LAW No. 2019-574 Instituting the Penal Code
THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ADOPTED;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC enacts the Law with the following content:
BOOK I: GENERAL PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO ALL OFFENSES
PRELIMINARY TITLE: GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1: Provisions under this Book shall be applicable to all offenses unless provided
otherwise by a legal provision.
Article 2: Constitutes an offence any act, action or omission which troubles or is likely to
trouble the public order or social peace by infringing or not the rights of persons and which as
such is punishable by law.
Article 3: Criminal offences are classified according to their gravity as felonies, misdemeanors or
petty offences.
An offence is characterized as:
Felony: if it is punishable by a life sentence or an imprisonment of more than ten years;
Misdemeanor: if it is punishable by an imprisonment of less than or equal to ten years and more
than two months and a fine of more than 360,000 francs or one of these two penalties only;
Petty offence: if it is punishable by an imprisonment of less than or equal to two months and a
fine less than or equal to 360,000 francs or one of these penalties only.
Article 4: A Decree determines petty offences and applicable penalties within the limits and
according to the distinctions under article 3.
Article 5: The nature of the offence falling within one of the categories provided for in article 3
shall not be altered where, as a result of subsequent offences, excuses or mitigating
circumstances, the penalty incurred is relating to a different category.
Article 6: The offence is punished by penalties and, possibly, by security measures.
The purpose of the penalty is to punish the offence committed and must be aimed at correcting
the perpetrator, whom it punishes either in his person, property, rights or honor.
The purpose of a security measure is to prevent, by appropriate means, any offence by a person
who constitutes a real danger to society because of his or her likeliness for committing offences.
Article 7: The sentence constitutes the main penalty when it is the main punishment for the
offence.