Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
GBU 3302
Legal Environment
Case #3
The check, New Commercial Code, and Commercial Courts in Morocco
Zineb Kamri
Laila Magroud
Sanae Outifa
Ghita Laghrari Idrissi
Spring 2008
1
Table of Contents
Introduction
I. The Check
1. Overview
2. The first book: The Merchant
3. The Second Book: The Goodwill (Fond de Commerce)
4. The Third Book: The Commercial papers (Les Effets de Commerce)
5. The Fourth Book: The Commercial Contracts
The Check:
issued by an account holder to his or her banker to pay a specified sum of money to the bearer
or named recipient. It is not a legal proposal but it is a legal document. It was first used in the
late seventeenth century; however, its usage did not start to expand until after the mid 1960s.
This was mainly due to the marked increase in the number of bank account holders and
checks1.
Although checks were first used in the late seventeenth century, they did not come into
general use until the second quarter of the nineteenth century. However, their usage did not
start to significantly increase until after the mid 1960s when there was a marked increase in
the number of bank account holders and check guarantee cards were introduced. The check
guarantee card provides a guarantee to the retailer that the check he is accepting in payment
for goods will not be dishonoured through lack of funds provided he, the retailer, has fulfilled
his responsibilities laid down in the guarantee scheme It is a requirement that banks and
building societies provide personal customers with details of "how the clearing cycle works,
including when you can withdraw money after paying cash or a check into your account, and
when you will start to earn interest". The date when funds can be withdrawn is often referred
to as the "cleared" date, and the day from which funds begin to earn interest the "value" date
(this may be one or more business days prior to the "cleared" date).
The main types of checks are: Ordinary checks, crossed checks (chque barr),
Certified checks (chque certifi), Chque vis (check insuring the availability of the funds),
1
http://www.apacs.org.uk/about_apacs/htm_files/chequecred.htm
3
crimes, and it is increasing year after year. Cheques are the most used form of payments,
which is why fraud is increasing yearly. There are three main types of cheque fraud:
Altered: an item that has been properly issued by the account holder but has been
intercepted and the payee and/or the amount of the item have been altered. 2
unsecured promissory note.(Baxter, 1969)3 The date to repay the money back is usually
specified and fixed. Commercial papers are generally issued by major firms. Since these firms
have a good credit rating, their notes are immediately accepted without a need for collateral
backing. It is considered an important source of cash for the issuing firm; it supplements
bank loans and is usually payable at a lower rate of interest than the prime
discount rate.(Baxter, 1969)4 Commercial papers include promissory notes, drafts, bills of
exchange and checks, acceptances, bills of lading, warehouse receipts, orders for delivery of
points. Actually, the first chapter of the new commercial code deals with the activities of the
merchants including all the rights and duties implied with his function. In fact, this new code
has put much more emphasis on the commercial registry, the way it is organized and
regulated. The second chapter analyses the goodwill and all the matters related to it including
conflicts. Indeed, it cites its elements and all the operations that could concern any goodwill
including buying and selling and contractual agreements. The third chapter is about
2
http://www.cibc.com/ca/commercial/business-insights/avoid-cheque-fraud.html
3
http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/c1/commerc-p.asp
4
http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/c1/commerc-p.asp
4
commercial effects; that is all the consequences resulted from selling and buying operations
and the regulations underlying them. The next chapter treats commercial contracts and all the
actions related to them. In other words this chapter deals with banking contracts and
commission contracts. The fifth chapter concerns difficulties that firms face and provided
In more details, it can be said that there are two forms of rules form the Moroccan
commercial code. The first one defines the merchants status and the conditions to access and
perform his/her profession. The second one regulates the activities that are not exclusively
1. President,
2. Vice President
3. Judges.
Created in 1919, this code regulates the maritime navigation, dictates the rules related
to the ship or boat and finally, controls the shipment and insurance contracts.
