RABAT, — Morocco’s government has delayed sending a contentious legal-profession reform bill to parliament after weeks of nationwide strikes by lawyers, opening negotiations aimed at ending one of the justice sector’s sharpest standoffs in recent years. Omar Mahmoud Bendjelloun, a board member of the Association of Moroccan Bars (ABAM), said Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch pledged to personally oversee talks and set up a joint commission of government officials and legal practitioners to rework disputed provisions.
The draft law, initiated by Justice Minister Abdellatif Ouahbi and approved by cabinet in December, was presented as a modernization and anti-corruption measure. But lawyers argued key clauses threatened professional independence and due-process safeguards inside the bar system. A central flashpoint was a provision that would give courts direct disciplinary authority over lawyers—powers traditionally exercised by bar bodies. That point helped trigger rolling strike actions and a large demonstration in Rabat earlier this month, where black-robed lawyers demanded a participatory rewrite.
Bendjelloun said the government had effectively “taken a step back,” creating what he called a possible way out of the crisis. Ouahbi, speaking previously in parliament, said he was ready to amend or drop provisions deemed harmful, while insisting reform of the profession remains necessary. The immediate effect is de-escalation: lawyers have signaled readiness to re-engage through formal dialogue as referral of the bill is frozen pending commission work.
What happens next will determine whether this is a tactical pause or a substantive policy reset. If the mixed commission produces a text with clearer guarantees on bar autonomy and disciplinary process, the government could recover momentum while avoiding prolonged court disruptions. If not, strike action could return quickly.
