Important military justice reforms approved for parliamentary consideration in Morocco

King Mohammed VI and the
Moroccan Council of Ministers

Important military justice reforms are on their way to Parliament in Morocco. The Moroccan Press Agency reports that, at a March 14, 2014 meeting chaired by King Mohammed VI, the Council of Ministers discussed and approved a draft law on military justice.

This project, which was developed in accordance with the royal high orientations, aims to standardize national legislation on military justice with the provisions of the Constitution and international principles this field, put into practice Morocco's constitutional and international commitments in terms of promoting  the rule of law and human rights, and provide the necessary conditions and guarantees of a fair trial in all the courts of the Kingdom. 

This project also introduces major changes to the status of military justice from a Special Court to being one of the specialized judicial institutions that guarantee rights and freedoms, as regards to competence, organization, procedures, and the composition of the Court. 

In this context, the project provides for excluding civilians from the jurisdiction of the military court regardless of the crimes they might have committed. This places Morocco among the most developed democratic countries in this field. 

The bill also excludes the military from the jurisdiction of the military court in the event of common crimes.

The Council of Ministers' action follows a report by the National Human Rights Council that recommended sweeping reforms.

The third report discusses the reform of the military court and presents the Council's proposals regarding the compliance of the legislation in force with the provisions of the new Constitution and the international commitments of the Kingdom. The report recommends in particular that civilians shall not be prosecuted in a military court and that the jurisdiction of the latter is narrowed. Thus, the military court should address, in peacetime, only the cases falling under the category of military discipline, or involving a military person in matters undermining the security of the State or of terrorism. For all other cases, military personnel would be on [an] equal footing with their fellow civil litigants before ordinary courts.

The head of the National Human Rights Council, Driss El Yazami, stated that the proposal fully comports with the 2011 Constitution, international human rights instruments, and the accumulated jurisprudence of the international community on the subject.