Morocco Approves Bill Allowing Fines as Alternative to Short Prison Sentences

The text was adopted with 115 votes, 41 against and 4 abstentions, reports the daily Al Akhbar. According to the Minister of Justice, Abdellatif Ouahbi, it aims to establish a comprehensive legal framework for alternative sentences, based on the fundamental principles of criminal law in terms of sanctions, as well as mechanisms and procedures in accordance with the Code of Criminal Procedure.

This bill aims to provide a response to the problems related to short-term custodial sentences and prison overcrowding, explains the Minister of Justice, specifying that the daily fine will allow people already sentenced to benefit from alternative sentences. The daily fine varies between 100 and 2,000 dirhams and the convicted person could only benefit from it if the victims waive the prosecution and their compensation and the accused proceeds to repair the damage caused.

The adopted text also aims to find solutions for the rehabilitation and integration of convicts for minor crimes, in particular through the sentence of community service whose duration varies between 40 and 1000 hours. Only convicts over the age of 15 can benefit from this sentence. Another sentence created to decongest prisons is the electronic bracelet. In short, the adoption of this text marks an important step in the implementation of judicial reform, mainly in criminal matters.