This type within the commercial law was written in 1913. It is separated in two main
pieces. The first one regulates commerce in general and the second one regulates bankruptcy
As a result of the French colonial influence, Morocco separated a new commercial law
from the Sharia. This separation resulted in two separate bodies of law, modern law and
Islamic law. The modern law is based on the French civil law codes and practices. Actually,
some French codes written in the early 1900s are still applied, and other laws have been
inspired by French codes of other nations, such as the Commercial Code, and the Code of
Obligations.
In Morocco, all laws and legislation must be promulgated by Dahir (royal pronouncement)
and published, usually in the Official Bulletin in both French and Arabic. The hierarchy of
Moroccan legislation is somewhat confusing; while codes are clearly superior, inferior laws or
regulations may trump those laws appearing to have supremacy, including acts of Parliament.
For our purpose, Law n 15-95 constitutes the commercial code, promulgated by Dahir n
1-96-83 of 15 Rabii 1417 (August 1st, 1996), (Official Bulletin n 4418 of 19 Joumada I 1417
The commercial code is divided into five main Books (Livres) that summarize all
articles dealing with different aspects of commercial practices, and giving all the information
about how things are to be done and the laws related to any violation of the rules.
The following are the main Books including all the chapters and articles related to
commercial code.
Under this section, there are the five first articles (1-5) that mainly summarize the
commercial writs and procedures, and merchants. They emphasize the importance of the
customs and usages of commerce. It also specifies that the obligations of a commercial
contract among merchants, or merchants and non merchants are normally barred at the end of
five years.
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This section includes articles (6-11), that specify the details about the habitual or
professional activities and practices that attribute the quality of merchant to somebody, and
these practices are summarized into eighteen different activities that involve the buying and
selling of real estate, renting, industrial activities, transportation, banking, insurance services,
bidding, water and electricity services, and mail and telecommunication. Article 11
summarize all this by citing that any one who habitually practices a commercial activity is
renowned merchant.
Articles (12-17) deal in this section with the capacity for commercial practice. We can
understand from these articles that commercial capacity is related to personal statute. There is
also clear information about aging (20 years old) and the importance of adultness as an
important characteristic for a merchant, even for foreigners who must obey to Moroccan law.
Otherwise, an authorization of the president of the court must be taken and registered in le
registre du commerce. Women have also the right to practice commerce without need for
husbands permission.
This title specifies the importance financial obligations and the conservation of
correspondences. Any merchant should have a bank account, and should keep the
correspondences of transactions documents because they are strong proofs that would be in
his favor. The original correspondences of a party and copies of them sent to the other, should
This section deals with different aspects of le registre du commerce, which is composed
of two main kinds of registers, the local registers and the central register. The local register is
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held by the registry secretariat (secretariatgreffe) of the competent court, and it deals with
formalities. On the other hand, the commercial central register is held by the administration,
and it centralizes, for the whole country, the information mentioned in different local registers.
The next, section specifies information on the process of inscriptions in the commercial
register, including general dispositions that mention the necessity of registration or licensing
and its obligation on all Moroccan as well as foreign agencies, and the states commercial
agencies.
In general, all groups with economic interests must be registered in the commercial
register.
requested by the merchant, and in the case of a company it is requested by members of the
administration or the director. The request for registration must be deposited in the registry
secretariat (secretariatgreffe) of the court of the city the head office is located, to be
The fonds de commerce is any property and its related components used to engage in
one or more commercial activities. It also includes customers and all other goods necessary
for operation like the commercial name, the commercial local, merchandise, equipment,
licenses, etc.
contract that should list things like the name of the seller, the date and nature of the sale, the
price, etc. If any of these elements is missing or false, the buyer has the right to cancel the
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contract during the period of 1 year after the date of the contract. A copy of the act is then
The bill of exchange has to include specific elements such as the name of the payer, the
amount, the date of issuance, or the place of where the bill is to be cashed. If one of these
elements is missing, the bill of exchange is considered invalid except for some exceptions like
for example, if the place of payment is not indicated, we consider the place where the
It can be specified in the bill of exchange, that interest payments are to be imposed. A bill of
exchange given to a non business minor is invalid. Fake signatures also make the bill of
exchange invalid.
