HIBAPRESS – Rabat
The Public Prosecution sent a circular to the Attorneys General at the Courts of Appeal and the Public Prosecutors at the Courts of First Instance, in which it called on them to enhance the activation of the reconciliation procedure as an alternative to filing a public lawsuit, within the framework of the developments brought by Law No. 03.23 amending and supplementing the Code of Criminal Procedure.
The circular clarified that the legislator, through the amendment of Articles 41 and 41-1, aimed to strengthen the role of the Public Prosecution in adopting restorative justice, which allows for the resolution of a number of misdemeanor disputes outside the traditional trial path, by enabling the possibility of proposing reconciliation by the Public Prosecutor automatically between the parties to the dispute or through mediation. The new guidelines highlighted that reconciliation is no longer limited to some minor misdemeanors, but its scope has been expanded to include a number of misdemeanors that are more frequently presented to the Public Prosecutions, such as assault, theft, fraud, and breach of trust, with the possibility of resorting to mediators, the parties' lawyers, or even social assistance offices in the courts to ensure the success of the reconciliation procedure. The Public Prosecutor can also propose the payment of a reconciliation fine not exceeding half the maximum legal fine or obliging the perpetrator to repair the damage resulting from the criminal act, especially in cases where the injured party is not present or proves their written waiver. In a related context, the Public Prosecution emphasized the importance of applying the reconciliation procedure also in cases involving a child in conflict with the law, in accordance with Article 461 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, in a way that takes into account the best interest of the child and allows for the possibility of ending the dispute without resorting to judicial follow-up, in order to preserve their integration into their natural environment. The statistical data accompanying the circular revealed a noticeable increase in the number of beneficiaries of the reconciliation procedure in recent years, as the number increased from 8,219 beneficiaries in 2023 to 15,862 in 2024, before reaching 21,963 beneficiaries during 2025, an increase of about 38 percent. Despite this improvement, the Public Prosecution recorded a disparity between the courts in activating this procedure, calling on some Public Prosecutions to exert greater efforts to benefit from the new legal facilities, especially after the cancellation of the reconciliation approval procedure and making the agreement effective as soon as an official record is drawn up and the agreed obligations are implemented. The circular affirmed that the activation of reconciliation falls within the priorities of criminal policy, due to its role in protecting the rights of victims and reducing the number of cases brought before the criminal courts, calling on the Public Prosecution officials to follow up on the implementation of reconciliation agreements within the specified deadlines and to provide the Presidency with the statistical data related to the application of this procedure, while disseminating the guidelines to their deputies to ensure the proper implementation of the provisions of the new law.
