The legal representative warns of “litigation professionals” flooding the state with lawsuits for profit
Abdel Rahman El Matouni, the legal representative of the Kingdom, has warned of a phenomenon he terms “professional litigation” against the state, indicating that there exists a group of individuals and entities specializing in exploiting administrative shortcomings to file unfounded or exaggerated lawsuits for financial gain.
He clarified during the first national conference on managing and preventing state disputes, held in Rabat on Tuesday, that this phenomenon is particularly evident in areas of physical aggression and public procurement, where certain entities have become known for repeatedly engaging in disputes against the state, taking advantage of legal or administrative loopholes. He emphasized that this situation represents an increasing burden on the judicial system and public administration.
While acknowledging that the right to litigate is a constitutional right, the legal official stressed that the abuse of this right has become concerning and requires the state to consider preventive mechanisms to limit the excessive exploitation of this right by “litigation professionals,” while respecting the legal guarantees for plaintiffs.
The Kingdom’s legal representative pointed out that the number of lawsuits filed against the state has increased by 70% over the past decade, whereas the judgments issued against it have only risen by 10%. He sees this as indicative of two things: on one hand, the limited seriousness of some litigation requests, and on the other, the improved performance of the entities responsible for defending the state, particularly the Kingdom’s legal agency.
He drew attention to the fact that the agency has managed, despite the rising pace of litigation, to increase the amounts it has saved for the state treasury from approximately 2 billion dirhams to 7 billion dirhams annually, highlighting the evolution of the tools for management and legal safeguarding of the state against the wave of lawsuits filed against it.
As part of its efforts to enhance economic stability and legal transparency, the legal representative proposed a comprehensive national strategy aimed at effectively managing and preventing state disputes. This strategy is manifested in several technical and organizational approaches aimed at achieving good governance and reducing costs associated with judicial disputes.
Among the notable approaches, El Matouni mentioned the reconsideration of legal provisions regulating the system, structuring expert work, and the necessity of reviewing related legal texts to ensure their effectiveness in light of current challenges. Additionally, he called for establishing a clearer legal framework to organize the work of experts in state-related disputes and reviewing certain legal texts that are no longer suitable for current administrative activities.
Furthermore, he indicated the importance of implementing legal amendments to texts that have become inconsistent with modern administrative practices, evaluating the risks of disputes, identifying administrative actions leading to significant financial liabilities, and setting up a preventive plan based on governance, training, and vigilance to avoid the recurrence of financial risks stemming from disputes. He also encouraged regional management of disputes by establishing local offices for the Kingdom’s legal agency to bring its services closer to local administrations.
The speaker highlighted the need to review the legal framework and consolidate legal texts by organizing the legal provisions related to the Kingdom’s legal agency to qualify it to serve as the national coordinator for dispute prevention programs and defending the state’s interests. He also emphasized the establishment of legal and organizational mechanisms to structure expertise by developing frameworks for judicial expertise and providing scientific criteria to ensure that state-related lawsuits meet fair rulings.
