This Saturday, September 21, 2024, the Moroccan Bar Association organized an impressive meeting at the Mohammed V Theater in Rabat, bringing together 5,000 lawyers who came to express their disagreement with the reforms of the judicial system proposed by the government. The president of the Association, Elhoussain Iziani, took the floor to firmly reject the new provisions of the reforms of the Code of Civil Procedure, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Penal Code, described as “controversial”.
Among the participants were 17 barristers from the different judicial regions of Morocco as well as several political figures, such as Driss Lachgar, first secretary of the USFP, Nabila Mounib, secretary general of the unified socialist party, and representatives of the PJD, Driss Azami and Mustapha Khelfi.
Slogans for dignity and unity
The lawyers present chanted slogans calling for respect for dignity, unity, and mobilization, denouncing measures that they consider a threat to their rights. Placards were held up, asking the government to respect the demands of legal professionals.
The Moroccan Bar Association reiterated its commitment to continue the mobilization until the Minister of Justice, Abdellatif Ouahbi, and the government have responded favorably to the expectations of the lawyers.
Faced with the impasse, some lawyers are not ruling out resorting to a national strike to increase pressure on the Executive. Behind the scenes, discussions have even raised the possibility of royal arbitration to resolve this unprecedented crisis.
Controversial articles in the crosshairs
Bar President Elhoussain Iziani strongly criticized the government’s legislative management, calling for a thorough review of the reform projects, including the Code of Criminal Procedure, currently under consideration in the House of Councilors. MP and lawyer Loubna Sghir, a member of the Party of Progress and Socialism (PPS), highlighted the most criticized articles, including an article in the Code of Civil Procedure that allows the prosecution to ” retry a case that has been judged,” which, according to lawyers, weakens the authority of judicial decisions.
Other rejected measures include the introduction of a “mandate” who could replace the lawyer, the removal of the appeal to the Court of Cassation for cases of less than 80,000 dirhams, as well as the prohibition of any appeal for cases of less than 40,000 dirhams.
Regarding the Code of Criminal Procedure, lawyers denounce the lack of defense during the investigation and the restriction of the capacity of NGOs to file complaints for abuse of public funds.
An unprecedented crisis
The president of the Association described the situation as an unprecedented crisis in the history of the profession in Morocco. ” We will not give in,” he said while calling for better management of legislative reforms by the government.
This massive mobilization of lawyers reflects the extent of the discontent caused by these reforms, deemed detrimental to the rights of citizens and the practice of the legal profession.