Promissory notes, just like bills of exchange, need to have specific elements that make it
enforceable such as the name of the drawer and of the drawee, the date and place of payment,
the amount, etc. If one of these elements is lacking, the promissory note is invalid except for
some exceptions, for example, if no date of payment is indicated, the note can be cashed
immediately.
The cheque needs to contain specific elements in order for it to be valid and enforceable,
such as the amount of the cheque, the name of the giver and of the receiver, and the date of
issuance. If one of these components is missing, the cheque is invalid except for some
exceptions. The giver of the cheque has the responsibility of ensuring payment and may be
punishable for insufficient funds. Fake signatures are also punishable and make the cheque
invalid.
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Opposition can be made to the payment only in the case of loss or theft of the means of
The next cases are punished for, those who will have counterfeit or falsified a means of
payment. Also those who, with full knowledge of the facts, have made or tried to make use of
a means of payment, counterfeits or falsified; as well as those who, with full knowledge of the
facts, will have agreed to receive a payment by a means of payment, counterfeits or falsified.
Commercial matter is free but it must be brought back in writing when the law or
Within the part commercial obligations, which discuss the warranty, there are two kinds of
hypothecation: the pledge which supposes the dispossession of the debtor and the
The contract of trade agency is authorized to a person who is not bound by a contract
of employment and who could negotiate and be involved in commercial deals with tradesman,
a producer or another sales representative. S/he could be a sales representative of a party but
The contract of trade agency can be concluded for one given duration or one unspecified
duration. The contract at given duration that the parts continue to carry out after the expiry of
this duration becomes a contract at unspecified duration. Each part can put an end to the
For any commercial deal concluded throughout contract, the sales representative is
entitled to a commission when the operation was concluded thanks to its intervention.
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The compensation allowance of the sales representatives is not due when the rupture of the
contract is caused by the serious fault of the sales representative; when he has reasons to not
continue its activity because of its age, of an infirmity or a disease; or even when, after in
being agreed with a party, the sales representative yields to a third its contractual rights and
obligations.
The commission is the contract by which the commission agent receives capacity to act on
The commissionaire rights: The thirds can oppose to the commission agent, all the means of
defense resulting from their personal reports. They do not have any direct action against the
principal party.
The commissionaire obligations: The commission agent must carry out himself the orders
which it receives. The principal party can exert directly against the thirds all actions born of
The subjects treated by this title are related to the parties of the hiring purchase contract. It
deals with the rights acquired by the tenant and the owning of what is given according to that
contract. It also states the case of incompletion of the contractual obligations related to the
payments. It gives us the solution in case of the incompletion of the leasing contract. The
operations of leasing must be published to allow the identification of the parts and goods
Title VI is about the transportation of things, they explain the rules that regulate this type
of contracts such as the transport document that comprises the address, the characteristics of
the transported things and other details. It talks also about the break of the shipment and its
regulations. It deals also with the case of loss or damage and its responsibility.
This title deals with the banking account and states its three types, the deposit of funds,
and the deposit of titles. The first section about the banking account treats the different issues
related to the common provisions to the accounts at sight and in long term, the account at
sight, and the account in long term. It also explains the contract by which people can place
their funds that is a contract by which a person deposits funds with a banking house and
confers to him the right to lay out about it for its own account to load to restore them under
the condition envisaged with the contract. There is also the deposit of titles that consists of
Concerning this title it treats the procedures of the internal and external preventions of the
problems to compromise the continuity of the exploitation, try to solve this problem on their
own which is known by the internal prevention. And the involvement of the court in the
external prevention and the amicable settlement, which is a procedure opened to every
legal difficulty, economic or financial or needs not being able to be covered by a financing
This section explains how enterprises go through the treatment of their difficulties; it
includes the conditions of opening, the legal rectification that involves the business
management, and the choice of the solution. It gives details the involvement of the business
management such as the continuation of the exploitation which means that the activity of the
company is continued after the delivery of the legal rectification, the capacities of the head of
the company and the syndic, and the preparation for the solution. The choice of the solution
The judiciary liquidation procedure starts when the enterprise situation is compromised.
