Nov 21, 2013
The ICJ today called on the Moroccan authorities to ensure comprehensive and meaningful reform of the judiciary.
The statement comes as the ICJ concluded a high-level mission to Morocco and launched its report Reforming the Judiciary in Morocco, on 21 November 2013.
The ICJ said that reforms should aim at putting an end to any form of undue influence or control by the executive over judicial matters. It called for the reinforcement of the authority of the newly established Conseil Supérieur du Pouvoir Judiciaire (CSPJ) over all aspects of the careers of both judges and prosecutors.
The ICJ stressed that the Office of the Public Prosecutor (OPP) should be kept independent of the judiciary and that it must carry out its activities objectively, impartially and in defence of human rights.
The organization also urged that the jurisdiction of military courts be restricted to military personnel for breaches of military discipline, and that by no means should military courts be used to try crimes consisting of human rights violations.
“The ICJ welcomes efforts by the Moroccan authorities to expand the competencies of the CSPJ over matters relating to the career of judges, including their nomination, promotion and disciplinary proceedings,” said Justice Kalthoum Kennou, ICJ Commissioner and judge at the Tunisian Cassation Court. “However, in elaborating the new laws relating to the judiciary, the Moroccan authorities must ensure that the legislation does not undermine, but instead reinforces, the independence of the judiciary in a manner that makes it an effective authority for the fair administration of justice.”
The ICJ emphasized that the new laws should provide clear and objective criteria for the members of the CSPJ who are either elected or appointed by the King and should ensure that the CSPJ has financial and administrative autonomy and plays a meaningful role in budgeting for the judiciary.
The organization also called for the elaboration and adoption of a comprehensive code of judicial ethics, in line with international standards, to serve as basis to ensure judicial accountability in Morocco.
The ICJ said that it considered that the reform of the judicial system in Morocco must include the reform of the OPP.
The Minister of Justice should have no authority over the OPP, including the careers of individual prosecutors. Since prosecutors are part of the judicial corps, guarantees of security of tenure should be extended to prosecutors.
The nature and scope of any power by hierarchical superiors to issue written instructions to prosecutors should be defined in law. Political authorities should be precluded from issuing instructions pertaining to individual cases, such as those aimed at preventing an investigation from proceeding to court.
The ICJ also indicated that meaningful reform of the judiciary must include the military justice system.
“The Moroccan authorities must ensure that civilians are not tried before military courts and that the jurisdiction of these courts is limited to trials of members of the military in cases involving alleged breaches of military discipline,” said Said Benarbia, Senior Legal Adviser for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Programme of the ICJ. “Where military courts are used, they must respect all aspects of the right to a fair trial, including the requirement of adequate time and facilities for the preparation of defence, access to materials that the prosecution intends to rely on in court, and the right of appeal of the conviction and sentence by the military court to a higher civilian tribunal.”
Contact:
Said Benarbia, ICJ Senior Legal Adviser of the Middle East and North Africa Programme, tel: 41 22 979 38 17, e-mail: said.benarbia@icj.org
Additional information:
During its mission, the delegation met with: Mr. Mustapha Ramid, Minister of Justice; Mr. Driss Dahak, Secretary General of the Government; Mr. Karim Ghellab, President of the House of Deputies; Mr. Mohamed Cheikh Biadillah, President of the House of Counsellors; Mr. Mustapha Farès, President of the Cassation Court; Mr. Abdelhalim Wahbi, President of the Commission on Justice, Legislation and Human Rights of the House of Deputies. The ICJ also met with representatives of the judiciary, the legal profession and civil society.
The delegation was composed of Kalthoum Kennou, ICJ Commissioner and judge at the Cassation Court in Tunisia, Said Benarbia, Senior Legal Adviser for the MENA Programme of the ICJ and Laura Torre, Programme Officer for the MENA Programme.
Morocco-Reforming the Judiciary-publications-reports-2013 (full text in pdf)
Nov 21, 2013 | Articles, Nouvelles, Publications
Ce nouveau rapport de la CIJ sur accès à la justice pour les droits économiques, sociaux et culturels au Maroc a été présenté à l’issue d’une mission de quatre jours dans le pays. Il a largement bénéficié des informations et discussions collectées et menées au cours d’un processus entamé en 2012.
Le rapport souligne que les provisions de la Constitution de 2011 devraient contribuer à garantir les droits économiques, sociaux et culturels.
Mais il identifie aussi un certain nombre de lacunes qui privent de nombreux(ses) Marocain(e)s d’accès à la justice en cas de violation de ces droits.
Un atelier organisé en collaboration avec l’Organisation marocaine des droits humains en septembre 2012 et une mission de recherche organisée conjointement par les programmes DESC et MENA de la CIJ en avril 2013 ont été l’occasion de consulter des acteurs pertinents, qu’ils soient utilisateurs ou au service de la justice.
Morocco-Access to Justice ESCR-publications-report-2013-Fr (full text in French, pdf)
Nov 21, 2013
The new ICJ study on access to justice for economic, social and cultural rights in Morocco was presented during a 4-day mission in this country.
The study welcomes the provisions of the 2011 Constitution that should contribute to better guarantee and protect economic, social and cultural rights (ESCR).
It also welcomes a number of recent social policies initiated to improve access to important social services and goods, especially to the benefit of disadvantaged and marginalized sectors of the Moroccan society.
