Law N°. 38.21 on the General Inspectorate of Judicial Affairs.

Chapter One

General Provisions

Article 1

In accordance with the provision of the first paragraph of Article 53 of the organic law N° 100.13 on the Supreme Council of the Judicial Power, the present law sets forth the composition, competencies, and organizational rules of the General Inspectorate of Judicial Affairs, as well as the rights and duties of its members.

Article 2

In this law, reference is made to:

• “the Supreme Council of the Judicial Power” as “the Council”;
• “the President Delegate of the Supreme Council of the Judicial Power” as “President Delegate”;
• “the Prosecutor General of the king at the Court of Cassation, President of the Public Prosecution” as “President of the Public Prosecution”;
• “the General Inspectorate of Judicial Affairs at the Supreme Council of the Judicial Power” as “General Inspectorate”;
• “the Inspector General of the General Inspectorate at the Supreme Council of the Judicial Affairs” as “Inspector General”.

In the present law, the following terms mean:

• “Courts” all jurisdictions in the judiciary’s organization;
• “Judges” all bench and prosecution judges subject to the organic law N°13 on the Statute for Judges;
• “Second Degree Courts” Courts of Appeal;
• “First Degree Courts” First Instance Courts, Commercial Courts, and Administrative Courts.

Article 3

The General Inspectorate is part of the Council’s administrative structure and shall discharge its functions under the supervision of the Council.

Chapter Two

Composition of the General Inspectorate

Article 4

The General Inspectorate is composed of:

• Inspector General;
• Deputy Inspector General;
• Inspectors;
• Assistant Inspectors;

The Council shall provide the General Inspectorate with the human and financial resources, training programs, and technical means to carry out its duties.

Article 5

In accordance with the provisions of the second paragraph of Article 53 of the organic law N°100.13 on the Supreme Council of the Judicial Power, the Inspector General shall be appointed by Dahir (royal decree) from among three judges of “Exceptional Rank”, upon a proposal from the President Delegate, after consultation with the members of the Council for a period of five (5) years, renewable once. This appointment may be terminated before the expiration of this period.

Article 6

The Council shall, upon a proposal from the Inspector General, appoint a Deputy Inspector General from among experienced judges ranked in “Exceptional Rank”.

In addition to the inspection tasks assigned to him, the Deputy Inspector General shall assist the Inspector General in the management of the General Inspectorate’s affairs, and replace him in the event of his absence or inability to perform his duties.

Article 7

The Council shall, upon a proposal from the Inspector General, appoint inspectors from among experienced judges ranked at least in the “First Rank”.

Article 8

The Council shall, upon a proposal from the Inspector General, appoint assistant inspectors from among the judges ranked in the “2^nd or 3^rd Rank”

The assistant inspectors shall prepare the reports assigned to them by the Inspector General, and assist the inspectors in performing the tasks assigned to them.

Assistant inspectors shall be prohibited from conducting research and investigations; however, they may assist inspectors in carrying out inspection tasks.

Article 9

When appointing the deputy Inspector General, inspectors and assistant inspectors, the following criteria shall be fulfilled: competence, impartiality, expertise and the necessary qualifications.

Chapter three

Competencies of the General Inspectorate

Article 10

The General Inspectorate shall be assigned the following functions:

• Centralized judicial inspection of the Kingdom’s courts, including the presidency and the Public Prosecution;
• Coordinate, oversee and supervise the decentralized judicial inspection;
• Examine and process grievances forwarded by the President Delegate;
• Conduct, at the behest of the President Delegate, research and investigations regarding the disciplinary matter;
• Trak judges’ wealth by delegation from the President Delegate;
• Estimate the wealth of judges, their wives and children, by assignment from the President Delegate;
• Contribute to the preparation of studies and reports on the status of the judiciary and the justice system;
• Implement international cooperation programs established by the Council regarding judicial inspection.

Part One

Centralized judicial inspection of Courts

Article 11

The centralized judicial inspection of courts aims to:

• Track and evaluate the judicial performance of courts based on indicators as to efficacy, efficiency and quality;
• Assess the extent of the implementation of work programs related to the improvement of judicial administration;
• Detect obstacles and difficulties hindering the improvement of the judicial efficiency, and propose solutions and means to redress the observed imbalance.

Article 12

The Inspector General, in coordination with the President Delegate and the President of the Public Prosecution, within the scope of their respective competences, shall, before the end of each year, draw up a schedule determining first and second-degree courts that shall undergo inspection in the following year.

The Inspector General shall notify the Council of this schedule and shall forward it to the judicial officials of the relevant courts.

The General Inspectorate may, at the behest of the President Delegate or the President of the Public Prosecution, within the scope of their respective competences, and after notifying the Council, carry out an emergency inspection outside the aforementioned schedule where necessary.

Article 13

The centralized judicial inspection of courts shall be conducted by an inspection delegation appointed by the Inspector General and comprises at least two (2) inspectors.

The delegation shall receive the testimony of the judicial officials at the courts undergoing inspection, and any person whose testimony may be considered necessary.

The judicial officials at the said courts shall provide the inspection delegation with all the required statistics, documents, and information.

Article 14

The inspection delegation shall prepare a draft report encompassing what it has done in implementation of the tasks it was assigned and the observations about it.

Once prepared, the draft report shall be forwarded to the judicial officials at the courts under inspection, each within his remit, for assessment and for lodging their remarks supplemented with the necessary documents, if applicable, within the maximum period of thirty (30) days starting from the date of its receipt; otherwise, it will be submitted to the Inspector General as is.

The inspection delegation shall examine the replies submitted and take the useful ones into consideration when drafting the report on the court, provided that the remarks are attached as they were submitted in the report.

The inspection delegation shall include in its report the recommendations that seek to address the observed impediments, after coordination with the President Delegate and the President of the Public Prosecution, within the scope of their respective competences.

Article 15

The Inspector General shall submit the comprehensive report prepared by the inspection delegation in its final draft, supplemented with his recommendations, to the President Delegate who shall present it to the Council.

The Inspector General forwards the part relating to the Public Prosecution to the President of the Public Prosecution.

The Inspector General also forwards a copy of the report to the judicial officials at the relevant court, each within his purview.

Article 16

The General Inspectorate, when assigned by the President Delegate or the President of the Public Prosecution, shall follow the outcome of the recommendations included in the reports conducted on the occasion of courts inspection, and shall submit a report to the President Delegate in order to present it to the Council. It shall also submit the part concerning the Public Prosecution to the President of the Public Prosecution.

Article 17

Upon the approval of the President Delegate, the inspection delegation may, whenever it encounters a breach imputable to a sitting judge or a prosecution judge, on the occasion of exercising its inspection duties, conduct the necessary research and investigations in situ, as well as notify the Council and the President of the Public Prosecution if the matter involves Public Prosecution judges.

Part two

Decentralized Judicial Inspection of Courts

Article 18

The decentralized judicial inspection of courts in parallel to the centralized judicial inspection conducted by the General Inspectorate, contribute to:

• Assess the extent of the implementation of the programs outlined in the minutes of the general assemblies within its jurisdictions;
• Detect breaches and obstacles that imped the improvement of judicial efficiency;
• Improve judicial performance and increase its quality;
• Unify the judicial work within jurisdictions;
• Assess the extent of the implementation of the recommendations cited in the reports of the General Inspectorate.

Article 19

The first Presidents of second-degree courts and the General Prosecutors of the King, each within his purview, shall carry out, at least once a year, an inspection of the courts under their jurisdiction.

The first Presidents of second-degree courts and the General Prosecutors of the King shall refer the project of the decentralized judicial inspection program to the Inspector General, who shall prepare the final program in coordination with the President Delegate and the President of the Public Prosecution, each within his remit.

The Council shall be notified of the final program.

The Inspector General may, at the behest of the President Delegate or the President of the Public Prosecution, within their respective purview, request the first Presidents of second-degree courts and the General Prosecutors of the King to conduct, when necessary, an emergency inspection outside the aforesaid program.

The judicial officials mentioned in the above paragraph may seek the assistance of judges who work at the second-degree courts, which they supervise, to assist them in carrying out the inspection tasks.

Article 20

The first presidents of second-degree courts and the General Prosecutors of the King, each within the limits of his competence, shall prepare a draft report containing the tasks accomplished and their observations.

Once prepared, the report shall be submitted to the officials of the first-degree courts, target of the inspection, both in the presidency and the prosecution, each within the limits of his competence, in order to review it and give their replies supported with the required documents, should it be necessary, within the maximum period of thirty (30) days starting from the date of its receipt; otherwise, the report shall be submitted to the Inspector General as is.

The replies made must be examined and taken into consideration when drafting the final report, provided they are included as presented in the report.

The report shall also include the appropriate recommendations to address the observed impediments after coordination with the President Delegate and the President of the Public Prosecution, each within the limits of his competence.

The first Presidents of second-degree courts and the General Prosecutors of the shall refer the final report to the judicial officials at the concerned courts, each within the limits of his purview.

The first Presidents of second-degree courts and the General Prosecutors of the King shall submit the final report to the Inspector General who also submits it, along with his findings, to the President Delegate of the Council in order to present it to the Council members.

The Inspector General shall refer the final report of the decentralized inspection related to the Public Prosecution to the President of the Public Prosecution.

Part Three

Research and Investigations

Article 21

The General Inspectorate, upon the request of the President Delegate, shall carry out research and investigations into any breach attributed to a judge that may be the subject of a disciplinary proceeding.

The President Delegate shall notify the President of the Public Prosecution should the inspection involve one of the judges of the Public Prosecution.

Article 22

In application of the provisions of articles 104 and 105 of the Organic Law N° 100.13 on the Supreme Council of the Judicial Power, the General Inspectorate shall undertake, when assigned by the Council, research and investigations regarding the reports it receives from any judge who deems his/her independence endangered.

The president Delegate may, however, when necessary, assign the Inspector General to carry out research and investigations, provided the Council is informed during its first held meeting.

Article 23

In application of the provisions of the first paragraph of Article 107 of the Organic Law N° 100.13 on the Supreme Council of the Judicial Power, the General Inspectorate shall, when assigned by the President Delegate, keep track of judges’ wealth.

It shall also, when assigned by the President Delegate and after the approval of the Council, estimate the wealth of judges, their wives and children.

In this regard, the General Inspectorate may review the judges’ declaration of their holdings.

Article 24

Research and investigations shall be carried out by at least two inspectors, assigned by the General Inspector, ranked higher than or equal to the judge subject to the inspection.

Article 25

Inspectors have a general authority to conduct research and investigations, and they are entrusted to:

• Examine the file of the judge subject to the inspection and the reports made by the judicial officials regarding the judge’s conduct and professional performance, as well as all the documents they deem useful in their investigation, and can also take copies of them;
• Hold a hearing for the judge under investigation, and confirm the information through all available means;
• Take any actions, or assign any party to do the necessary to facilitate their work;
• Recourse to the assistance of experts when necessary;
• Seek information from public administrations or other public law entities and companies subject to private law, particularly financial institutions, assimilated institutions and telecommunication network; upon a request submitted by the General Inspector to the officials of the said administrations and institutions.

Article 26

Public administrations, public law entities and other legal entities subject to the private law, cannot invoke professional secrecy against inspectors during the completion of their tasks.

Article 27

Inspectors present to the Inspector General the investigative reports issued as to the research and investigations they conducted.

The Inspector General shall submit the completed reports to the President Delegate, supplemented with his opinion, in order to be presented to the Council.

Chapter Four

Organizational Rules of the General Inspectorate

Article 28

The Inspector General shall supervise the General Inspectorate’s work as well as manage its affairs and ensure its proper functioning.

The General Inspectorate’s administrative structure shall be defined by the Council’s internal regulations.

Article 29

Inspectors shall not be assigned the inspection of a court where they had served in, until three years after the date of the end of their duties at the said court.

Article 30

When necessary, the General Inspectorate of Judicial Affairs and the General Inspectorate of the Ministry of Justice may conduct a joint inspection, each within the limit of its respective area of competence.

Each party shall prepare a report on the mission, each within the limit of its respective area of competence.

Article 31

The General Inspectorate may, if need be, resort to the use of modern technologies to carry out inspection duties, especially as concerns the acquisition of documents and the reception of information or statements remotely. The followed procedures shall be mentioned in the final investigative report.

Article 32

The Inspectorate shall compile, at the end of each year, a report encompassing the results of its annual activities, which it submits to the Council.

Chapter Five

Rights and Duties

Article 33

The Inspector General, his deputy and inspectors shall receive compensation for the tasks they are entrusted with, to be determined by a joint decision by the President Delegate and the governmental authority in charge of finance.

Article 34

The General Inspector, his deputy, inspectors, assistance inspectors, and employees commit not to disclosure information and the content of documents they consult on the occasion of the performance of their duties. This commitment shall remain in force even after the end of their employment at the Inspectorate; otherwise, they will be held accountable.

The disclosure of information and the content of the above-mentioned documents to irrelevant agencies is considered a violation of the professional secrecy.

Chapter Six

Final Dispositions

Article 35

The present law repeals, starting from the date of its entry into force, articles 13 and 14 of the Dahir N° 1.74.338 dated 24 Jumada II 1394 (15 July 1974) on the organization of the kingdoms’ judiciary, as modifies and completed.

Article 36

The provisions of the present Law shall enter into force two months subsequent to its publication in the official gazette.

*Unofficial translation