Morocco’s Minister of Justice Abdellatif Ouahbi, the President-Delegate of the Supreme Judicial Council M’hammed Abdenabaoui and the Chief Public Prosecutor Hassan Dakki met today, Friday, to develop an action plan to amend the Family Code, following King Mohammed VI’s directives, issued this week.
In a message sent to Head of Government Aziz Akhannouch, King Mohammed VI urged the Government to undertake a Family Code reform, allowing for a 6 months period, to update and amend the legislation.
Upon the news, social media platforms were swarmed with posts alleging to present the anticipated reforms.
However, subsequent to his meeting today, Minister Ouahbi denied the rumored changes, saying, “The work of the committees that will supervise the amendment has not yet begun.”
In a statement to journalists following the preliminary meeting, Ouahbi said: “We have prepared an overall vision for the what to do next, and we will start hearings and consultations with official bodies starting next week.”
Civil bodies will also be heard in implementation of the King’s directives, according to the Minister of Justice.
The government official said that the committee that will supervise the amendment of the Family Code “is required to do justice to Moroccan women, according to what the King wants for their benefit,” adding: “This requires reconsidering a group of issues that we will discuss after we listen to all parties, for which we hope to do justice to Moroccan women.”
M’hammed Abdenabaoui, President-Delegate of the Supreme Council of the Judicial Authority stated: “The judiciary will be impartial and respectful of the nation’s principles.”
“The matter (amending the Family Code) does not involve a dispute, but rather it is a legal and legitimate construction of the Moroccan family,” he told journalists.
“The various concerned parties will be heard, and the necessary consultations will be conducted intensively and extensively, starting next week, to provide proposals capable of developing a good code that meets the aspirations of the Moroccan family, within the limits ordered by the King.”
For his part, Hassan Dakki, Chief Public Prosecutor, stressed the importance and necessity of amending the Family Code “because of its utmost importance in ordering society within the framework of the law that preserves the family entity,” noting that the amendment comes after identifying the flaws and shortcomings that plague the Code after Twenty years of its application.
Dakki said that the purpose of reconsidering some of the provisions and requirements of the Family Code is “to improve and organize the Moroccan family with all its components.”