Algerians took a similar stance to that of the 2004 Arab Human Development Report when they considered the 2016 proposed constitutional amendments. One of the report’s conclusions was that rights granted by constitutions in Arab countries are often confiscated by the law during the legislative process and rendered ineffective in practice, emptying the constitutions’ safeguards of their meaning.  Does this actually hold true for Algeria, where the constitutional amendments that Bouteflika promised in the aftermath of the events of the Arab Spring have finally seen the light of day in 2016?