Casablanca Court Reports 97% of Divorces Mutually Agreed or Due to Discord in 2020

Despite the difficult health context, the court ruled in 99.3% of requests for divorce by consent, having recorded 5,394 cases, in addition to the examination of 65% of divorces for a reason of discord having totaled 10,119 cases, said the King’s Prosecutor at the Social Court of First Instance in Casablanca, Ms. Malika Achkoura, in a statement to the press. However, the year 2020 saw a drop in the number of these two types of divorce, compared to 2019, where amicable divorce cases recorded 6,081 cases, while separations for reason of divorce were 12,924.

This regression is explained by several reasons, including the exceptional suspension of hearings due to the lockdown and restrictive measures taken by the authorities to contain the spread of the pandemic, from March 16 to June 11, 2020.

Furthermore, the other types of divorce provided for in Chapters 3 and 4 of the 2nd Book of the Family Code "remain very limited," noted Ms. Achkoura, noting that divorces for prejudice were 50 cases, for lack of maintenance, 2 cases and 101, for absence of the spouse or their imprisonment. In addition, requests for dissolution of the marriage contract are often related to material disputes, interference from family members, difficulties in intimate relationships, domestic violence and many other reasons.

However, it is essential to curb the scourge of divorce, by activating and strengthening the reconciliation procedure and mechanisms, in order to guarantee stability and cohesion within the family and to protect marital relations, Ms. Achkoura argued. Moreover, in addition to Law No. 70.03, which came into force on February 5, 2004, Article 32 of the 2011 Constitution emphasizes that the family is the basic unit of society, and must guarantee the rights of women and children as the core of the Moroccan family, she stressed.