The National Human Rights Council (CNDH) issued a memorandum setting out over 100 recommendations aimed at amending and supplementing the Code of Criminal Procedure.
On Friday, April 11, the CNDH presented its memorandum on Draft Law No. 03.23, which seeks to revise and complement Law No. 22.01 on criminal procedure. The document is grounded in a coherent and integrated normative framework that draws on the Moroccan Constitution, the international conventions ratified by the Kingdom, relevant international standards, the Méndez Principles, and the recommendations of the MNP, as well as best judicial practices and jurisprudence. Through these proposals, the CNDH aims to strengthen criminal justice guarantees and further consolidate the rule of law.
The memorandum puts forward 79 specific recommendations on provisions of the draft law, alongside 24 general recommendations on structural and strategic issues not covered by the current text but necessary to ensure full compliance with constitutional and international standards. Altogether, the recommendations cover 42 key themes structured around four fundamental principles.
The first principle concerns the consolidation of the rule of law. It emphasizes that both executive and judicial authorities must be bound by the requirements of legality, necessity, and proportionality in any measure that may affect rights and freedoms, while also upholding equality before the law, transparency, accountability, and responsibility in full conformity with the Constitution. In this regard, the Council proposes, among other measures, allowing suspects to be heard without being placed in police custody, guaranteeing the rights of the defense, ensuring the suspect’s immediate notification of the duration and conditions of police custody, and providing the possibility of appeal before an independent judicial authority, thereby reinforcing transparency and judicial oversight.
The second principle focuses on fair trial guarantees, considered a non-derogable foundation of the legitimacy of the entire judicial process. The Council recommends enabling suspects to contact a lawyer from the moment of arrest, reducing the duration of police custody, and introducing audiovisual recording as a procedural safeguard to enhance transparency and protect suspects’ rights.
The third principle relates to equality and balance between the parties to criminal proceedings, which is essential to judicial independence and impartiality. The memorandum calls for ensuring that the defense can exercise its rights on an equal footing with the prosecution, including the presence of a lawyer from the start of police custody and access to the judicial police file once it is referred to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, allowing the defense to prepare effectively and challenge the evidence under equitable conditions. It also recommends facilitating access to justice for civil society organizations by removing administrative constraints, notably by abolishing the requirement of prior authorization from the government authority responsible for justice and replacing it with a notification system, thereby strengthening the independence of associations in exercising their right to litigate.
The fourth principle highlights inclusiveness and the need to consider vulnerable groups, taking into account individuals’ specific social, physical, psychological, or legal circumstances. The Council proposes procedural mechanisms tailored to women, children, persons with disabilities, and migrants. These include adopting a gender-sensitive approach in cases of violence against women, ensuring procedural accommodations for persons with disabilities, addressing children’s situations from the perspective of the best interests of the child, and guaranteeing interpretation services for migrants.
Presenting the memorandum, CNDH Chairperson Ms. Amina Bouayach stressed that its observations and recommendations reflect the Council’s commitment to contributing to a criminal procedure framework aligned with Morocco’s constitutional architecture and protection of rights and freedoms. Criminal procedure, she emphasized, is not merely a technical instrument but an expression of society’s vision of justice, where the exercise of authority is subject to legal safeguards that maintain balance between protecting public security and ensuring the effective protection of rights and freedoms. She highlighted the Council’s aspiration to contribute to a necessary qualitative leap in Morocco’s institutional and regulatory framework, safeguarding and advancing the country’s human rights achievements.
“Every person, regardless of their situation or the nature of their conflict with the law, deserves to have their dignity upheld and expects from all of us the conditions of fairness and justice. A detainee is not merely a number or a file, but a person with a story and the hope of a better tomorrow and reintegration into society. This is an integral part of our vision of effective and true justice.”
