Morocco: Legal Environment

Business Contract

General Observation: In the event of litigation, the obligations are not always executed and the penalty clause rarely used. Thus it is advisable to give special attention in the choice of one's partner.
Law Applicable to the Contract: Book IV of Moroccan Commercial law of 1995
Advisable Incoterms: FOB or CIF
Language of Domestic Contract: French in general, Arabic.
Rarely English.
Other Laws Which Can Be Used in Domestic Contracts: The contracting parties can choose to be governed by the law of any country.

National Organisations: L'OMPIC (Moroccan Office of Industrial and Commercial Property) handles the registration of industrial patents, drawings and models and brands in Morocco. Consult also the Copyright Office of Morocco.
Regional Organisations: Nil
International Membership: Member of the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization)
Signatory to the Paris Convention For the Protection of Intellectual Property

Type of property and law	Validity	International Agreements Signed
Patent Law no. 17/97 relating to the protection of industrial property	20 years
Trademark Law no. 17/97 relating to the protection of industrial property	10 years as from the date of registration, renewable indefinitely for identical periods.	Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks
Design Law no. 17/97 relating to the protection of industrial property	5 years as from the date of registration, renewable indefinitely for two new consecutive periods of 5 years.
Copyright Law no. 2/00 relating to copyrights and performing rights	During the author's lifetime and 50 years after his death	WIPO Copyright Treaty
Industrial Models Law no. 17/97 relating to the protection of industrial property	5 years as from the date of registration, renewable indefinitely for two new consecutive periods of 5 years.

The Language of Justice: Arabic is the legal language, but French is often used in businesses as well as in government milieus.
Recourse to an Interpreter: Possible
Legal Similarities: The main source of the law is the constitution of 1972 (revised in 1992 and 1996). The legal system is based on the Islamic law as well as on the French and Spanish civil law systems.

Checking National Laws Online: Guide to Law Online: Morocco
Business Law in Morocco
Other Useful Resources: Guide to Morocco Legal System
Wordpress, Blog on Moroccan law.
Country Guides: Moroccan Embassy in the UK, Investor's guide to Morocco.

Trial Court	Civil and commercial cases, on first hearing or appeal
Commercial Court	Cases between traders, between partners on first hearing
Communal and District Courts	Land and property cases of value less than 1000 MAD
Court of Appeal	Criminal and appeal cases judged on first hearing
Supreme Court	Cassation, cancelling decisions of the Prime Minister, dismissal of judges
Administrative Court	Cancellation of administrative decisions, damages, administrative contracts
High Court	Cases involving members of government during their tenure
Royal Armed Forces Court	Cases of illegal carrying of fire weapons and those involving soldiers
Audit Court	Supervision of budget implementation

Judge: Judge appointed by the Department of Justice, but irrevocable and supposedly independent; he renders judgments.
Public Prosecutor: Judge of the Department of Justice, responsible for indictment in a criminal lawsuit.
Lawyer: Lawyer member of the Bar.
He provides defense of protagonists.
Bailiff: Officers of the court holding monopoly of notification of writs, he also plays the role of an expert.
Registrar: Court clerk.

Arbitration: Possible except for donations or bequests, questions concerning the standing of persons and the public order.
Necessitates agreement between the 2 parties directly in the commercial contract (arbitration clause) or a postiori (arbitration).
Arbitration Law: Article 306 to 327 of Moroccan civil law procedure, repealed by law no. 08-05 of December 6, 2007.
A commercial arbitration law is being studied.
Conformity to International Commercial Arbitration Rules: Party to the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards.
Appointment of Arbitrators: The law draws up a list for each court of appeal.
Arbitration Procedure: Parties submit litigation contractually to an arbitrator or an arbitration court.
The arbitrator renders a sentence, final or injunction (preparatory or provisional), according to the law. This sentence must be signed by each arbitrator and justified. It is binding on both the parties.
Permanent Arbitration Bodies: Mediterranean arbitration court (Sectors Covered: International disputes)
Moroccan arbitration court (Sectors Covered: International disputes)

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