The King of Morocco, Mohammed VI, called on his government to communicate with Moroccans to explain the contents of the amendments to the Family Code (Family Code). This came while he chaired yesterday evening, Monday, at the Royal Palace in Casablanca, a working session devoted to reviewing the Family Code, following the lifting of the body charged with reviewing the Family Code. The family submitted its report to the King after completing its duties. The King also called on the Supreme Scientific Council to continue research and diligence into the “problems” related to family law.
The Royal Court said – in a statement – that the report of the Family Code Review Board included more than 100 proposals for amendments to the Code, adding that the King – in his capacity as Commander of the Faithful – referred the amendments related to religious texts to the consideration of the Supreme Scientific Council, which is the highest religious body in Morocco. Which issued a legal opinion regarding it.
The King of Morocco stressed that this reform initiative for the Family Code aims to “ensure the legal, social and economic protection of the family, and to consider the contents of the review in its integrity, and that it does not support one group over another, but rather concerns the Moroccan family, which constitutes the basic cell of society, which requires care to crystallize all The above, in clear and understandable legal rules, to overcome conflicting judicial readings and cases of conflicting interpretations,” according to the text of the Royal Court statement.
In March 2024, the Supreme Scientific Council submitted its report on the review of the family law to Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch.
The king's call came in light of the continuing debate between parties and non-governmental associations over the contents of this anticipated law, especially regarding inheritance and the marriage of minors.
The King of Morocco called for consideration of the implications of reviewing the Family Code in its integrity, and that it does not support one group over another, but rather concerns the Moroccan family, which constitutes the basic cell of society.
The King called on the Council to “continue thinking and adopting constructive diligence on the issue of the family, by creating an appropriate framework within its structure, to deepen research into the jurisprudential problems (which he did not specify) posed by the developments surrounding the Moroccan family, and the answers they require that keep pace with the requirements of the times,” according to the statement.
Communicate with the people
To clarify the main contents of the review of the Family Code, King Mohammed VI commissioned Prime Minister Akhannouch and members of his government to communicate with public opinion and inform it of the developments of this review, which the government will ensure, within reasonable time, to properly formulate and draft it into a legislative initiative in accordance with the provisions of the Moroccan Constitution. After Akhannouch's government prepares a draft law to amend the Family Code, it will be discussed and voted on in Parliament in its two chambers (the House of Representatives and the House of Advisors).
In September 2023, King Mohammed VI called on the Prime Minister to reconsider the Family Code with the participation of official bodies and civil society activists.
Official and unofficial bodies in the Kingdom are calling for “reconsidering and amending the Family Law” 20 years after its approval, against the backdrop of controversial issues in the country, the most prominent of which are related to “reconsidering inheritance and equality therein,” and “criminalizing the marriage of underage girls.”
The Family Code stipulates equality between spouses, setting the marriage age for each spouse at 18 years (with exceptions approved by the judge), placing the family under the care and responsibility of both spouses, and placing divorce under judicial supervision.
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