Moroccan courts across the country have become the venue of strong protests to angered lawyers this Monday, following the implementation of the government’s decision to mandate vaccine passes to access the establishments.
As a result, a large part of courts in Morocco across all instances are at a standstill, as lawyers gather to call out the government’s “undignifying” mandate.
A joint notice from the Ministry of Justice, the Presidency of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, and the Superior Council of the Judiciary last week, announced the introduction of the mandate, to the outrage of many sector professionals.
In Casablanca, Sale, Tangier, Kenitra, Marrakech, Agadir, and Meknes, most hearings could not be held this morning and were subsequently postponed.
With the backing of bar associations, lawyers such as Oumaima Machmachi refused to present their vaccine passes upon entering the courts.
Despite being vaccinated, Machmachi maintains that the decision is “a violation of the rights and dignities of the lawyers,” telling Hespress EN that “no law or regulation should restrict lawyers from practicing their job within the courts.”
A lawyer with the Rabat bar who chose to remain anonymous, also expressed his disappointment with the mandate, telling Hespress EN that there is “a real contradiction between the government insisting on the “optional” character of vaccination, and the requirement of vaccine passes to access the establishments.”
Morocco’s Minister of Justice, Abdellatif Ouahbi, stated this Tuesday, December 14, in Parliament, that the obligation of the vaccine pass in courts was a simple implementation of the law.
Highlighting the Ministry’s role as the main example of the implementation of enforced legislation, Ouahbi said that “the vaccine pass is provided for by the law on the state of a health emergency, which has been discussed in Parliament and which confers powers on the government to enforce it if necessary.”
Ouahbi doubled down on his position, adding that those who deny the existence of such a law should do their research.
The Moroccan Bar Association has planned to meet this Monday. Their decision following today’s protests will dictate how long the halt will last, as lawyers told Hespress EN that they “will keep protesting, whether it takes days, weeks or months,” until the mandate is retracted.
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