But the report also identifies and describes significant gaps and issues in the normative, institutional and remedial frameworks that deprive many Moroccans from accessing justice in cases of violations of ESCR, and from enjoying their right to an effective remedy when facing such violations.
The ICJ is especially concerned at the prevalence of legal provisions that discriminate against women in areas that are fundamental to ESCR, such as inheritance, or family law.
The inaccessibility of judicial remedies for victims of violations of ESCR for procedural reasons, and the weakness of sanctions in certain cases of abuses of ESCR (for ex. in labour matters) is another area of concern.
In the coming months, the ICJ will continue to promote and discuss the findings of the study, which is the result of over a year of research and consultations on the advances and obstacles in the access to justice for alleged victims of ESCR in Morocco – a country that has initiated deep legal reforms.
Beside civil society actors, the new publication was handed over to several public authorities, including the Minister of Justice, the President of the Cour de Cassation, the Ombudsman, the President of the Human Rights Commission of the Parliament and the Secretary General of the Government.
Morocco-Access to Justice ESCR-publications-report-2013-ara (full text in Arabic, pdf)
Oct 4, 2013 | News, Publications, Reports, Trial observation reports
In a report published today, the ICJ details a catalogue of violations of fair trial rights and other serious human rights violations committed against those detained in the context of the UAE 94 trial.
The report, Mass convictions following an unfair trial: The UAE 94 case, comes amidst a crackdown on individuals calling for peaceful political reform, who continue to be arrested, detained, prosecuted and convicted for the lawful exercise of their rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly.
The UAE authorities must end this crackdown and ensure the immediate and unconditional release of those convicted in the UAE 94 trial, the ICJ says.
“The UAE 94 trial has been marred with a litany of violations of fair trial rights. The convictions of 69 individuals following this trial must be quashed and those imprisoned must be immediately and unconditionally released”, said Said Benarbia, senior legal adviser of the ICJ Middle East and North Africa Programme.
Those convicted on 2 July 2013 were found guilty of “establishing, founding and administering an organization, with the aim of challenging the basic principles upon which the government of the State is based, taking control of the government and establishing a secret structure for the organization”.
Fifty-six of them were sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment, five of them to seven years’ imprisonment and eight others, who were tried in absentia, to fifteen years’ imprisonment. The remaining 25 accused were acquitted.
The ICJ notes that, since 31 July 2013, many of the prisoners convicted in the UAE 94 case have begun a hunger strike to protest against the conditions of their detention.
They have reportedly been subjected to various forms of ill-treatment, including beatings by prison guards and light depravation.
The authorities have failed to investigate the many human rights abuses alleged to have been committed against those detained in the context of the UAE 94 case, the ICJ says.
Instead, the UAE authorities have continued their crackdown on political activists and government critics, including those that have publicly spoken out in support of the UAE 94 or against the conditions of detention of those imprisoned.
“Rather than live up to the commitment made by the UAE to the Human Rights Council to “place human rights at the top of its priorities”, the UAE authorities have embarked on a sustained campaign to suppress any form of peaceful dissent and all calls for political reform,” Benarbia added. “They must comply with their obligations under international law and bring an end to this cycle of arbitrary arrest, detention, prosecution and unfair trials against of all those that dare to speak out.”
Key findings of the report:
- Most of the detainees were not informed of the reasons for their arrest and promptly notified of the charges against them.
- They were denied their right to prompt access to a lawyer, including during interrogation and were not brought before a judge or a judicial authority within 48 hours of their arrest.
- Most of the detainees were held in incommunicado detention and in secret and unofficial detention centres.
- They were also held in prolonged solitary confinement, which in some cases lasted more than 236 days.
- Most of the detainees were reportedly subjected to torture or other ill treatment by the authorities, including severe beatings, pulling out detainees’ hair, sleep deprivation, exposure to extreme light during the day and night, death threats and other threats and verbal abuse, as well as prolonged incommunicado detention and solitary confinement.
- The Court failed to investigate or order the investigation of such allegations.
- To the contrary, statements and “confessions” alleged to have been obtained as a result of torture or other ill-treatment were admitted as evidence by the court.
Contact :
Said Benarbia, ICJ Senior Legal Adviser of the Middle East and North Africa Programme, tel: 41 22 979 38 17, e-mail: said.benarbia(a)icj.org
UAE-Violations at UAE 94 Trial-Publications-Reports-2013 (full text in pdf)
Sep 17, 2013
The ICJ today addressed the Human Rights Council on the grave situation for human rights and the rule of law in Egypt.
In a General Debate under Item 4 of the agenda of the Human Rights Council (human rights situations requiring the Council’s attention), the ICJ called on the Council to urge Egyptian authorities to:
- Immediately and unconditionally agree to receive a mission by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and an ongoing presence in the country of an office of the OHCHR;
- Ensure a quick transition of power to a lawfully constituted civilian authority;
- Ensure prompt, independent and effective investigations into all alleged human rights violations, including the unlawful killing of protesters;
- Respect the right of detainees to a lawyer and to challenge the lawfulness of their detention; and
- Ensure that family members and legal counsel are notified of the detention of an individual, the place of detention, and the fate and whereabouts of hundreds of individuals reportedly missing.
The General Debate took place during the 24th regular session of the Council (9 to 27 September 2013).
Egypt-HRC24-Item4-OralStatement-LegalSubmission-2013 (download full statement in PDF)
