RABAT // After more than a year of dialogue, Morocco’s Islamist-led government has moved forward on a major campaign promise and unveiled a reform plan for the country’s judicial system.
The judicial system has been a major grievance for Moroccans because of a widespread perception that courts serve the rich and the powerful. Critics allege that verdicts in civil trials can be bought while a phone call from a high-ranking official can ensure a guilty ruling in political cases.
The justice system was listed as one of the most corrupt sectors in the country by the 2013 World Corruption Index.
The Islamist Justice and Development Party won the right to head Morocco’s next government in the 2011 elections and one of its main campaign promises was fighting corruption and creating an independent judiciary.
The justice minister, Mustapha Ramid, unveiled the new plan on Thursday, describing it as a product of an extensive dialogue and had the backing of King Mohammed VI, who first pushed for judicial reform in a 2009 speech.
“This is a historic moment we are living as we meet to reform the judicial system,” said Mr Ramid at the conference’s opening, which included government officials and diplomats. “Our dialogue was distinguished by the fact that we all wanted a profound reform requiring the mobilisation of all forces in society.”
The ambitious plan addresses many of the criticisms of Morocco’s justice system, including higher standards and more training for judges, prosecutors and lawyers, as well as greater transparency in appointments and penalties of members of the judiciary.
The charter, which has to be approved by parliament, also talks about setting up a mechanism to oversee judges’ expenditures and lifestyle to ensure they are in line with their income.
The plan also follows up on measures in the new 2011 constitution, which was amended in response to Arab Spring demonstrations, to get the judiciary out from under the shadow of the ministry of justice and make them more independent. In the past, executive control over judicial appointments and salaries ensured pliant judges.
One key aspect of the reform – one long demanded by human-rights activists – is a revision of the penal code “to bring it into harmony with the new constitution and principles of international conventions” that Morocco has signed.
The presentation gave no specifics, but there has been repeated criticism of various statutes, including allowing rapists to marry their underage victims to escape prosecution.
* Associated Press
