Morocco’s Justice Minister Rejects Extension for Customary Marriage Regularization

Abdellatif Ouahbi hopes to resolve this problem as soon as possible, especially since a grace period had already been granted. But barely expired that requests were sent to the Minister of Justice to ask for an additional five-year transitional period, reports the daily Al Akhbar.

By opposing it, the Minister of Justice explains that some are taking advantage of this provision to marry minors, or even to regularize their polygamy. For him, the situation remains a major concern and must be resolved in time to respect the rights of children dragged against their will into this type of marriage.

Questioned in the House of Advisors on this issue, the minister explained that the government has been carrying out many awareness-raising actions among the populations concerned since the last reform of the Family Code, in order to convince them of the need to regularize customary marriage.

The Minister of Justice stressed before the Advisors that the five-year transitional period has already been extended twice and that it is now up to the government and Parliament to take their measures in order to proceed with the regularization of customary marriage without touching the Family Code.