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Rabat – The Moroccan Minister of Justice Abdellatif Ouahbi has once again come under fire after the Club of Moroccan Judges criticized his “unilateral decisions” regarding its members, as well as accused him of overstepping his ministry’s prerogatives.
In a statement, the club expressed its condemnation of the minister’s decision to assign to some of its members the role of supervising and monitoring the preliminary selection test of the judicial attaches exam.
“By reviewing the documents of the decisions signed by the Minister of Justice, it is clear that they contradict the principles of the organizational law relating to the Supreme Council of the Judiciary (CSPJ),” indicated the statement.
It explained that Ouahbi issued his decision directly to the judges without going through the CSPJ, noting that Article 107 of the Constitution preserves their (judges’) “independence from the executive and legislative powers.”
The statement stressed that “these decisions, made without prior consultation of the concerned (the judges), are in violation of Article 111 of the Constitution which guarantees them freedom of expression.”
Stressing that Moroccan judges cannot, by law, be “coerced” into doing something outside of their original duties, the club condemned the “contradiction” in the Justice Minister’s approach.
Read also: Ouahbi Sparks Controversy with Remarks on Extramarital Relations
“The decree governing the prerogatives of the Ministry of Justice stipulates that the latter execute government policy in this area without undermining the independence of the judiciary,” the statement added.
In addition, the club’s President Abderazzak Jebari blamed Ouahbi for putting the judges before a “fait accompli,” saying it goes against Article 109 of the Constitution which prohibits giving instructions to judges.
“In his judicial function, the judge can not receive any injunction or instruction, nor be subjected to any pressure,” he stressed.
