The Minister of Justice, Abdel Latif Wehbe, confirmed his intention to bring out the criminal law in the form he hopes. However, he referred to the difficulties that might stand in his way, considering that “it is exhausting,” and this law may not come out in the end, “if they defeat me.”
The Minister of Justice criticizes the slow pace of consultations and revisions regarding this text. The minister had pledged to issue the first text of this law before April, but that has not happened yet. The minister, who was speaking at an intellectual meeting on individual freedoms, on Tuesday in Rabat, indicates that the large number of opinions and desires for amendment from all sides may make the text in the end obstructive, as happened with him on the issue of child marriage when he tried to consult the Court of Cassation and it responded to him with an answer that he considers a “return.” to point zero”, and “a wide opening for marriage.”
Nevertheless, the minister stressed that he would do “whatever needs to be done” to get the law out in an appropriate form.
The government official considers the criminal law to be a “state law,” not a “government law.” He explained that this law “is not like any other law that any government comes and changes according to its whims, or even cancels it.”
The Minister of Justice plans to change controversial provisions in the Criminal Code, such as those related to marital infidelity, abortion, and rape, but after he criticized the ruling texts for some of these crimes, he did not provide a clear picture of what he would propose as an alternative.