Morocco’s new law regulating the legal profession took effect Thursday after its publication in the Official Gazette, despite an unresolved constitutional challenge and a nationwide lawyers’ strike that began June 15.
Law 66.23 was enacted by Royal Decree 1.26.75, dated Aug. 18, and published in Official Gazette No. 7536 on Aug. 20. Its promulgation completes a lengthy legislative process and makes its provisions legally enforceable.
The law entered force without a ruling on objections raised by lawyers, who maintain that several provisions violate the Constitution and international standards governing the profession’s independence.
The Constitutional Court said in Decision 277/26, issued Aug. 10, that it could not examine the law because the referral submitted by the speaker of the House of Representatives was incomplete.
The file contained a parliamentary committee report and the version approved by the lower house on July 6, but not the final text adopted by the House of Councillors during its second reading on July 7. The omission prevented the court from identifying the definitive version requiring review.
The ruling therefore did not uphold or reject the law’s constitutionality. It ended the review without addressing the disputed provisions, leaving the legislation free to proceed to promulgation.
The Moroccan Bar Associations renewed their refusal to provide professional services following a meeting Tuesday, extending an action that has disrupted legal work since mid-June.
The association also called an extraordinary meeting of its governing council for Sept. 5 to determine its response now that the law has entered force.
The group blamed the House of Representatives leadership for the defective referral, arguing that it prevented substantive constitutional scrutiny.
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