Morocco: Are the demolitions on the beaches legal?

The demolition operations concern the Party of Justice and Development (PJD), especially the respect of the demolition decisions of the provisions of Urban Planning Law No. 12.90 and Residential Subdivision Law No. 25.90, particularly with regard to demolition operations and the accompanying procedures. Abdellah Bouanou, president of the PJD parliamentary group, sent a written question to the Minister of the Interior on this subject. He stated that the local authorities have proceeded, in recent weeks, to demolish several buildings located on several beaches in the north of the kingdom, on the pretext that they are located on the public maritime domain, while some of these constructions have been erected on the basis of permits issued by elected officials, and this, for a long time, some dating back more than a quarter of a century, as affirmed by the owners of these houses.

Stressing that the demolition operations are carried out without following the legal procedures, such as written notice to the owners and agreement on compensation, and without leaving them enough time to gather their belongings, the elected official questioned Abdelouafi Laftit on the respect of the demolition decisions of the provisions of Urban Planning Law No. 12.90 and Residential Subdivision Law No. 25.90 and the measures taken by his department to rehouse the families concerned and affected by these operations, as well as the measures that will be taken against the officials involved in these infractions.