Morocco holds 4,403 virtual trials in three months

CAPE TOWN — Moroccan courts carried out 4,403 remote trials and scheduled 75,203 cases between April 27 and July 24, reported Morocco’s Superior Council of the Judiciary (CSPJ).

According to a report by Morocco World News on Wednesday, 87,893 detainees have benefited from remote trials since the ministry of justice suspended in-person court hearings on March 16 as a preventive measure against the spread of Covid-19.

In June, Minister of Justice Mohamed Benabdelkader said his department was finalising the digital transformation plan for Morocco’s judicial system. 

He said the digitisation plan should encourage the emergence of a new model adapted to remote communication and artificial intelligence techniques during the various stages of the judicial service, wrote Morocco World News.

Morocco’s CSPJ used the latest data on remote trials to highlight the success of the justice ministry’s shift to digital. 

According to the report, Morocco’s justice ministry believes the implementation of remote trials has helped protect detainees, prisoners, prison staff, judges and court officials from Covid-19.

The Remote Administrative and Judicial Services portal is one of the fundamental pillars adopted by the ministry of justice to complete its strategies for the modernisation of judicial administration through the implementation of online systems that facilitate the various court procedures, according to a Moroccan government website.

According to the website, this portal allows for remote requests to retrieve a set of documents relating to legal proceedings and files handled by the courts of the realm.

The Ministry of Justice also signed an agreement in June with the Royal Institute of Amazigh Culture to integrate the Tamazight (Berber) language into the country’s judicial system.

According to a June report by Morocco World News, members of these communities will now be able to use their mother tongue and communicate in courtrooms, which will eliminate a major barrier for them in judicial proceedings.