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RabatMoroccan courts have been witnessing a state of paralysis for a week, following the announcement by the Association of Bar Associations of an open strike against defense duties, without specifying a date for its end.
The court complex appeared in the Riyadh district of the capital Rabat It was unusually empty of people wearing black coats, as Al Jazeera Net saw on Thursday. Ready cases are decided without the presence of the defense team, while other cases are postponed.
Lawyers have been on a comprehensive strike since November 1 due to their rejection of provisions contained in the draft “Civil Procedure” law, which was voted on by the House of Representatives and referred to the House of Advisors (the second chamber of Parliament).
Lawyers believe that the law includes provisions that affect the citizen’s right to access justice and undermine the right to a fair trial.
While Justice Minister Abdel Latif Wehbe says that he is ready for dialogue in accordance with the constitutional and legal limits of the parties concerned, human rights associations supported the demands of the lawyers, calling for the opening of a serious and responsible discussion with the lawyers’ bodies regarding the articles of the law that sparked the dispute.
New law
The Civil Procedure Law is specifically concerned with the procedures of judicial proceedings, and civil procedure is defined as “a set of legal rules that define the powers, procedures, and formalities of litigation before courts of various degrees and types…”
The first version of the Civil Procedure Law dates back to the year 1913, when Morocco was under French protection. This legal text witnessed amendments at several stages, the first after independence, when the law was Arabized and Westernized in 1965, then the two reform stations dating back to the years 1974 and 2011, then the amendments in 2019. And 2021.
The Ministry of Justice believes that it has become necessary to review the Civil Procedure Law and enact a new integrated and integrated law in accordance with the currently existing constitutional and legislative data, in order to fill the gaps created by reality.
According to the same source, the law relies on the collection of various civil, administrative and commercial procedures, those related to the proximity judiciary (a judicial body close to the litigants that specializes in examining simple cases), and modern technological means in litigation procedures in order to benefit from the benefits of the digital revolution and the results of technological development.
The draft law was referred to the House of Representatives in November 2023, was approved by a majority in July 2024, and was then referred in the same month to the House of Advisors.
Lawyers agree with the Ministry of Justice on the need to amend the law to suit the development of justice in Morocco and constitutional and legal developments, but they object to a number of its articles, so they organized protests inside and outside the courts, and limited strikes that included boycotting criminal hearings and court boxes for two weeks, before announcing At the beginning of this month, in an unprecedented escalation, a comprehensive strike began without setting a date for its end.
Materials of dispute
Among the articles that lawyers and jurists criticize are those that stipulate that litigants should be fined, whether due to legal defenses or out of bad faith.
Under the aforementioned law, cases whose fine is less than 30,000 dirhams ($3,000) cannot pass to the appeal stage, while those with a fine of less than 80,000 dirhams ($8,000) are prevented from going to the cassation stage.
They also criticized Article 383 of the law, which stipulates that a cassation appeal does not suspend implementation in a group of cases, including the case of judicial decisions issued against the state and territorial groups (administrative divisions such as governorates), as well as decisions issued by the courts against state companies, which is considered in Lawyers considered this a violation of the principle of equality before the law.
Some jurists and jurists believe that these articles aim to reduce the number of files currently in circulation before the courts of appeal and cassation in order to relieve pressure on them. However, in their view, this approach will come at the expense of the rights of litigants, as it will deprive them of the right to complete all stages of litigation, and it will also raise fears and doubts in them about going to court. Judiciary for fear of fines.
An exceptional decision
For the head of the Rabat Bar Association, Aziz Rouibah, the decision of the Bar Associations to stop practicing defense duties is an “exceptional” decision and “not an easy decision” given its results, but on the other hand, he believes that what is more dangerous than a strike is some of the requirements included in the civil procedure. .
The captain admitted in an interview with Al Jazeera Net that the project includes important and positive changes and requirements that are compatible with the transformations that Moroccan society has witnessed and the development of justice in the country, but that some of the articles it included will prevent citizens from accessing justice in a safe and normal way.
He added, “Our role as lawyers – and history bears witness to this – is to defend the rights and freedoms of the citizen, and this is at the core of our moral, professional and legal responsibility.”
The spokesman explained that the draft civil procedure law includes discriminatory legal requirements that will make the Moroccan citizen unable to resort to all levels of litigation, and will contribute to depriving large groups of people of access to justice, especially vulnerable groups.
The captain pointed out that this law makes fining a means to restrict the citizen and prevent him from exercising his rights safely and freely before the judiciary.
No rejection of dialogue
Parliamentarians in the House of Councilors regretted the ongoing strike of lawyers, and considered it “a halt to one of the wings of justice” and a “painful moment” for a fair trial, judicial security, the right to defense, and also the citizen’s right to easy access to justice, calling for wisdom and reason to be summoned and the protection of the citizen’s right to a fair, safe and stable judiciary. .
For his part, the Minister of Justice confirmed in response to an oral question in the House of Councilors that he does not refuse dialogue with lawyers, expressing his willingness to sit with them in the presence of representatives of the Justice and Legislation Committee in Parliament.
Addressing the lawyers, he said, “Give me your requests, specify the chapters you want to amend, but is the decision in the hands of the minister only? The decision is in the hands of the House of Representatives and the advisors because they are the only ones as legislators who have the right to amend, add, and cancel a text,” stressing the need for each party to know its constitutional and legal limits.
Several parties have begun to mediate between the Ministry of Justice and lawyers to end the tension in the framework of informal mediations, while the Justice and Legislation Committee in the House of Councilors is seeking to hold a mediation session in order to reach a consensual solution that gains the satisfaction and acceptance of all parties.
The Minister of Justice said, “I do not have any position against lawyers, but I defend a legal text that I believe is legitimate and this is my right.” While the head of the Rabat Bar Association says, “We consider that we are right and that what we are doing is for the sake of justice in our country.”
He added, “We must develop a road map to address all these issues. We consider the draft civil procedure law to be an indication of an expression of good faith and a response to our demands, along with a calendar of other demands.”
Many human rights associations and bodies declared their solidarity and support for the lawyers’ strike, and considered that the disputed articles impede the course of justice and affect the rights of litigants. They called in statements to open a serious and responsible dialogue to overcome this situation.
In turn, Nabil Al-Andalusi, President of the Al Karama Forum for Human Rights, expressed his solidarity with lawyers and their body in its announced strike “to safeguard the gains of this profession.”
He said in a statement to Al Jazeera Net, “We consider in the forum that any attack on the independence of the legal profession or restriction of defense rights is an attack on the values of justice and truth.”
He added, “The basis of the problem is the absence of a participatory approach at the Ministry of Justice, and the taking of unilateral initiatives without consulting the parties. There will be no solution without activating a responsible approach based on dialogue and positive interaction from both parties.”
Al-Andalusi called on the Ministry of Justice to deal with a logic of responsibility, especially since the strike of the lawyers’ bodies paralyzes the Kingdom’s courts and causes real suffering to litigants, prosecutors, and the general public in this vital facility.
