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Rabat — Morocco’s Supreme Council of the Judiciary organized a national conference on Saturday in Laayoune, examining the judiciary’s role in embodying national unity, coinciding with the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Green March.
The conference aimed to commemorate the Green March and review key historical milestones in Morocco’s history through historical and legal documents. Speakers pointed out the national cohesion over the past five decades under King Mohammed VI, which culminated in UN Security Council Resolution 2797 recognizing the legitimacy of Morocco’s 2007 Autonomy Plan for the Sahara.
Judiciary as national sovereignty
Participants stressed that defending the country’s foundations and unity extends beyond political and diplomatic arenas. It requires establishing rule-of-law institutions and consolidating justice as a constitutional and human value that upholds the law, protects citizens’ dignity, and strengthens society’s trust in its institutions.
Speakers stressed that the judiciary represents one of Morocco’s most prominent manifestations of national sovereignty. Throughout history, the judiciary has operated in the southern provinces, linked to practices across the country. Alawite sultans appointed judges in the Moroccan Sahara just as they did in other regions—a fact the International Court of Justice confirmed in its 1975 advisory opinion, which recognized legal and spiritual ties between the Moroccan throne and Sahara inhabitants through the allegiance system.
Historical context
The conference examined Morocco’s situation during the 19th century, including European colonial ambitions, the 1884 Berlin Conference that divided Africa, and the North African country’s path to independence.
Participants also reviewed the ICJ’s October 16, 1975, opinion, which determined that the Sahara was not empty land and confirmed allegiance ties between the population and Moroccan sultans.
Speakers analyzed sovereignty concepts, the historical development of allegiance as a legitimate bond, and its manifestation in judicial rulings. They demonstrated that Saharan judges’ allegiance ties — as part of the Saharan tribal fabric — and their appointment by Moroccan sultans provided firm evidence of Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara.
These judges reinforced the allegiance concept through their rulings and correspondence with sultans.
Modern reforms
Participants noted that Morocco’s transitional justice experience and its constitutional, legislative, and institutional recommendations, along with enhanced regionalization, have clearly influenced the country’s approach to resolving the Sahara issue.
The Autonomy Plan, founded on principles of individual and collective freedoms, development, citizen participation, and UN Charter principles, represents Morocco’s unconditional engagement with the international community toward a realistic and sustainable political solution.
The conference featured presentations from prominent national figures who examined legal and rights-based dimensions of this historic anniversary, including the legal aspects of allegiance and sovereignty in the 1975 ICJ decision, the judiciary in Saharan regions as a manifestation of Moroccan sovereignty, and historical foundations of the country’s territorial integrity.
The conference included an exhibition displaying copies of historical judicial documents from the Supreme Council of the Judiciary’s judicial memory museum.
MWN with MAP