The judgment that pronounces the judiciary liquidation takes full right of the dessaisissement
for the administrations debtor and of its goods disposal, even those that he acquired before
the closing of the judiciary liquidation. The rights and actions of the debtor concerning his
heritage are exercised during the whole length of the judiciary liquidation by the syndic.
When the general interest or the creditors interest necessitates the continuation of the
business activity subject to judiciary liquidation, the court can authorize this continuation for
a length that it sets up, either at the syndics request or the prosecutor of the Kings request.
The judiciary liquidation does not induce the cancellation of the buildings affected by the
business activity. In this case the syndic has fully the right to continue or to abandon the lease
The buildings selling are done following the rules of property seizure. Nevertheless, the
judge commissioner sets up the price, the main selling conditions, and he determines the
advertising methods, after the collection of the inspectors observation, the business director
and the syndic. Generally, the syndic transmits some acquisition offers and fixes the deadline,
so each person interested can submit its offer. Neither the debtor, nor the law leader of the
person engaging in judiciary liquidation, nor a parent of these, until the second degree
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inclusively, can carry themselves buyer. The judge commissioner, after having heard the
business director, the inspectors, the owner of the local in which the production unity is
exploited, chooses the most attractive and most serious offer and that will ensure in the best
conditions the employments durability and the creditors payment. After gathering the
inspectors observations, the judge commissioner orders the auction selling. If the syndic
authorized by the judge commissioner can by paying the debt, withdraws the constituted
goods as a security by the debtor or the withheld things. The syndic has 6 months after the
The rights of the creditors, that are partially involved on the distribution of the buildings
price, are regulated by the remaining amount of the real estate collocation. The exceeded
dividends that they perceived in previous distributions in comparison with the calculated
dividend after collocation is kept on the amount of their collateral collocation and is
-When the syndic has access to the sufficient sums to pay the creditors.
-When the pursuit of the judiciary liquidation operations is impossible because of the
The court designates the judge commissioner and the syndic. No parent of the director of
the business or one of its members boards can be designated as a judge commissioner or
syndic.
The judge commissioner is in charge of a good and rapid functioning of the procedure and the
2. Syndic
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-The syndic is in charge of guiding the judiciary operations from the beginning until the end.
- The syndic proceeds to the verification of the credits under the judge commissioner control.
-The syndic informs the judge commissioner to the well functioning of the procedure.
-Even the prosecutor of the king can contact the judge commissioner and inform him of any
-The syndic can be replaced by the judge commissioner either officially or by a complaint
3. The inspector
-The judge commissioner designates one to three inspectors among the creditors that do the
request.
-When the judge commissioner designates several inspectors, it makes sure that at least one of
them is chosen among the safest tenured creditors cranciers titulaires de surets.
- The inspectors attend the syndic in its functions and the judge commissioner in his
-The court can revoke the inspector by a suggestion from the judge comissionary or the
syndic.
The money versed by the business directors enter into the business patrimony. So in case of
In case of business judiciary liquidation, the court must start a procedure of the judiciary
liquidation against each director that can raised one of the following facts:
2) Under the companys cover, having done some acts that have personal interests.
3) Having used the goods or the companys credit for a personal use or a use that can harm the
Brankruptcy penalties:
1) Having the intention to avoid or delay the procedure either by making some purchases and
People that are involved or that have contributed directly or indirectly to the bankruptcy have
to pay fine between 10.000 to 100.000dhs and an imprisonment of one to five years.
The commercial code in Morocco is established by the royal decree nb 1-96-83 of 15 rabii
1417 (August, 1st 1996) under the law n 15-95 that constitutes the commercial code.
These sections aim at regulating each of the mentioned sectors of the Moroccan commercial
affairs.
The first section regulates the commercial acts and the terms conducted by the
merchants.
It also looks at the terms of the contracts established between the merchants on both the
judicial form and the legal requirement of these contracts considering the nature of law that
In this section, the commercial law starts by defining what the law means by merchants as
well as their activities: the commercial code states that the merchant is any person buying or
renting assets or goods for the purpose of selling them directly or after further processing.
