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Rabat – In a legal precedent in Morocco, the country’s Court of Cassation ruled this week in favor of the innocence of a married minor who was accused of marital infidelity.
The case goes back to 2019, when police arrested a female minor for marital infidelity in response to a report by her husband.
Morocco’s Public Ministry followed the case before referring it to Essaouira’s Court of First Instance, where the minor in question was prosecuted on charges of marital infidelity along with her partner.
The defendant was acquitted on grounds of her being a minor.
The Public Ministry insisted on prosecuting the defendant, arguing that under article 22 of Morocco’s Family Code, a minor who has been judicially granted the right to marry must be held accountable in the eyes of the law.
Obtaining the permission to marry means the defendant has to pursue all the obligations and responsibilities of marriage, including being held accountable for infidelity, the prosecution argued as it appealed the case in the Court of Cassation.
The latter ruled for the innocence of the defendant, however, citing provisions of the UN’s Convention of the Rights of the Child, which was signed and ratified by Morocco.
According to the details of the case, the judge justified the defendant’s innocence with her being a minor. Citing Article 484 of Morocco’s criminal code, the judge argued that the defendant should in fact be treated as a victim who deserves legal protection.
In his ruling, the judge insisted that it is not possible to apply article 22 of the Family Code as it does not overrule the protections for minors once they are married, which goes with Morocco’s obligations as part of the Convention of the Rights of the Child.
Legal experts said that the precedent puts a stop to legal interpretations all across the country that allowed authorities to prosecute minors accused of infidelity as part of article 22 of the Family Code.
