In 2023, the Kingdom’s courts recorded a total of 4,661,927 new cases, a decrease of 767,847 compared to 2022, said First President of the Court of Cassation and Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Judiciary (CSPJ), Mohamed Abdennabaoui, on Monday in Rabat.
Speaking on the occasion of the opening of the 2024 judicial year, Abdennabaoui pointed out that the number of cases pending before the courts stood at 5,429,774, an increase of 335,062 cases compared with 2022, adding that the courts were able to reach a final decision on 4,696,203 cases, or 101% of the cases recorded during 2023.
Abdennabaoui said that the council carried out its 2021–2026 strategy during the previous year, and outlined the positive outcomes of the CSPJ, particularly with respect to the release of a decision that established reasonable deadlines for case decisions.
This decision was made using a logical process that respected the rights of the defense and the requirements for a fair trial. Judicial officials also participated in the process.
This year saw 364 magistrates promoted in grade and 325 in step, the appointment of 44 judicial officers, 73 heads of family affairs sections, 62 deputy judicial officers, and the appointment of 1,037 magistrates to carry out various tasks, while other magistrates were appointed to sit on commissions.
The Council decided on the transfer of 404 magistrates, the retirement of 71 magistrates, the early retirement of 9 magistrates, the approval of the resignation of 2 magistrates, and the extension of the retirement age for 279 magistrates.
On the disciplinary front, the institution had received 148 inspection reports, noting that 70 magistrates had been referred to the Disciplinary Council, which had handed down 26 third-degree disciplinary sanctions (warning and reprimand), 15 sanctions of temporary exclusion from duties with transfer, 4 sanctions of dismissal and termination of duties, and 7 compulsory retirements. The Council also decided not to sanction 18 magistrates and to subject 6 of them to training relating to the subject of the violation committed, and to safeguard the remainder of the reports.
The Council, which is working on the development of modern software to operationalize the magistrate assessment criteria defined in accordance with the Council’s organic law and the Magistrates’ Statute, will focus its efforts over the coming period on contributing to the digitalization of court work.
After noting that the number of Court of Cassation rulings published on the Council’s electronic site exceeds 24,000, the Council had high hopes for this initiative–launched two years ago–to help magistrates and other practitioners ensure judicial security, while pointing out that the portal offers free public access with multiple, simplified search engines.
The Court of Cassation had ruled on 46,757 cases out of the 48,130 new cases registered in 2023 (i.e., 97% of registered cases with 98,004 cases still pending). There is a legislative malfunction which exists regarding the management of cassation referrals, in that the backlog (51,247 cases) exceeds the magistrates’ capacity to adjudicate (46,757 decisions), pointing out that this situation is worsening as the number of cases registered consistently exceeds the number of cases adjudicated each year.