The legislator also assesses the rights and duties of the parties forming the contracts ( Titre IV,
Those are concerned mainly with the obligations of opening an account for the
merchant, the accounting obligations as the merchant is required to hold a regular accounting
and submit all the documents related to them (journal and financial statements) and the
The commercial code also regulates the terms of the contracts between the merchants in terms
In this section, the legislator starts by defining the goodwill (le fond de commerce) as
being an intangible asset used for the purpose of exerting one or more commercial activities.
The goodwill corresponds to the customer and the consumer definition. The goodwill takes
into account all the components that constitute it such as the brand name, the name of the
company, right of lease, usage of symbols and advertising logo, as well as assets and activities
that serve for the exploitation of the goodwill. In addition, the licenses and copyrights are
The commercial code further assesses the articles that regulate the usage of the
goodwill, and the contractual parts assessing the value of the goodwill in case of sale or rent.
(second title of the commercial code section II: Goodwill). In this section, the commercial
code dictates the right and obligations of each party of the contract; those are related to the
obligations vis--vis the commercial register and again to the valuation of the goodwill in
The IOUs are means of payment in Morocco among others. The commercial code
states the laws regulating their usage and here we present some rules that need to be taken into
A check that has an amount of over 10 000 Dhs should be done by transfer or a barred
check.
The commercial code is also concerned with the laws regulating the checks: as a
10 000 Dhs.
The whole section deals with regulating the contractual relationship between the
parties.
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It states the components of the contract according to the Moroccan law, the form of the
contract as well as the criteria that need to be fulfilled in order to have a valid contract.
The law obliges the contracts to be written as well as the proofs advanced by each party in the
contract.
The consideration is not mandatory but needs to be mentioned in case the parties agreed on it.
The law states that the consideration may have a monetary as well as asset value and regulates
Further in this part, the law defines the commercial agency, and the contractual agreements
constituting this agency. It also regulates the activities of the brokerage and the commissioner
activities.
The laws purpose is to regulate the commercial affairs and the affairs of the company
in a more specific way to protect its rights and the rights of the creditors.
The law defines the state of bankruptcy and the procedure that the judge undertakes in this
case to ensure the obligations and the rights of the company and its creditors.
But before, going through the procedures of the liquidation of the company, the court takes
The code encourages the resort to alternative means of disputes such as negotiations,
intermediation, and arbitration and states the procedures and steps that need to be considered
in each one of them. The purpose is of matter of privacy for companies and to preserve their
reputation.
The law further process the affairs related to the companys management again to
prevent its collapse and to maintain it as a vital factor contributing to the progress of the
national economy.
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Commercial law:
The commercial law is related to traders and to the act of trading. In fact it is related to
anything concerning the trade. In commercial matters, the commercial law shall apply: It
allows people to make the contract they want. Provided that where no provision is made in
such law, the usages of trade or, in the absence of such usages, the civil law shall apply.
In 1996, a new Commercial Code took into consideration officially the right of
women to engage in business and enter into employment contracts. In 1998, a ministerial
department was created to focus especially on the status of women in Morocco, with a greater
gender focus also implemented in other ministries. In addition, thirty seats were reserved for
women in the 2002 legislative elections, increasing female representation in Parliament from
Any purchase of movable effects for the object of reselling or letting them, whether in
their natural state or after being worked or manufactured; any sale or lease of
movable effects, in their natural state or after being worked or manufactured, when the
purchase there of has been made with the object of re-selling or letting such effects;
Any purchase and any re-sale of immovable property, when made with the object of
commercial matters.
Every act of a trader shall be deemed to be an act of trade, unless from the act
Any person capable of contracting may trade, unless the law precludes him
A minor who has attained the age of sixteen years, may trade and shall be
purposes of trade.
