The Public Prosecution Activates Updates to Criminal Procedure Law 03.23
This Wednesday morning, November 26, 2025, a national meeting was held in the conference hall of the Public Prosecution Headquarters in Rabat. The meeting focused on the topic “The Role of the Public Prosecution in Implementing the Updates of Criminal Procedure Law 03.23.”
This gathering comes just days after Hicham Belhaj, the Attorney General at the Court of Cassation and Head of the Public Prosecution, issued a circular to public prosecutors in the Kingdom’s courts. The circular outlines the necessary instructions and guidelines for implementing the provisions of Law 03.23, which is set to take effect on December 8, 2025.
The new law, as confirmed by the Ministry of Justice, represents a critical juncture in the reform of the criminal justice system in Morocco, responding to a reformative will aimed at securing the right to defense, ensuring fair trials, and protecting rights and freedoms.
Notable updates included in Law 03.23, which were emphasized in the recent guidelines from the Public Prosecution, involve amendments to the rules of local and specialized jurisdiction for public prosecutors. Now, the location of the suspect in a correctional institution is part of the local jurisdiction criteria for the relevant prosecution. Additionally, in cases of anonymous tips, preliminary investigations must now be conducted before initiating any inquiries. The law also introduces alternatives to public action, such as conciliation for certain misdemeanors, and cancels the mandatory preliminary investigation in all types of cases, a requirement that previously applied to some misdemeanors and felonies.
Furthermore, the law provides stronger regulations to protect the rights of defendants and victims, including the rationalization of the use of coercive measures such as pretrial detention and judicial control, strictly defining their duration. It mandates notifying awaiting defendants of their right to legal representation and ensures the presence of a lawyer from the initial stages of the investigation.
The official publication of the law in the official gazette (Issue 7437 on September 8, 2025) represents a serious government commitment to continue modernizing criminal justice in the Kingdom, in line with the spirit of the 2011 constitution and royal directives aimed at establishing a state of rights and law.
This national meeting aims to guide judicial officials in all courts across the Kingdom to apply the new amendments uniformly, unify judicial practices to maintain the integrity of the system, and ensure the efficacy and transparency of criminal procedures.
