During its latest meeting on this Friday, the Moroccan ministerial council, presided by the king Mohamed VI, has approved a new bill, which aims at ending the prosecution of civilians by military courts.
This bill, which will be presented to Parliament for approval, stipulates that civilians, regardless of the nature of the allegedly committed offense, can in no way be referred to military courts for trials.
The bill goes even further and dictates that military people, as well, will no longer be tried by military courts for common law offenses; yet they will simply be sentenced, as normal civilians, by civil courts.
“Its a historical decision, the military court will hence be an independent specialized court, whose judgments and decisions can even be appealed ” said the spokesman of the government, Mustapha Khafil.
This decision is primarily aiming at ” harmonizing national legislative related to military justice with the provisions of the newly adopted Constitution, as well as with international principles and standards ” recalled by the spokesman of the Royal Palace , Abdelhak Lamrini.
