The House of Representatives has approved amendments to the Commercial Code to enhance confidence in financial transactions.
In a public session held yesterday, Tuesday, the House ratified Bill No. 71.24, which aims to amend and supplement Law No. 15.95 related to the Commercial Code. This legislative move seeks to update the legal framework governing financial and commercial transactions and to bolster confidence in payment methods, particularly checks.
A statement from the Ministry of Justice indicated that this text, presented by Abdellatif Ouahbi, Minister of Justice, aligns with the strategic directions of the Kingdom aimed at keeping pace with the rapid changes in payment methods and addressing issues related to issuing checks without sufficient funds, which create concerning economic and social consequences, particularly in terms of investment and commercial dealings.
The source emphasized that the bill does not seek to decriminalize checks, thereby preserving their value and status as a payment method. Instead, it adopts a balanced approach that introduces greater flexibility through corrective measures that strike a balance between protecting rights and ensuring the stability of economic activities by simplifying procedures, facilitating collections, and establishing lenient deadlines for resolving issues at various stages of public litigation.
According to the statement, the reform aims to eliminate the consequences of this crime, whether related to personal freedoms or rehabilitation upon payment, while avoiding certain cases of loss of eligibility, in line with the principles of restorative justice and rationalizing the use of punitive incarceration.
The Ministry of Justice noted that among the major objectives of this reform are reducing reliance on cash in financial transactions, enhancing transparency, and limiting the risks of money laundering and tax evasion, as well as broadening the usage of commercial papers, thus contributing to achieving financial inclusion and economic integration and addressing the problems arising from judicial and banking practices related to checks and promissory notes.
The amendments also involved re-evaluating the legal framework governing checks to restore their credibility and encourage a wide range of citizens to regularize their situations through making payments related to fines, which would stimulate economic transaction dynamics and ease the burden on courts.
The project enshrined the principle of criminal reconciliation at all stages of litigation, including the execution of penalties, where payment or withdrawal of the complaint leads to the non-initiation or dropping of public prosecution, while also eliminating the effects of judicial rulings that have acquired the force of res judicata, with the stipulation that reconciliation cannot be revoked except in cases specified by law.
Among the new measures is the removal of the criminality associated with issuing checks without funds in cases involving relationships between spouses or first-degree ascendants or descendants. The public prosecution is granted a positive role in the procedure by notifying the drawer of the need to provide funds within thirty days, with the possibility of extending the deadline and subjecting the concerned individual to judicial monitoring.
Additionally, the text established the principle of proportionality between the severity of the act and the penalty, by increasing the maximum custodial sentences for some crimes related to checks and forgery, while limiting penalties to fines in other cases, especially when accepting a check as collateral, with the dropping of public prosecution in the event of payment within legal deadlines.
The amendments also included stipulations allowing for the electronic freezing of check amounts remotely, at the request of the beneficiary and by order of the drawer, according to legal provisions to be defined by a circular issued by the Wali of Bank Al-Maghrib, along with establishing specific rules for promissory notes drawn on a banking institution to enhance the protection of beneficiaries and reinforce trust in this method.
In conclusion, the Ministry of Justice asserted that the ratification of this project represents a significant legislative milestone that will contribute to modernizing the commercial transaction system, achieving a better balance between deterrence and the protection of rights, thereby serving the stability of economic transactions in the Kingdom.
