The Secretary General of the Council, Mr. Mustapha Libzar, said in this regard that the institutional construction of judicial power established by the 2011 Constitution was achieved by virtue of the Organic Law on the Supreme Council of the Judicial Power and the Statute for Judges. Mr. Secretary-General stressed that the foundation phase, which kicked off with the appointment of Council members on April 06, 2017, was sufficient to identify shortcomings arising from either a legislative void in the regulation of certain fields, the over-complexity of some procedures, or the adoption of different approaches regarding some cases and problematics.

Mr. Secretary General added that after assessing the foundation phase and considering the problems confronting the Council’s work and causing performance delays, as well as following the implementation of the 2021-2026 strategic plan, which seeks to adopt the high royal vision to reform and moralize the judiciary and activate the objectives of the justice reform project, the Council sought to launch, under the coordination with the Ministry of Justice, a legislative review of the two Organic Laws.

In the same respect, Mr. Libzar underlined that these amendments targeted the rehabilitation of the Council’s structures and made the legal situation of the Joint Committee on Coordination in Judicial Administration relevant to the practical reality, in addition to moralizing the elections of representatives of judges in the Council and improving its procedural conditions. The amendments also aimed at increasing the efficiency of the Council’s performance, improving its procedures of work, regulating its contribution to the management of the judicial matter, and providing the Council with the necessary mechanisms to draw up its reports.

Moreover, the amendments also work toward alleviating the weight of the strenuous procedures put on the Council, especially those in relation to the process of selection of judicial officials, disciplinary measures for judges, the activation of the Code of Judicial Deontology, and filling in the legislative gap regarding certain cases of grave error and restitution, added Mr. Libzar.

For his part, Mr. Chakir Fettouh, a judge attached with the General Inspectorate of Judicial Affairs, highlighted the achievements of the Supreme Council of the Judicial Power in 2022, the foremost of which is setting the right and sound foundations for the completion of the institutional construction. He also stressed the Council’s keenness to process the different cases of judges' individual status, which was brought before it in the 2022 January and September sessions, following an approach adopting transparency, equality, and strict adherence to the standards stipulated in its Organic law.

Mr. Fettouh stated that 150 trainee judges of the 44^th class were appointed in various courts in 2022. He also added that the Council handled judges’ promotions and promoted 632 judges, in addition to transferring 442 judges.

Concerning responsibility positions, Mr. Fettouh made reference to the Council’s appointment of 85 judicial officials last year, 09 of whom were appointed as presidents of Courts of Appeals, 17 as Prosecutors General of the King at Courts of Appeals, 26 as presidents of First Instance Courts, and 33 as prosecutors of the King at First Instance Courts.

The Fair’s visitors attended the outreach meeting in large numbers and interacted with the content of the presentations.