About the Independent Arbitration Commission

The Independent Arbitration Commission was set up on August 16, 1999, to compensate victims and rights holders who endured material and moral damages due to enforced disappearance and arbitrary detention. It was designed to provide compensation to the victims and rights holders and aid in their health and moral rehabilitation. The establishment of this Commission was announced in a specific statement delivered by the official spokesman for the Royal Palace following the proposal of the Advisory Council on Human Rights (CCDH).

The Commission consists of three judges, four CCDH members, a representative of the Ministry of State in the Interior, and a representative of the Ministry of Justice. A judge from the Supreme Council chaired the Commission.

On September 14, 1999, the Independent Arbitration Commission established its Rules of Procedure and set December 31, 1999, as the deadline for receiving compensation requests. The Commission started functioning on November 11, 1999 and submitted its final report on November 30, 2003.

Throughout its actions, the Commission examined the 5,127 files and issued decisions on 3,653 cases to grant the final compensation to 5,300 persons, totaling approximately 954,000,000 Moroccan dirhams.

The Independent Arbitration Commission found solutions to the pending cases that needed thorough examination considering factual, legal and human rights aspects. The Commission decided on those cases based on the available data. In line with the memorandum submitted to His Majesty the King by the CCDH, the Commission addressed cases submitted after the deadline (end of December 1999), which reached 6,500 and were documented as having been submitted outside the defined deadline.