resignation of the President had created a situation not anticipated by the Constitution, Consultations among the President of.the Constitutional Council, the Head of the Supreme Court, the Army and the High Council of Security had been held regarding ways to provide continuity and the normal functioning of the State. They had reached the decision that it was impossible to continue the electoral process, that public security had to be protected and that the High Council of Security would assume and retain the executive power until the constitutional crisis had passed. 280. Referring to questions relating to the status of the Covenant, the representative of the State party explained that the Constitution had been promulgated prior to the ratification of the Covenant; accordingly, the constitutional provisions had not been based exactly on the corresponding provisions of the Covenant. While, in principle, the Covenant took precedence over domestic legislation, the courts had not yet ruled on the matter. A range of institutions, including law faculties, police academies and training institutes for staff serving in penitentiaries, participated in efforts to make the provisions of the Covenant known to the public. 281. With regard to questions relating to equality and non-discrimination, the representative of the State party said that measures had been taken to provide women access to education and vocational training so as to equip them to enter the workforce. Once a woman reached the age of majority she had complete control over her own money irrespective of her marital status. Polygamy, which was discouraged by the Koran and severely restricted by the Algerian Family Code, appeared to be dying out. The child of an Algerian mother and a foreign father was given an opportunity to reject Algerian citizenship one year before attaining majority. 282. With reference to article 6 of the Covenant, the representative said that consideration was being given to the possibility of abolishing the death penalty. At present, the death penalty could be imposed for murder, for certain crimes against national security, such as treason or espionage, and for sabotage against the national economy. However, no death sentence for economic offences had been carried out in over 30 years and the usual procedure was commutation to imprisonment. A death sentence could be appealed to the Supreme Court, through an application for judicial review of the facts, and an appeal could be made for a presidential pardon. In the past five years, five sentences of death had been imposed, all for murder. Although guidelines on the use of firearms by the police had been issued, abuses had been noted and investigations were being carried out. 283. Regarding articles 7, 9, 10 and 11 of the Covenant, the representative emphasized that torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment were prohibited by the criminal law and that perpetrators had been brought to justice. A number of the investigations of reported incidents involving the police forces were currently under way. Members of certain political parties had not been detained because of their political opinion but rather for violations of the Associations Act, which prohibited the promotion of fanaticism or incitement to violence. Under normal circumstances, individuals could be held in police custody without charge for 24 hours. For offences against national security, that period was doubled. Imprisonment for debt per se did not exist in Algeria, but if a debtor failed to comply with court orders the possibility of imprisonment might arise. Given the very -65-