Morocco: Implementation of the New Civil Procedure Code
The Civil Procedure Law No. 58.25 has officially come into force in Morocco following the publication of the royal decree implementing it in Official Bulletin No. 7485. This new legislation introduces several significant reforms to the functioning of the judicial system and the conduct of litigation procedures.
According to the law’s official presentation, the constitutional and institutional transformations, as well as the evolution of judicial practice, have revealed various dysfunctions, including the slowness of procedures, the complexity of judicial processes, and difficulties with notification and enforcement of judgments.
The new legal framework aims to establish a more coherent, efficient, and better-adapted system to the demands of modern justice.
The text emphasizes the importance of respecting the conditions for a fair trial and ensuring the rights of the defense at all stages of the process.
It also mandates that courts decide within a reasonable timeframe and prohibits any refusal to render a judicial decision without legal grounds.
The reform further strengthens the role of the civil judge in managing procedures. Where the judge’s role was sometimes seen as limited at certain stages of litigation, the new law grants him wider authorities to supervise procedures and control timelines.
Judges will be able to raise certain matters ex officio, particularly those related to legal capacity, standing, or interest to act, while allowing parties a timeframe to regularize procedures.
The law also places significant emphasis on alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, notably conciliation and mediation.
Courts can now propose conciliation on their own initiative or at the request of the parties, and the agreements reached can be recorded in a judgment that is not subject to appeal.
The new law revises the rules of subject-matter, territorial, and financial jurisdiction of courts, establishing clear thresholds for decisions rendered in first or last instance.
It also provides for reducing the deadlines for certain procedural exceptions, particularly those related to the jurisdiction’s incompetence.
Among the major innovations is the introduction of the use of digital technologies in judicial procedures.
The law now allows for the electronic filing of requests and the integration of digital data concerning the parties and their lawyers within the framework of the digitalization of judicial administration.
The Constitutional Court had previously stated that certain provisions of the law’s initial version could infringe upon fundamental principles such as the independence of the judiciary, legal certainty, and the rights of the defense.
In response, the Ministry of Justice has made several amendments, particularly to Articles 17, 90, 107, and 364, in order to ensure the text’s compliance with constitutional principles.
These amendments specify the conditions for the intervention of the public prosecutor, the rules concerning remote hearings, and the procedural guarantees related to the rights of the defense.
