Morocco’s Legal System Under Scrutiny: 79 Lawyers Face Sanctions, Enforcement Questioned

79 disciplinary sanctions ranging from warning to removal from the bar roll, including reprimand and temporary ban from practice, were imposed on lawyers in 2021. These sanctions are related to violations of the laws in force, breaches of professional rules and serious breaches of integrity, reports the daily Assabah.

According to the Arabic-language newspaper, the implementation of these sanctions entrusted to the bar associations has not been respected. The observation is the same every year, because according to the public prosecutor’s report, "between 2012 and 2021, only 151 disciplinary sanctions imposed on lawyers have been applied".

The document points out that "1,506 complaints were filed against lawyers. No less than 91% of these complaints were transferred by the competent public prosecutors’ offices to the bar associations, while the rest were filed with the bar associations" who only initiated "proceedings in 25 cases, or 1% of all complaints".