Morocco to Ban Royal Titles in Names, Introduce Tifinagh Script in New Civil Status Law

Novelties in civil status matters. A new draft law No. 36.21 relating to civil status proposes the implementation of a national electronic system and a national civil status register by introducing Tifinagh in the drafting of documents, reports Hespress. With this new text which will probably be adopted and come into force, the registration and updating of the civil status of persons (birth, death, marriage, divorce...) through an integrated central digital system will now be possible.

In this sense, a civil status portal and a national register will be created. The text will pave the way for the electronic exchange of civil status data, the creation of the National Archives Agency and a civil and social digital identifier which is also provided for by the legislation relating to the system of targeting beneficiaries of the social assistance program. After the entry into force of the law, all civil status acts will be transcribed in Arabic, with names and first names in Tifinagh and Latin letters. Civil status officers will be responsible for electronically signing the acts. These acts can be extracted via a digital platform.

Regarding birth certificates, the text stipulates, among other things, that every person must choose a surname, which cannot be different from that of his father or detrimental to morality or public order, of personalities or of an ironic nature. It will also be forbidden for citizens to choose names related to a city, a village, a tribe or which are compound unless a member of the family concerned on the paternal side is registered under a compound name in the civil status. If the chosen surname has a "Sharifi" character, it is notably required to provide a certificate issued by the representative of the "Sharifians".

As for first names, nicknames or titles such as "Moulay" (Your Highness), "Sidi" (Sir) or "Lalla" (Her Excellency) are prohibited. Any Moroccan registered in the civil status has the possibility of requesting to change his name or first name for valid reasons by court decision. The High Committee on Civil Status, provided for by Decree No. 2.99.665, has been assigned the mission of examining the conform