Moroccan lawyers have extended a nationwide strike that has lasted nearly three months, protesting legal reforms they say threaten the independence of the profession.
The reforms, championed by Justice Minister Abdellatif Ouahbi and approved by Parliament in May, introduce changes affecting lawyers’ training, financial management and the governance of law firms.
Speaking on the continued industrial action, Me El Houssain Iziani, President of the Bar Associations of Morocco, said lawyers would maintain their boycott of professional services.
“We are observing a general boycott of professional services. This decision remains in force. The Executive Board of the Moroccan Bar Association renewed it today and has scheduled a meeting for 20 September 2026,” Iziani said.
The reforms were adopted in August despite the lawyers’ continuing protests and strike.
Iziani said the legal profession remained open to dialogue with any government that emerges from the country’s elections, stressing that lawyers were prepared to work towards a resolution of the dispute.
“Whichever government emerges from the elections, if it extends a hand to us to resolve this problem and this crisis, it will find ours extended as well, so that we can reach an appropriate solution. For this law has led to dysfunction, tragedies and harm,” he said.
The prolonged strike has disrupted the functioning of Morocco’s courts, resulting in delays in the handling of cases and preventing many citizens from filing legal complaints.
The lawyers’ action has intensified concerns over the impact of the reforms on access to justice, as the dispute between the legal profession and the government remains unresolved.
