Abdellatif Ouahbi, the Minister of Justice, stated that forensic medicine in Morocco faces numerous challenges, highlighting that international human rights reports have raised concerns about the notable absence of this specialty in the Kingdom.
In response to questions from parliamentary representatives during the oral question session on Monday, Ouahbi explained that forensic medicine is “very limited, to the extent that it is not possible to provide a forensic doctor in every province.”
In this regard, the government official noted that the Ministry of Justice has issued a decree for rapid training of general practitioners to undertake forensic tasks. He also asked the Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research, and Innovation to open this specialty in medical schools; however, student interest remains weak due to low wages, which do not exceed 100 dirhams per autopsy.
The Minister of Justice further mentioned that his ministry is “currently reviewing the decree to increase compensation for forensic doctors,” indicating that there is currently training for 75 students in forensic medicine for deceased individuals and 63 in forensic medicine for living individuals, totaling 138 forensic doctors. He affirmed that there is a plan to train an additional 200 doctors, along with future training initiatives to address shortages in this vital field.
On another note, Abdellatif Ouahbi stressed that carrying knives has “become a dangerous phenomenon,” referring to unfortunate incidents such as the severing of a police officer’s hand in Agadir and the disfigurement of young women’s faces.
The government official explained that judicial rulings “have begun to strike with an iron fist on this issue,” adding that the new Criminal Procedure Law has expanded the definition of weapons to include any items that could be used to harm others, transitioning from Article 507 to Article 303 bis with increased penalties.
The minister expressed his determination to “be strict in punishing carriers of knives like swords or screwdrivers used to harm others,” affirming that this approach has the support of the public prosecutor and the judiciary. He also praised the efforts of the police and gendarmerie in this direction.
In response to questions about check fraud, the Minister of Justice emphasized the need to maintain checks as a tool for commercial transactions, warning against “killing the check,” as this, in his view, would “negatively affect the economy.”
He proposed a gradual approach to dealing with offenses, allowing citizens the opportunity to rectify their situations; he suggested that prosecution should cease once the check amount is paid, and advocated for decriminalizing check-related offenses between spouses, treating them as civil disputes instead. He also included that crimes involving checks without funds could be subject to alternative penalties (electronic monitoring) instead of direct incarceration.
He added that “a check remains guaranteed by the signature of its holder,” indicating that the law holds the signer responsible for the check regardless of its original ownership. He urged parliamentarians to “consider the number of legislators who have faced rulings due to checks,” emphasizing that the criminal field “should take into account that every citizen is susceptible to error,” and hoping for “the abolition of criminal prosecution in check cases, similar to other countries around the world.”
