Parking Boot Crackdown Sparks Outrage Among Moroccan Drivers

Motorists criticize the return of parking boots. In a statement to Hespress, Morad, a young Moroccan, complained about the immobilization of his car in a Casablanca street last week. He recounts being surprised by the immobilization of his car and forced by an agent to pay a fine of 30 dirhams, while he was going to a medical analysis laboratory. "The machine supposed to provide the receipts was not working," he adds, deploring the damage suffered. Abdellah, who left Tetouan for Casablanca, also faced a similar difficulty. His car had been immobilized about 10 minutes after he parked it in a city parking lot. Annoyed, Abdellah called on a bailiff who drew up a report, to pass it on to a lawyer. The latter filed a complaint with the administrative court.

The same practice is observed in Rabat. "The immobilization of cars in the city continues," confirms Farouk Mahdaoui, advisor to the Left Federation group on the Rabat municipal council, "but as a group, we remain committed to the abolition of this practice, because it is illegal, unconstitutional and contrary to international conventions on the freedom of movement of individuals." According to his explanations, the municipality remains committed to the issue, despite previous administrative judgments confirming the illegality of the immobilization of cars by private individuals. And to add: "We reaffirm the return to legitimacy, where the municipality would be the main operator of the parking lots, and where the revenues would go entirely to its profit. In the end, there are several ways to sanction offenders, including fines."

The use of the boot is illegal, as it constitutes a direct immobilization of citizens’ private cars, said Mohamed Almo, a lawyer at the Rabat bar. To support his point, he points out that "even the judgments rendered by certain administrative courts consider it illegal, because the immobilization of citizens’ cars and the obligation to pay fall within the competence of the administrative police, exclusive powers that cannot be delegated even to the deputies of the president of the municipal council." The lawyer says he finds that "we are ultimately faced with a contract between the municipal council and a private company by which the municipality delegates a competence of the administrative police, while the presence of the municipal agent in this process serves only to legitimize the operation, because it is the company that initially placed the boot on the citizens’ cars." However, "the right to circulate is guaranteed by the Constitution," he added.

What fate awaits motorists who have removed the boot and taken it away? "To my knowledge, there are no legal procedures in this regard, and there are no court cases against those who have taken this action. It seems that the companies in charge of managing the parking lots do not file complaints with the administrative courts on this subject," explained lawyer Almo.