Morocco’s lawyers extend work stoppage until Oct. 7, citing dispute over profession law

The Association of Bar Associations in Morocco has decided to continue its nationwide suspension of professional services until Oct. 7, when it will temporarily suspend the work stoppage, the professional body said Sunday.

The decision followed an extended meeting of the association’s executive bureau and continues a months-long dispute between Morocco’s lawyers and authorities over legislation governing the legal profession.

The association said the decision reflects Moroccan lawyers’ refusal to resume work under what it described as a government that had failed to honor its commitments and undermined the profession’s independence, immunity and self-governance.

The new deadline was chosen two days before the opening of the new legislative session, according to the association, which said the timing would allow newly elected institutions, including the next government, to assume responsibility for addressing what it considers shortcomings in the legislative process surrounding the law governing the profession.

The association said temporarily suspending the work stoppage on Oct. 7 would not amount to abandoning its demands or accepting the disputed provisions of the law.

Instead, it said the move was intended to give the newly constituted constitutional institutions an opportunity to address what it described as shortcomings in the legislative process.

The association also said the temporary suspension would allow lawyers to prepare for further action if necessary, as they continue to defend what they describe as the profession’s constitutional position and role in the justice system.

The latest decision follows months of nationwide suspension of professional services that began in June over Law 66.23 governing the legal profession.

The law entered into force in August after being published in Morocco’s Official Gazette. The lawyers’ association nevertheless decided to maintain the work stoppage, despite divisions within the profession over whether to return to courts and pursue the dispute through institutional channels.

The dispute also followed a Constitutional Court decision in August declaring that it could not rule on a referral concerning the law because of a procedural problem with the documents submitted by the House of Representatives. The lawyers’ association had previously argued that the decision reinforced its concerns about the legislative process.

In its latest statement, the association praised lawyers across Morocco for maintaining the work stoppage for more than four months despite what it described as significant financial and personal costs.

The association said its decision followed an extensive review of developments surrounding Law 66.23 and the broader political context.

The Oct. 7 date coincides with the expected opening of the new legislative session, following Morocco’s Sept. 23 parliamentary elections. The association said the newly constituted institutions would then have an opportunity to assume responsibility for addressing the issues surrounding the profession’s legislation.