In Morocco, losing a lawsuit involving 10,000 dirhams will no longer give you the right to appeal

A new rule will profoundly change the way small disputes are handled in Morocco. As of this Monday, August 24, 2026, judgments concerning claims whose amount is less than or equal to 10,000 dirhams may no longer be challenged before a court of appeal.

Concretely, someone seeking repayment of a debt of 8,000 dirhams, payment of an invoice of 10,000 dirhams, or another sum falling within this threshold will have to recognize the importance of the first hearing. The judgment of the court of first instance will be final.

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The reform is set out in Law No. 58.25 on civil procedure, enacted in February and published in Official Gazette No. 7485. Article 30 sets the new threshold for final jurisdiction of courts of first instance at 10,000 dirhams.

This limitation pursues an objective of speed. Small cases will no longer be able to remain pending for months or years because of an appeal. But it also considerably increases the stakes at first instance: an error of judgment, a forgotten document, or an inadequately prepared defense will be much more difficult to rectify.

Older judgments are not affected

The abolition of the right to appeal is not retroactive. The new provisions concerning legal remedies will not apply to judgments issued before the Code enters into force. A decision handed down before August 24 will therefore retain the remedies provided for under the previous procedure.

For judgments issued from that date onward, the amount of the claim will become decisive. The new Code also introduces a second filter: when the value of the dispute does not exceed 30,000 dirhams, the case may in principle not be brought before the Court of Cassation.

The reform includes other concrete changes. In particular, the parties will have to notify the court of any change of address. Otherwise, a notification sent to the last declared address will be considered valid, even if its recipient no longer lives there. The justice system may also search for a defendant’s address in the database linked to the electronic national identity card.

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The Code also regulates remote hearings and prepares for the electronic transmission of applications and notifications. However, several of these mechanisms will still depend on implementing regulations and the technical resources available in the courts.

A dispute involving a few thousand dirhams will therefore no longer necessarily be a minor matter. Below the threshold of 10,000 dirhams, the first decision may also be the last.