AMBASSADOR EXPLORES MOROCCO'S JUDICIAL REFORM

UNCLAS RABAT 000120 SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE FOR INL/AAE - TOM OPSTAL AND NEA/MAG E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV SNAR KJUS KCRM CJAN EAID MO SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR EXPLORES MOROCCO'S JUDICIAL REFORM GOALS WITH NEW JUSTICE MINISTER REF: A. RABAT 0026 ¶B. 09 RABAT 0719 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: In his first meeting with the Ambassador, newly appointed Minister of Justice Mohamed Naciri welcomed U.S. offers of assistance with Morocco's planned judicial reform and emphasized his intention to bring meaningful change to a system he described as "dysfunctional." Referring often to King Mohammed VI's August 20, 2009 speech, which outlined six broad but crucial areas in need of significant reform, Naciri said his first moves would be to introduce projects that would signal to the average citizen, as well as to magistrates and others involved in the justice system, that "things are changing." Naciri said he intended to emphasize transparency, ensure that the rule of law is applied, provide legal guarantees to citizens, and encourage people to have confidence conducting business here. Naciri said he has put forward 2 of the 17 reform bills introduced by the previous Minister of Justice, but he intended to have business leaders and others provide input on the rest before taking further legislative action. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) The Ambassador, accompanied by PolCouns, INL Director and INL Program Manager, made his initial call on Justice Minister Mohamed Naciri on February 9. Naciri, a prominent non-partisan attorney who over a 40-year career has frequently represented both the GOM and the king's own business interests (Ref A),replaced former Justice Minister Abdelwahed Radi on January 4. -------------- Complete Support of the King -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Responding to the ambassador's offer to assist Morocco in its judicial reform efforts, Naciri welcomed further bilateral cooperation, describing the U.S. and Morocco as having a "privileged relationship." He emphasized that the political will existed to bring meaningful reform to the justice system, telling the Ambassador, "I have the will to succeed and the complete support of the King." ¶4. (SBU) Reflecting on his new role as head of the Ministry of Justice, Naciri said he views himself as a doctor, dealing with a patient. "Once I listen to the patient, I can conduct exams to see if he is really sick or not. Then, I can determine what kind of sickness he has," he explained. He planned to emphasize transparency ("I want this ministry to be as clear as a house of glass"),ensuring that the rule of law was applied, providing legal guarantees to citizens, and "making more of an effort to fight the dysfunctions in this system," he said. ¶5. (SBU) Naciri explained that under the Constitution, the King presides over the High Judicial Council (CSM) which is responsible for the hiring, firing and discipline of judges, among other things. In the absence of the King, the Minister of Justice presides over the Council, acting not as a representative of government, but as a representative of the King. Alluding to the prominence of Islamic law as the underpinning of Morocco's legal system, Naciri noted that the King is the "Commander of the Faithful" as well as the Head of State. Therefore, when the Minister of Justice acts on his behalf, he represents a higher authority that brings additional gravitas to any reforms that guarantee liberty and independence. -------------- Goals and Challenges to Reform -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Naciri described the reform process as a long-term undertaking, noting that an effort to create public confidence in a judicial system that currently inspired almost none is the "work of a generation." However, he hoped to first implement reform projects that send a clear signal to the people, to the magistrates, and to those involved in justice that things were changing. "The average citizen must feel that there is a change and we should give the maximum guarantees to them," he emphasized. When investors saw that citizens have confidence in their legal system, they would gain confidence. ¶7. (SBU) Asked about the current status of the reform bills introduced by former Minister of Justice Radi, Naciri explained that all 17 of the bills had been returned to the Ministry for review. Naciri said he had submitted 2 of the 17 to the Secretary General of the Government (which, much like a European constitutional court, must first certify that a bill is constitutional before a ministry can move it to Parliament for approval). Of the remaining 15, Naciri noted that certain groups had not been consulted and wanted business leaders and others to weigh in before moving them through the system. He declined to give any details of the bills, saying only, "they are largely OK, but they still need work." ¶8. (SBU) In terms of the political and bureaucratic will surrounding the King's (and Naciri's) judicial reform goals, Naciri told the Ambassador that although he anticipated some resistance from judges in implementing reforms, he has felt an "enormous sense of good will" from the magistrates regarding change. Naciri noted that on February 8, he met with judges reviewing the king's six priorities as outlined in his August 20 speech on judicial reform. (Note: As reported Ref B, these "pillars" include: -- a more independent judiciary; -- a new modernized penal policy that establishes a national crime observatory and alternative sentencing mechanisms; -- upgrading administrative mechanisms in the court system; -- upgrading performance and professionalism of judges and judicial staff; -- increasing efficiency, and -- preventing corruption. End Note.) ¶9. (SBU) Naciri described these pillars as the ministry's "roadmap" for reform and noted that the challenge would be to determine how to translate this roadmap into on-the-ground changes. He speculated that the most difficult aspects of reform would be those requiring a change in mentality. -------------- Morocco Considering Mediation -------------- ¶10. (SBU) Naciri provided an overview of the GOM's recent efforts to use mediation to bring greater efficiency to the sclerotic court system. He stressed that the mediation system currently in place was not an alternative to the justice system but allowed people to present their complaints about court processes. The GOM supported mediation as a way to resolve legal disputes, he explained, because it is faster, better, and cheaper than going to court. However, for the moment, mediation would be difficult to implement under Moroccan law, he said. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶11. (SBU) The minister's willingness to frankly acknowledge the problems in the justice system, as well as his expressed intention to implement on-the-ground change, was encouraging. As a tremendously experienced attorney -- as well as a close confidant of King Mohammed VI and a former attorney for the royal family's business interests -- Naciri will be fully empowered to carry out judicial reform according to the king's plans. What remains to be seen is how extensive the King means these reforms to be. In any case, we were encouraged by Naciri's clear openness to our offer to assist in the reform process; we will continue to coordinate closely with the new Minister and his staff to identify how best we can add value to Morocco's badly needed judicial reform effort. End Comment. ***************************************** Visit Embassy Rabat's Classified Website; http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Moro cco ***************************************** KAPLAN