The Moroccan insolvency framework was entirely overhauled in 1996 with the
adoption of a new Commercial Code. Both liquidation and reorganization procedures are
available under the new system, as well as a more informal pre-insolvency scheme, in
compliance with international best practice. The rights of creditors in the proceedings are
however limited, which impedes the effectiveness of the new system in a context where
of commercial and credit-related cases, which is perceived as being been more efficient and
judicial training on commercial law, credit and banking-related issues as well as insolvency.
The Law:
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The Dahir of the 12 august 1913 forming the commercial code is highly inspired from the
French code. The book I is devoted to commerce in general and is completed by special texts
on the selling of the goodwill (fonds de commerce), the industrial property, capital societies,
All these texts have been inspired by French ones. However, the institution of the commercial
ledger (registres de commerce) rose from the German and Suisse laws. This ledger is a sort
of civil state of the enterprises. For example, the registration (immatriculation) of the
merchants had become mandatory by the Dahir of the 1st September 1926(droit commercial,
p14).
However, the commercial code doesnt include all the commercial transactions and cant
The practices are an important part when talking about commerce. According to the Dahir, the
practices are applicable if they do not contradict the fundamental principles of the commercial
law.
These sources are supplied by the international professional practices. Therefore, any dispute
relative to an international contract will be solved without having resort to the Law.
o Exchange law
Commercial law reflects a social state where men aim to achieve wellness and prosperity
(Taller, cited in Cherkaoui, 9). Indeed, commercial law gives a great importance to loans and
22
their reimbursements. It also emphasizes on the diverse juridical means that regulate lucrative
corporations. This specificity of the commercial law shows clearly that this latter does not
take into account all kinds of non-profitable businesses. Commercial law is considered as the
empire of goods and values (Cherkaoui, 9). On the other side, civil law is more concerned by
morality and ethics. However, business ethics is an important issue to respect. Indeed,
o Enterprise law
enterprise has to be dealt with in a specific manner. It is the entrepreneurship spirit that
justifies rules flexibility because obstacles to corporations actions must be limited. Note here
the significant importance of corporate wealth stated above. Consensus is an essential means
of conflict resolution. Actually, the parties need to be all satisfied vis--vis the arbitrage.
Following the same reasoning, the centrality of flexibility in commercial law is justified.
Another element of commercial law that regulates enterprises is the limited laps of time that is
taken for problem solving. What is worth mentioning is the difference between the time spent
in civil cases and that spent in commercial cases. Besides, the deadline for prescription is
The main actors of the commercial law are the professionals, primarily industrials and
merchants. This feature allows understanding the sharpness of commercial law penalties.
When the struggle occurs between an individual (consumer) and a professional, a change of
rules arises. The issue of balancing between both parties rights requires substituting to
commercial law the solutions resulting from civil law judgments. They are considered to be
Commercial courts were initially an idea of the king Hassan II on June 1993. The
purpose behind creating commercial court was to relieve the courts of first instance from the
responsibility of treating with commercial cases because they need special trained judges and
they last for long time. These courts were called exceptional courts because they do not deal
with all cases. They mainly treat with commercial cases, but not all of them. Lower courts
deal also with some commercial cases. Commercial courts were established in Morocco in
1997 and they started functioning in May 1998. Commercial courts include both first instance
commercial courts and commercial courts of appeal. Actually, there are eight commercial
courts; one in each of Rabat, Casablanca, Fez, Tangier, Marrakech, Agadir, Oujda and
Meknes. There are only three commercial courts of appeals in Casablanca, Fes and
Marrakech.
- A ministre public in the person of the Kings general prosecutor and others
- An office registry and a ministre public secretary. One clerk of the courts
- An audience.
The way commercial courts in Morocco are constituted reflects an organized structure
It is the role of 3 magistrates including a president and an office registry to come up with a
- An audience
In fact, many rooms constitute the court of appeal; each one is responsible for a
number of cases. Three counselors make the decisions; there is, from which, one president,
As stated previously, commercial courts do not deal with every commercial case.
Actually, commercial courts hear commercial cases with principle in controversy exceeding
exploitation patents.
