Morocco’s controversial new law governing the legal profession took effect Thursday after its publication in the Official Gazette, pushing ahead with a major overhaul of the sector despite an indefinite strike by lawyers that has lasted nearly 100 days.
Law No. 66.23 enters into force amid one of the most serious confrontations in years between the Justice Ministry and Morocco’s roughly 17,000 lawyers, who have overwhelmingly rejected the legislation.
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The Moroccan Bar Association on Wednesday decided to continue the open-ended strike, setting the stage for further disruption as the government begins implementing a law the profession continues to oppose.
The Justice Ministry described its publication as part of broader legislative and institutional reforms intended to modernize Morocco’s judicial system and improve its efficiency.
The law, the ministry said, represents “a new stage in the process of modernizing the legal framework governing this profession,” which it described as an essential component of the justice system and a safeguard for rights, freedoms and the right to a defense.
Constitutional review derailed before law took effect
The legislation enters into force under unusual circumstances.
The Constitutional Court was unable to examine the constitutionality of its provisions because of a procedural defect attributed to Parliament, leaving the legislation without the constitutional review that had been sought.
Its publication in the Official Gazette now shifts the dispute from the legislative process to implementation, even as lawyers continue their industrial action.
Read also : Morocco: Lawyers’ law left in legal limbo after Constitutional Court declines review
The standoff has already lasted for nearly 100 days, and the decision to bring the legislation into force risks further hardening positions between the government and the profession.
What changes under Morocco’s new lawyers’ law?
The Justice Ministry says Law 66.23 is intended to establish a more comprehensive and clearly defined legal framework for lawyers while preserving the profession’s independence and strengthening governance and professional accountability.
The legislation reorganizes rules governing entry into the profession, training, internships and admission to bar associations.
It also covers the practice of law itself, the organization of law firms and legal partnerships, and lawyers’ professional rights and obligations.
Professional and disciplinary procedures, as well as appeal mechanisms, are also covered by the new framework, which the ministry says is intended to make procedures clearer and more efficient.
Another major objective is adapting the legal profession to changes underway across Morocco’s justice system, particularly the digital transformation of courts and judicial administration.
The ministry said the law responds to the growing need to simplify and harmonize procedures, modernize professional management and improve the quality and efficiency of legal practice.
Some provisions will have to wait
Although Article 146 stipulates that the law takes effect from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette, not every provision will be implemented immediately.
Articles 12 and 39, as well as paragraph 11 of Article 121, will only take effect after the regulatory texts required for their implementation are themselves published in the Official Gazette.
The Justice Ministry said the transitional arrangement is intended to provide the regulatory, legal and practical conditions needed for those provisions to be implemented progressively.
For most of Law 66.23, however, the legislative process is over and implementation has begun.
The dispute surrounding it has not.
With lawyers maintaining their indefinite strike and the government putting the new framework into effect, Morocco’s months-long confrontation over the future of the legal profession has entered a new and potentially more contentious phase.
