The Council of Ministers is an Algerian government body established by the Algerian Constitution to discuss and adopt some of the main acts of executive power, such as the tabling of government bills or the appointment of senior officials. It is chaired by the President of the Republic and brings together the Prime Minister, all full-service ministers and, depending on the government, all or some of the lower-ranking ministers. Only a very summary report of the meetings being published, it is also supposed to allow the ministers to freely discuss the policy of the Government. It traditionally meets at El Mouradia Palace, the official residence of the President, although it can be summoned anywhere and at any time by the President.

The Council is one of the elements allowing the President of the Republic to direct the executive power despite the great role theoretically assigned to the Prime Minister by the Constitution. It enables it to control the development and implementation of Government policy and to give or refuse its agreement to a certain number of important decisions, and, more generally, to mark its views on discussions involving the whole of the Government.

The Council of Ministers is the only formal meeting of all members of the executive branch of the Government. The President may also chair restricted councils comprising certain ministers.

The Constitution, laws and regulations provide that a number of government decisions must be referred to the Council of Ministers to be valid.

Government bills (the only ones called "bills", private members' bills simply being called "private bills") must be introduced in Council before being introduced in Parliament.

Certain regulatory acts must also be presented to the Council of Ministers before being adopted. These acts are the ordinances, taken in the field of the law by virtue of a temporary authorization, and a certain number of decrees, which are then called "decrees in the Council of Ministers", and concern:

Unlike other regulatory acts which are only signed by the Prime Minister and the ministers responsible for their execution, these acts must also be signed by the President of the Republic and give the President a right of veto over these texts.

A decree in the Council of Ministers, even if no text provided for its inclusion on the agenda, can only be amended by another decree in the Council of Ministers, unless its final provisions or a legislative provision only allows it is modified by simple decree.