Bensaid: New Law Project to Reorganize the National Press Council Enhances Independence and Addresses Previous Imbalances
Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid, Minister of Youth, Culture, and Communication, confirmed that the draft law number 26.25 related to the reorganization of the National Press Council aims to strengthen the council and ensure its continued independence, as stipulated by the previous law number 90.13. The minister explained during a meeting of the Education, Culture, and Communication Committee at the House of Representatives that the new project seeks to address the imbalances of the previous phase and enhance the institution’s performance.
Bensaid indicated that this new legal framework is based on the outcomes of the Temporary Committee for the Management of the Press and Publishing Sector, as outlined in law number 15.23, and takes into account the results of consultations with professional bodies within a participatory approach.
The preparation of the project followed the inability to renew the structures of the National Press Council due to difficulties in organizing professional elections within the legal deadlines. This necessitated the extension of the council’s mandate through law number 55.22 before establishing the temporary committee for its management.
The minister confirmed that the new text includes structural and procedural amendments that respond to the constraints that have emerged from practice, particularly regarding the council’s composition and structures. The amendments included the establishment of a committee to oversee the organization of elections and the addition of a new task for the council relating to the creation of a special register for professional journalists and another for publishers.
The text reorganizes the council’s composition to include 19 members instead of 21, distributed across three categories: 7 members from professional journalists (including at least 3 female journalists), 7 members representing professional organizations, and 2 members from publishers with expertise and competence. The institutional category will also include a judge appointed by the Supreme Council of the Judiciary, a member from the National Human Rights Council, and another from the Economic, Social and Environmental Council.
Bensaid stated that the council’s effectiveness required excluding the Moroccan Writers’ Union from membership, with the possibility of reviewing the composition later as needed.
Regarding the electoral system, the minister clarified that any journalist eligible to stand for election must have been practicing for ten years without having faced disciplinary sanctions or final judicial rulings against them.
The representation of publishers has also been linked to precise professional and financial criteria, including the number of employees, turnover, the existence of a legal headquarters, regular publication, and the number of professional journalists.
The project emphasizes the establishment of a special committee as a mechanism to avoid institutional vacancies, tasked with carrying out the council’s responsibilities in cases where three-quarters of the members are unable to attend.
Bensaid concluded by noting that the Temporary Committee for Managing Press and Publishing Affairs will oversee the elections of journalists and the appointment of publishers once the law is published in the official gazette.
