Moroccan Lawyers Reject Attempts to Turn Professional Dispute Into Clash With Monarchy

Agadir – The Association of Bar Associations of Morocco has rejected what it described as attempts by foreign media outlets hostile to Morocco to exploit the country’s lawyers’ dispute over the new law regulating the legal profession and portray it as a confrontation with the monarchy.

In a statement issued today, the association said some foreign media had sought to manipulate Moroccan lawyers’ opposition to provisions of the professional law by taking their position out of its “professional and institutional context.”

The statement stressed that the lawyers’ dispute concerns the legal profession and specific governmental and legislative choices, rather than the monarchy.

“The Executive Board of the Association strongly condemns any external attempt to exploit a professional or domestic Moroccan dispute, or to use the struggles of lawyers and the positions of their institutions to harm the Kingdom of Morocco, its institutions, symbols, and fundamental principles,” the statement said.

The association also rejected any attempt to involve King Mohammed VI in the dispute.

“It categorically rejects any attempt to involve His Majesty the King in a dispute concerning a professional law and governmental and legislative choices,” it said.

The statement came amid an ongoing dispute between Morocco’s lawyers and the government over the new law regulating the legal profession. The legislation officially entered into force this month, while the Association of Bar Associations has continued its protest actions, including a nationwide suspension of professional services.

Lawyers distance dispute from monarchy

The association said the King occupies a position above political, governmental, and professional disputes.

“His Majesty the King, in the conscience of Moroccan lawyers as in that of the nation, is above any governmental or professional dispute,” the statement said, adding that the monarch’s position is “too elevated to be drawn into such matters or to be used as a party to justify a decision or policy.”

It described the monarchy as a symbol of national unity and state continuity and a pillar of Morocco’s sovereignty and stability.

The association further argued that disagreements over legislation and government policy are legitimate within Morocco’s institutional framework.

“Governments debate their policies, laws are subject to review and amendment, and public policy choices are open to criticism and assessment,” it said.

“The King, the nation, territorial integrity, and the fundamental principles of the Kingdom, however, are not and will not be the subject of such disputes,” the association maintained.

‘We disagree under the roof of the homeland’

The association concluded by insisting that Moroccan lawyers would not allow their professional struggle to be used against the country.

“The Moroccan legal profession has never been, is not, and will never be a tool in the hands of any party seeking to target the homeland or its institutions,” it said.

It added that lawyers would continue to defend the independence and dignity of their profession while remaining committed to Morocco’s national institutions.

“We disagree under the roof of the homeland, protest within the state of institutions, and always uphold our legitimate right to defend the independence and dignity of the legal profession,” the statement said.

The association ended with a clear distinction between its professional dispute and what it described as Morocco’s national constants.

“Our disagreement is Moroccan, and the institutions of our homeland are the space in which it belongs,” it said. “The sovereignty of the Kingdom, its fundamental principles, and its symbols stand above every disagreement and are too elevated to become objects of exploitation or political posturing.”