Rabat – The Lawyers’ Club of Morocco has created a crisis unit to support the farmers who the Algerian authorities forced to evacuate their properties in Morocco’s Figuig region.
The lawyers’ club announced to have “opened the channels of communication with the injured parties, in order to gather all the data and all the documents to study the legal means allowing to claim compensation for expropriation.”
Last week locals from the city of Figuig in eastern Morocco received a notice from Algerian authorities to evacuate their farms located in El Arja, near the Algeria-Morocco border. The sudden decision created an uproar in Morocco. Considering that the livelihoods of hundreds of Moroccan families is at stake, Moroccans have called on the government to clarify the situation of the border dispute.
While the locals of El Arja received orders from the Algerian authorities to leave their properties behind, citing Algerian territorial claims, the lawyers association cited a convention the two countries signed in 1972, arguing that the Algerian authorities have no legal basis for the eviction.
According to the local population, Moroccan farmers have worked the land for over 30 years, without any objection from the Algerian authorities.
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Article 827 of the Algerian civil code reads that “he who exercises possession over a thing, movable or immovable… without him being the owner or holder, becomes owner if its possession continues without interruption for 15 years.”
Based on this information, the lawyers’ association believes that if the Algerian authorities refuse to engage in bilateral dialogue on the matter, it is possible to take up legal action with such international organizations as the Centre for African Justice or the International Court of Justice.
On March 16, the governor of Figuig convened a meeting to address the issue at hand. He met with a number of local farmers, the deputy of the Wlad Sliman, and a group of members of Parliament to discuss Algeria’s sudden decision.
Local authorities said they are “committed to studying and finding solution formulas that take into account all the potential solutions on the table,” read the press statement.