Most importantly, commercial courts oversee the activities of the commercial registry,
which is composed of local registries attached to local courts and a central registry under the
authority of the Ministry of Trade (legal vice presidency, World Bank). Its objective is to
register all persons engaging in trade. The central registry centralizes the information
collected locally and protects trademarks. Commercial registries make available official
information on traders to the public for a nominal fee. A coordination committee in the
Ministry of Justice ensures the coordination of all registration activities, as well as the
I. Referral:
This step, referral, is about a written petition signed by a lawyer listed in the register
of a bar association in Morocco which is submitted to the commercial court. Once the petition
25
is registered, the President of the court designates a reporting judge to whom he refers the
case within twenty-four hours. Concerning the requests, they are recorded on a register made
for this purpose. The clerk delivers to the applicant a receipt; it has the name of the applicant,
the date the request was made, his number with the register and the number and the nature of
the enclosures. The clerk deposits a copy of the receipt in the file. Then, the president of the
court appoints following the recording of the request a judge. The file is sent to him within
twenty-four hour. This latter convenes the parts with the nearest audience with whom he will
II. Summons:
Summons are served either by a bailiff or through the means provided for in the code
of the civil procedure. For instance, an agent of the court clerk's office, via a registered letter
After the hearing, the reporting judge determines the date of the sentence delivery
once the case is put up for deliberations. The law stipulates that a judgment cannot be
rendered before it is drawn up in extenso. This serves to avoid that sentence delivery precedes
The deadline for appealing against a judgment rendered by the commercial court is
The President of the commercial court may rule in a summary procedure and order all
measures not likely to be contested. Even in the latter case, he may order protective or
reparatory measures in order to prevent imminent damage or put a stop to a case of manifestly
unlawful activity.
The deadline for appealing against the judges orders is also fifteen days.
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deliver payment injunction orders based on commercial bills and genuine securities.
The deadline for appeal is ten days, without any possibility that this deadline or the
appeal itself cause a suspension of execution of the judges payment injunction order.
The law stipulates that the President of the court designates a magistrate instructed to
follow up the enforcement procedures on the recommendation of the general assembly. The
execution agent should ensure, within ten days of the date of the execution request, either the
implementation of the decision or provide information on the intent of the sentenced party. He
Courts of Appeal try criminal cases, and deal with appeals against decisions judgments passed
by Tribunals of Original Jurisdiction. Courts of Appeal cannot address the irregularities of the
lower courts because they only handle cases involving crimes punishable by five years in
prison or more. In Morocco, there are 9 courts of appeal, 3 of them are courts of appeal for
trade. These three courts are located in Casablanca, Fez and Marrakech. Courts of appeal for
The courts of appeal of trade can be divided into different chambers which deal with
different businesses cases brought to the Court. In addition, the audiences of the Courts of
Appeal of trade are held and three judges, of which there is a president, assisted by a clerk,
The courts of appeal for trade deal mainly with the cases that were initially judged by
the commercial court. Only cases which principal value is above 9000 MAD can be appealed
In order to make an appeal in the Courts of Appeal for Trade, commercial court should
at least be composed of 3 judges, including the chief justice, and the register of the court
The motions of appeal have to be presented within 15 days starting from the date of the first
instance judgment. The petition of appeal should be presented to the registration of the
commercial court. The commercial court has then to transfer the petitions of appeal with the
documents concerning the case to the registration of the commercial court of appeal in no
more than 15 days. When it comes to the commercial court of appeal, the general regulations
References
World Bank. (2003). Morocco Legal and Judicial Sector Assessment. Retrieved on April 23,
2008 from:
http://www4.worldbank.org/legal/database/Justice/Pages/jsJurisdiction.asp?
Country=2840&cD=Morocco&Year=2000&Jurisdiction=220
The Ministry of Justice. (2007). Procedures: Commercial courts. Retrieved on April 23, 2008
from:
http://www.justice.gov.ma/an/procedures/procedures.aspx?_idp=23
http://faculty.cua.edu/fischer/ComparativeLaw2002/Olson/Kingdom%20of%20Morocco
%20Legal%20System.htm