Global Focus Morocco: King Mohammed VI - Research Paper Example

Global Focus Morocco – King Mohammed VI With the last year’s Arab Spring, most of the media interest has been directed to the efforts to transform electoral processes, raise stringent emergency laws, and abolish authoritarian governments. In the case of judicial reforms, an important development is the eminence of judicial independence as a major spot of the overall democratic reform. Particularly, in Morocco, pro-democracy groups have raised their concern for constitutional reforms. Their demand is that the constitutional reforms should aim at both increased democratic control over government institutions and ensuring the independence and fairness of the judiciary. Reacting to the demand, Mohammed VI, the Moroccan King, assured a constitutional reform process which was planned to be complete by June last year. The Moroccan civil society in conjunction with the global development community have launched a strong record in pushing for judicial changes designed to enhance the proficiency and independence of judges. The Moroccan government with the help of King Mohammed VI has embraced a number of these reforms. In April 2004, King Mohammed gave a speech which stressed the significance of judicial independence from the legislative or executive demands in making constitutional decisions. Moreover, in a speech commemorating the 56th anniversary of the 1953 Revolution, held in August 2009, the king expressed his support for developing a general plan to transform the Moroccan judiciary (Dubay 1). This plan involves strengthening the judiciary’s guarantee of independence, improving judiciary’s efficiency, modernizing the judiciary’s legal framework, promulgating ethical standard for judges and raising administrative and training standards. Unfortunately, while some important progress has occurred in some of these areas, aggravation has developed with the slow rate of a structural and efficient shift to judicial independence. The main issue even in the Morocco’s Arab Spring is whether the King, despite the support, will take the concrete steps towards achieving the reforms. For various reasons, the capacity of Morocco to adopt the judicial independence turns on the achievement of the greater democratic movement. This will depend on the King’s willingness to move towards democratic and constitutional restrictions on his monarchy. However, the possibility of this result in the near future is insignificant, although progressive empowerment of general society groups and enhanced education, ethics and training guidelines for judges have the likelihood to improve judicial independence. This is especially obvious when coupled with constitutional and legal restructuring essential for enabling judges to impose those norms without fear of revenge. The King has shown his support by empowering civil society groups and judges in the country as a necessary strategy in building momentum for the ground political reforms. For instance, during the policy addressing April 2011, the World Bank President said that the bank would support institutional reforms to promote further reform and growth in Morocco. The Bank will also consider giving support for civil society as a means of making the government more answerable to citizens as suggested by Dubay (1). This has been made possible due to the fact that the King has agreed to support the various reforms regarding judicial independence. The King Mohammed VI and Minister of Justice, in support of judicial reforms, have explicitly held several judicial reform programs. These reforms are seen as vital in improving the economic stability of the country and its ability to attract international investments and business. Yet, the openness to legal and judicial changes occurs in a field of potential rule of law schemes that do not interfere with the balance of power in the country. As a result, the president has taken the imitative of ensuring this happens. Mohammed VI has used his power to enhance human rights, improve the cause of the women’s rights, combat corruption, and permit reconciliation of previous violation of human rights according to Oxford Business Group (20). However, he has not been clear concerning genuine political contribution and in increasing the ability of organizations that could check the imbalances of power. Therefore, the king should consider opening the means to adopting the democratic process. This will be possible if the king works towards goals supported by the international community and the monarchy as well. It is noted that without real democratic reforms, attaining complete judicial independence and reforms may continue to be unclear in Morocco. This does not imply that the journey towards judicial reforms in Morocco should resemble the western democracies’ judicial independence structure. This is because judiciary and judicial organization in Arabic countries like Morocco should reflect the convergence of Islamic as well as civil law traditions set within the monarchies. Furthermore, the technical features of acquiring judicial independence are different even in established democracies. For instance, in the case of judicial selection process, most nations shield judges from the political by ensuring they are selected by non-political bodies rather than the political process as it happens in the USA. Other countries may view judicial independence as relative to the judges’ independence while in office or relative to organization and competence of the whole judiciary. Currently, the moves of King Mohammed VI towards judicial reforms have served the requirements of developing the economy instead of advancing the safety of human rights and political strength. For instance, an independent judiciary serves the demands of the country’s economy by providing plaintiffs with confidence that legal rules are understood and endeared to. Additionally, it serves in providing confidence that cases will be determined expeditiously, that trials and procedures are just, and, finally, that corruption and political pressure do not influence judicial results., Morocco has been leading towards these goals in the region, although much work is still in progress. An association of judges in Morocco with the permission of the King and help of the ABA Rule of Law Initiative has come up with a Charter of Judicial Ethics according to Oxford Business Group (18). Additionally, enduring efforts have been commenced to educate judges on the new rules and formulate means for their enforcement. In order to guarantee a competent judiciary, Morocco has recognized an institutional for independent judicial training. As a result, the country will continue to obtain assistance from USAID in the mean time to enhance their training and professionalism in the judicial sector. USAID has also promised its assistance in the long term to support advanced conformity with the Charter of Ethics, enhance human resource management systems and formation of mentoring courses for the judges. The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership Program has shown significant help in development of court infrastructure and materials. Despite the improvements the king is trying to make regarding judicial reforms, the World Bank has identified some delays in trials and poor execution of judgments on the view of judicial system. The ministry of justice through the king has adopted the various changes as the medium towards progressive economic development. However, the question is whether the projects initiated by the World Bank will extend to areas that may enhance judicial independence? This is important in as far as human rights and political issues provided in Moroccan courts are concerned. Private lawsuit apparently does not associate the accountability of government practitioners and the balance of power in the country according to Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (131). For King Mohammed VI, the future of the judicial independence and other reforms in protecting human rights and sustain political stability depends on two important principles. These are progressive sanction of civil society and actual democratic transformation that infuses some kind of checks and balances into the lawful framework. Once the lines of accountability are highly visible, the lawful and dogmatic framework in securing judicial independence can be well ascertained. According to King Mohammed VI, the selection process or administrative independence are not likely to replace for a culture where judges perceive themselves as possessing an independent institutional obligation in performing democracy. The king has acknowledged that it is behind the prospect exchanges among politicians and judges which should be addressed via a revolution in the legal customs and a factual understanding of the task of the independent judiciary in monarchy. For Morocco, the king articulates that some trappings of the contemporary judicial system may be vital in attracting foreign investors and in serving economic interest. However, enhancing the legitimacy and independence of the judiciary demands a cultural improvement including leadership within the judiciary as an arm of the king. Pressure from civil society and the international community to enhance access to justice and involve the norms of international human rights facilitates the chances for some judicial reforms to occur. Due to this pressure, Mohammed VI has permitted human rights law to grow in Morocco, hence, yielding women rights, transforming the family law and allowing for reconciliation procedure. Generally, efforts to enhance the judicial independence have aimed at improving the economical litigations and to a smaller extend safeguarding human rights. Conversely, the King has raised concern on the recent historical basis for implemented judiciary in Morocco to take part in the checks and balances intrinsic in a constitutional democracy. Works Cited Dubay, Carolyn. “Morocco’s “Arab Spring” and Judicial Independence.” International Judicial Monitor, Louisiana: Spring, 2011. Print. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. “Progress in public management in the Middle East and North Africa.” Case Studies On Policy Reform. Paris: OECD Publishing, 2010. Print. Oxford Business Group. The Report: Morocco 2009. London: Oxford Business Group, 2009. Print. Read More