Moroccan lawmakers approved key provisions of a major overhaul of the country’s legal profession Thursday after hours of heated debate over training, access rules and who should be allowed into the bar under a redesigned system championed by Justice Minister Abdellatif Ouahbi.
The parliamentary Justice, Legislation and Human Rights Committee adopted draft law 66.23 regulating the legal profession by 16 votes to seven, with no abstentions, following a marathon session marked by repeated clashes between Ouahbi, lawmakers and members of the committee.
At the center of the debate was a proposal supported by Ouahbi requiring students admitted to Morocco’s future lawyer training institute to pass a final graduation exam before receiving certification to practice law.
Critics across party lines argued the measure would create an additional filtering mechanism after candidates had already passed competitive entrance exams and completed training.
“Without this exam, the training period will lose its value,” Ouahbi told lawmakers, defending the proposal as necessary to impose discipline and preserve standards inside the profession.
The reform forms part of a broader restructuring of lawyer training and access rules as Morocco moves toward a more centralized and specialized system for legal professions.
Ouahbi said the government planned to expand the future lawyer training institute through regional branches in Tangier, Agadir and Fez while concentrating specialized fields in Rabat, including taxation and sports law, where outside institutions and experts would participate in training programs.
The minister also strongly defended the inclusion of foreign languages, particularly English, within legal training curricula.
The session exposed wider tensions over access to one of Morocco’s most influential professions.
Lawmakers ultimately approved raising the age limit for entering the legal profession to 45 from 40 under the original draft, while also adopting a major amendment exempting university law professors with at least eight years of teaching experience from obtaining professional competency certificates and completing standard legal internships.
Separate controversy emerged over whether graduates of Morocco’s Sharia faculties should be eligible to enter the profession under the same conditions as law graduates.
Supporters argued Sharia students already study legal subjects and should benefit from equal access to judicial professions, while opponents said the curriculum did not provide the broad legal training required for legal practice.
The debates at times became visibly tense inside the committee, including a sharp exchange between Ouahbi and opposition lawmaker Lubna Sghairi after she questioned the logic of introducing another examination stage following years of academic selection and training.
The bill still faces further legislative steps before final adoption.
Morocco approves contentious lawyer profession overhaul after heated debate
