The report, presented to the House of Representatives’ Justice, Legislation and Human Rights Committee in July, says Morocco has just 4.7 forensic doctors per million inhabitants, leaving 10 judicial districts without a single specialist.
The shortage comes despite the growing demand for forensic expertise, with authorities recording more than 24,000 death reports in a single year.
The parliamentary mission described forensic medicine as a critical component of the justice system that has long suffered from inadequate investment, outdated infrastructure and limited institutional support.
Specialists in short supply
The report says the shortage has forced authorities to rely heavily on 147 non-specialist physicians working in municipal public health offices to perform forensic examinations.
Professor Hicham Benyaich, head of the forensic medicine department at Ibn Rochd University Hospital in Casablanca and president of the Moroccan Association of Forensic Medicine, says the profession is often misunderstood.
“The work of a forensic doctor is not limited to autopsies. Clinical examinations of living individuals account for 80% of a forensic doctor’s daily work,” he explained.
He said forensic specialists document victims’ injuries, determine their cause and timing, authorize the removal and transfer of bodies, prepare expert medical reports and conduct autopsies.
However, Professor Benyaich warned that assigning autopsies to doctors without specialized academic training could compromise criminal investigations.
“Among the problems they may face are errors in conclusions, observations and interpretation of findings, mistakes that are difficult to correct. As a result, justice can be misled,” he said.
Infrastructure gaps
The report says the challenges go beyond staffing shortages. Lawmakers identified significant deficiencies in forensic infrastructure, including outdated body refrigeration facilities, a lack of laboratories and insufficient scientific equipment needed to investigate suspicious deaths, allegations of torture and cases involving physical assault.
It also points to major regional disparities in the distribution of Morocco’s 108 morgues, limiting equal access to quality forensic services and making the accuracy of medical expertise dependent on the resources available in each province.
Low pay, limited incentives
The report also attributes the lack of interest in the specialty to what it describes as “humiliating” compensation that bears little relation to the legal and scientific responsibilities carried by forensic doctors.
According to the report, doctors receive only 30 dirhams for a clinical examination, while autopsies are compensated at between 100 and 150 dirhams.
Benyaich said the financial incentives bear little relation to the profession’s legal, scientific and ethical responsibilities.
Poor pay, limited career prospects and the absence of an independent professional status for forensic medicine have discouraged physicians from entering the specialty while encouraging others to pursue careers abroad, he said.
Calls for reform
The Ministry of Justice told the parliamentary mission it is preparing a new judicial costs code that would increase compensation for forensic examinations and improve practitioners’ professional conditions.
The report also recommends revising Law No. 77.17 governing forensic medicine, expanding specialist training in Moroccan medical schools, modernizing forensic facilities and strengthening safeguards to ensure the independence of forensic experts while preserving the dignity of the deceased.
