has two major categories of legal practitioners:
 

  1. An avocat is a lawyer who may render legal advice on all matters, draft agreements and contracts, handle commercial disputes and collection cases, and plead and defend civil and criminal cases before the Algerian courts to which they are admitted.
  2. An Algerian notaire is a public official appointed by the Ministry of Justice. A notaire is not the equivalent of a public notary in the United States. A notaire’s functions include the preparation and recording of notarial acts (e.g., wills, deeds, acts of incorporation, marriage, contracts), the administration and settlements of estates (excluding litigation in court), and serving as the repository of wills. They are not lawyers, but very specialized members of the legal profession. They may not litigate in courts.

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