The First legal clinic in Morocco was initiated in 2003, in Marrakech precisely, which is inactive for the moment, and it took the form of conferences and training. The legal clinics are a multiform mechanism, and there are several in Morocco. Usually, there are two types of legal clinics that rely on two approaches: one, educational within universities and the other, mobile.
The first approach is more focused on integrating students within the universities to gain experience in everything related to the social sphere. It helps students adjust the legal qualification they acquire at the university with the legal procedures, and obtain knowledge in training and active listening, mock trials, and coaching by assisting lawyers.
This approach is the one Adala Association applies through its two legal clinics in the Faculty of Law of the University of Mohammedia and the Faculty of Law of Souissi in Rabat. The latter is the first “Justice for All” legal clinic monitored by the Adala Association “For the Right to a Fair Trial” in 2017 in partnership with “Avocat Sans Frontières Brussels” and the “Faculty of Law of Souissi-Rabat.”
The second type appeared with covid in the form of a mobile clinic in Marrakesh, another is in the making in Beni Mellal. Three others specialized in minor cases in conflict with the law will soon take place in Beni Mellal, Rabat, and Mohammadia said Jamila Sayouri President of the “Adala Association for the Right to a Fair Trial”.
The other legal clinics initiated in Morocco are working on migration questions. There are about 6 of them. They don’t apply the same approach as Adala which relies on the Anglo-Saxon and French ones.
The legal clinic “Justice for all,” created by the Adala association, and chaired by Jamila Sayouri, focuses on family and personal, private, and criminal law. It also opens its doors to law students for training and supervision by lawyers working on real cases. In addition, it enables students to mobilize their theoretical knowledge and put it into practice in the service of disadvantaged populations. Four coaching units are offered: Women victims of violence, Refugees, Children in conflict with the law or in precarious situations, and Prisoners. The clinic organizes a mock trial at the end of the year on each of the four units and visits prisons where students accompany lawyers to handle cases on-site.
Thus, the legal clinic facilitates access to justice for vulnerable groups, by providing legal advice, accompaniment, and legal assistance. They have a double vocation: educational and social.
For the social component, the staff accompanies and assists litigants to promote proper access to justice. It also sets up accessible legal aid services to empower litigants. It provides comprehensive legal assistance to disadvantaged populations, too.
In addition, the legal clinic supports the drafting of complaints before national courts and authorities; and finally builds the capacity of legal aid actors to provide quality legal services to vulnerable people. In this regard, it launched a digital awareness campaign from November 2 to 4.
