Morocco: Here are the Newest Royal Nominations

His Majesty King Mohammed VI made a series of appointments, during a royal audience, held Monday, March 22nd, at the Royal Palace in Fez, as stated in a press release by the Royal cabinet.

These royal appointments concern the Superior Council of the Judiciary, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Court of Auditors and the Competition Council.

These nominations include in particular:

• Mohamed Abdennabaoui, appointed first president of the Court of Cassation, and therefore deputy president of the Superior Council of the Judiciary; replacing Mustapha Fares;
• Hassan Daki, appointed Attorney General at the Court of Cassation, and therefore President of the Public Ministry, replacing Mohamed Abdennabaoui;
• Zineb El Adaoui, appointed first president of the Court of Auditors, replacing Driss Jettou;
• Ahmed Rahhou, appointed president of the Competition Council, replacing Driss Guerraoui;

Moreover, in accordance with the provisions of article 115 of the Constitution, H.M the King received the five members of the Superior Council of the Judiciary, whose appointment comes under the royal prerogatives by virtue of the Constitution.

These include:

• Ahmed Ghazali and Mohamed Amine Benabdellah whom the King has re-appointed as members of the Council;
• Mohamed Zaoug, Mohamed Nassar and Khalid Laraichi, whom the King appointed new members of this Council;

The appointment of Ahmed Rahhou comes after the submission of the report of the ad-hoc committee responsible for carrying out the necessary investigations to clarify the situation arising from the confusion created by the conflicting decisions of the Competition Council in the case of possible agreements in the hydrocarbons sector contained in the divergent notes brought to His Majesty the King on July 23rd and 28th, 2020.

In accordance with the mission entrusted by the His Majesty, the commission ensured compliance with the laws and procedures relating to the functioning of the Competition Council and the conduct of the litigation proceedings and concluded that the processing process this affair was punctuated by numerous procedural irregularities.

In view of the elements submitted, the King ordered the transmission to the Head of Government of the recommendations of the ad-hoc Commission, in order to remedy the inaccuracies of the current legal framework, strengthen the impartiality and the capacities of this constitutional institution, and consolidate its vocation as an independent body contributing to the strengthening of good governance, the rule of law in the economic world and consumer protection.

It is recalled that the ad-hoc committee was not tasked with examining the substance of the contentious case before the Competition Council, nor, even less, to take the place of the Council in its treatment.

The King also provided guidance to Zineb El Adaoui to ensure that the Court of Accounts carries out its constitutional missions, in terms of public finance control and strengthening and protection of the principles of good governance, transparency and accountability.