Herald Sun – Australia
Aziz El Yaakoubi AAP
AROUND 1,000 Moroccan judges have held an unprecedented sit-in in front of the Supreme Court, calling for greater judicial independence.
The rare demonstration was organised by the Judges’ Club, a group formed in August 2011 to push for judicial reform. The group has been officially banned, but is tolerated.
Morocco’s courts have historically been weak and under the control of the king and his Justice Ministry, which determines judges’ salaries and appointments so that judges often rule as instructed.
“We have no protection, no rights, we have a miserable salary, we work in catastrophic conditions,” said Nazik Bekkal, a judge from Sidi Kassem in northern Morocco, at the demonstration on Saturday.
“Above all we are not autonomous, very simply, and that’s what is most important, it’s the autonomy, the independence of the judiciary, that’s what we really are looking for.”
Club founder Yassine Mkhelli said more than 2,200 judges – around two-thirds of the country’s total – have signed their petition calling for reforms.
In May, judges across the country wore red armbands to protest official interference in the judiciary.
Morocco’s new constitution, passed last year, gives the judicial branch greater powers and independence but it has yet to be implemented.
Justice is one of the most sensitive issues in the tourist-friendly North African country of 32 million, where there is widespread distrust of a court system that most Moroccans believe serves the highest bidder.
Critics say verdicts in civil trials can be bought for just $5,000, while a phone call from a high official is enough to seal a guilty verdict in terrorism cases or political trials.
The Islamist Justice and Development Party that won last year’s elections made battling corruption and creating an independent judiciary a main plank of its campaign, but judges say little has changed
“This issue concerns all the Moroccan people who deserve a truly independent judiciary,” said Mohammed Anbar, the vice president of the club and a Supreme Court judge.
“We are here, simply put, for the independence of the justice system. We want a justice system which is effective, has integrity, is strong and is independent.”
