Ladies and Gentlemen,

The pleasure of receiving you with us today at the Supreme Council of the Judicial Power (CSPJ) is akin to the joy I derive from holding this workshop in collaboration with the Competition Council under the partnership concluded between both Institutions. The purpose of this workshop is to exchange experiences and establish cooperation between authorities and national institutions, in accordance with the Constitution. I am thrilled to participate in this workshop on the application of competition law, and I hope that it will contribute to expanding judges’ knowledge to render them familiar with the applications of this law and improve their understanding of its details and specificities; hence, advancing judicial performance and the fair application of the law. The kingdom’s Constitution has provided for this purpose and CSPJ seeks, through its strategy, to consolidate it using various means, including continuous training, moralization, and judicial governance initiatives. To this end, we aspire through our distinguished partnership with the Competition Council to benefit from its extensive experience and unrivaled capacities to introduce judges to the laws governing this free-market system enshrined in the Kingdom’s Constitution that created the Competition Council in order to safeguard it and monitor anti-competitive practices against it.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

If the rule of law is based mainly on the supremacy of law, then the enforcement of the latter is not achieved by law-making alone, but rather by adopting fair and equitable laws that respect the fundamental rights and liberties of individuals and groups, as stated in ratified international instruments and provided for in the Constitution. It also requires strong authorities and institutions that follow good governance.

In this regard, the principle of free competition adopted by the Kingdom’s Constitution is not confined to providing legislation that enshrines the fundamentals of transparency and free competition needed between different economic actors, but rather extends to institutions with good governance which monitor its application, oversee its implementation, and restrict anti-competitive practices. The principle of free competition also needs a free judiciary and well-versed judges who master economic competition laws and interpret the development of jurisprudence and the way it keeps abreast of economic dynamics and market mechanisms. As such, the Kingdom of Morocco sought to protect the liberal approach based on free initiative and a market economy, by adopting modern laws capable of keeping up with the requirements of economic and commercial development, attracting and protecting investment, and responding to the aspirations of the national and foreign capital in order to promote fair and just competition between companies, that would allow providing consumers with the best services and prices.

Thus, competition law has achieved many milestones that contributed to its progress and development. In the early stages, the principle of free competition was constitutionalized by virtue of Chapter 35 of the Kingdom’s Constitution of 2011. After that, the Competition Council was also Constitutionalized by virtue of Chapter 166 as being a committee for good governance and regulation, entrusted with guaranteeing transparency and equity in economic relations by analyzing and regulating competition status in markets, as well as monitoring anti-competitive practices, unlawful business practices, economic concentration, and monopoly.

Law No. 20.13 on the Competition Council and Law No. 104.12 on Freedom of Prices and Competition were promulgated in 2014. In 2000, Competition was re-organized under Law No. 99.06 to become more unfettered, similar to the European system. This law provided for subsequent supervision of anti-competitive practices and economic concentration. It also entrusted this supervision to the head of the government, who possesses the decision-making power and assigned counseling and guidance to the Competition Council, in addition to the decision-making power granted by Law No. 20.13 on investigation and sanction.

There is no doubt that the particulars and details of these laws shall be discussed and scrutinized by you during these two days. I hope this meeting will provide an opportunity for an exhaustive analysis of application problematics and to exchange views.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The purpose of regulating competition and prohibiting anti-competitive, fettered practices is to guarantee free competition and the interest of economic operators, namely small businesses and micro-entrepreneurs, as well as prevent dominance and monopoly that destroy these businesses and harm citizen’s rights and well-being.

In this respect, if Law No. 104.12, with all its advanced protective provisions, truly embodies this philosophy, then anyone who closely follows consultative opinions, scientific and communicative activities, and the different initiatives carried out by the Competition Council shall realize the importance of the mission undertaken by this constitutional institution in laying the foundation of good governance in the economic field; and also learn about the great hope economic operators, consumers, and public authorities pin on this institution so as to regulate free competition and protect the interests of different parties. In doing so, we shall honor his Majesty’s vision included in the lofty message He sent to the participants of the Euro-Mediterranean Conference on “Competition Law and Policy” held in Casablanca on 07/18/200:

“ We would like to assure you that the Kingdom of Morocco, a country steeped in history and long-standing traditions stemmed from Islam - which best teachings go against all forms of monopoly, fraud, and discrimination, and call for doing good deeds and dealing with others fairly, no matter their ethnic, religious and national affiliations - shall continue its mission with determination and resolve in order to improve its institutional legal framework for its national economy, with a view to guaranteeing the best conditions for its integration in the globalization process with the economic competitiveness requirements it necessitates, as adopted by the international community.

We are determined to consolidate these achievements within the ambitious democratic approach that we opted for in order to enable our country to occupy the prestigious status it deserves amongst democratic nations as a state of law, which occupies a pioneering position in the region, strong with its political, social, and cultural pluralism, striving to establish a free competitive economy based on free initiative, and seeking to be the best in everything, as well as achieving social solidarity and cultural sophistication”. End of quote.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Supreme Council of the Judicial Power believes that one of the necessities of judicial efficiency and the requirements of judicial security is judges’ continuous training in technical laws which assimilation needs openness to different recipients of its texts and consulting the opinions of official bodies that execute its provisions.

Today’s meeting comes as a part of the context which reflects the complementarity will and the exchange of views between CSPJ and the Competition Council. It also presents an opportunity to examine the French and Spanish experiences in this regard. This shall contribute to improving the conditions of the division of competencies and delineating roles between CSPJ and the Competition Council, as per Law No. 104.12 on Freedom of Prices and Competition. Surely, for judges to be able to exercise these competencies, they would need to have a thorough knowledge of the missions of competition committees, the procedures adopted before them, the means of proof they resort to, and the jurisprudence’s conclusion regarding issues relevant to competition. We hope this meeting accomplishes all of this.

In the name of CSPJ, I commend your constructive spirit of cooperation with the Competition Council. We wish for its persistence and consolidation. I am buoyed to extend my gratitude to the President of the Competition Council, Mr. Ahmed Rahhou, to whom we owe recognition for convening this partnership between CSPJ and the Competition Council, and also for looking after the judicial officials who have been meeting with the Competition Council departments for about three months now, in order to learn about the Council’s structure and its competencies. I wish the best of luck to the Council’s members, its high officials, and the whole administration. I would like to reiterate CSPJ’s willingness to establish constructive cooperation, in a way that implements His Majesty’s will, the Constitutional principles, and the provisions of Law, so as to serve the interests of our Country and citizen as well as comply with international conventions and human rights in its universal dimension established under the Constitution’s preamble.

I thank you all for your attendance and best wishes for a successful workshop.

Wassalamu alaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh