The UIHJ is associated with the work of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) of the Council of Europe in the South Programme for Morocco. As such, it has already participated in two previous missions in 2012 and 2013 (see articles on the UIHJ website) which looked into the service of documents in Morocco.
Representatives of the CEPEJ were Jacques Bühler, Swiss delegate at the CEPEJ, President of the SATURN Legal Time Group of the CEPEJ, Joao Arsenio de Oliveira, member of the CEPEJ in respect of Portugal, member of the Quality Working Group of the CEPEJ, Mathieu Chardon, 1st secretary of the UIHJ and Hélène Jorry, PhD, University of Versailles Saint-Quentin- en-Yvelines (France), member of the Research Centre “Versailles Public Institutions”.
On 15 November, a meeting was held at the Court of First Instance (CFI) of Casablanca with judicial officers of Casablanca to discuss their perceptions of progress and challenges in the implementation of the project resulting from the previous missions. These reactions were generally very positive, and witnessed the will of all judicial officers to participate actively in reforms. Models of standardized forms have been developed and are used. It remains to address the issue of access to information on the recipients to give full efficiency to the work of the judicial officer responsible for serving legal documents, including those initiating proceedings.
The roundtable on service of documents was organized on 16 November at the CFI of Sidi Kacem, a jurisdiction dependent of the Court of Appeal of Kenitra. Among other objectives, the roundtable aimed to present the report prepared by the CEPEJ on service of documents, discuss the good practices in selected European countries in terms of service to a person with no known address, informing the participants of the project established within the CFI of Casablanca in collaboration with the judicial officers, the national and local authorities and the Moroccan Post, discuss and determine the differences between the urban environment in Casablanca and the rural context in Sidi Kacem, and finally discuss and determine the contours of a simplified service of documents in this judicial district.
In addition to the representatives of the CEPEJ, around sixty people attended the roundtable. The Council of Europe was represented by Remili Mehdi, Head of its office in Rabat. The Ministry of Justice of Morocco was represented by Najia Rahali, Director of studies and cooperation, and Abderrafi Erouihane, Director of the training of clerk secretaries, Superior Institute of magistrates. Representatives of courts were Jebari Mfeddal, First President of the Court of Appeal of Kenitra, Mohamed El Marzougui, Attorney General of the King at the Court of Appeal of Kenitra, Abdelaziz Isserssif, President of the CFI of Sidi Kacem, Abdellah Boujida, President of the CFI of Casablanca Abdelmati El Kaddouri, President of the Administrative Court of Agadir, Khalid Kadira, Chief clerk of the CFI of Casablanca, and Haji Rashid, Head of Secretariat of the Public Prosecutor of the CFI of Sidi Kacem. The National Order of judicial officers of Morocco was represented by Redouane Benhamou, President, Abdelaziz Fouganni, Vice-President, and Jaoud Aziz, judicial officer of the Court of Appeal of Kenitra. Lawyers and local authorities were also present, as well as Raouh Driss, President of the National Council of Experts of Justice.
After a general presentation of the project by Jacques Bühler, Mathieu Chardon presented an outline of the report on the service of documents in Morocco and best practices in Europe for the service of documents to a recipient with no known address. A very open discussion - one of the characteristics of the judicial reform in Morocco - followed these presentations.
After the debate, responding to the desire expressed by all actors to move forward, Jacques Bühler compiled a summary of proposals and opportunities that will allow the establishment within the CFI of Sidi Kacem, like the one already operating in Casablanca, of an effective system of service of document through judicial officers, as a prelude to the reform of service of documents in Morocco.
The Sidi Kacem Roundtable perfectly fulfilled its objectives. A new stone was added to the South Programme construction in Morocco. The reform of the service of documents with the judicial officer as main actor promises to improve effective access to justice for litigants and, by extension, strengthen the rule of law in Morocco.
