Since 24 August 2026, Moroccan courts have applied a new Code of Civil Procedure, enacted by Law No. 58.25. It touches almost every stage of a case: how you are summoned, whether you can appeal, and what an abusive challenge will cost you. With lawyers back at work since 7 October 2026, after nearly four months of protest, its effects are now visible in real files. Here is what matters, and what it means for a case that is already pending.
A code in force since 24 August 2026
Law No. 58.25 is the new Code of Civil Procedure. It follows an earlier bill that the Constitutional Court partly struck down in 2025, and it has applied since 24 August 2026. The code governs how civil and commercial cases run: bringing a claim, summonses, hearings and appeals.
Its practical application was slowed by the lawyers' protest movement; they only resumed work on 7 October 2026. Since then, court filings must carry the lawyer's national professional number, and courts are paying close attention to mandatory particulars: a formal defect can make a claim inadmissible.
Summonses: the declared address is what counts
The new code places more responsibility on the parties. Under Articles 77 and 216, each party must inform the court of any change of address, and service at the last declared address is valid. Someone who moves without telling the court will find it hard to argue that they were never reached.
Where a defendant cannot be found, Article 86 allows the court to use the address held in the database of the electronic national identity card (CNIE); the summons is then deemed validly served. As for email, public-law legal persons must declare an address on the designated platform (Article 626), while this remains optional for private persons (Article 627).
Remote hearings: a framework written into the code
Remote hearings now have a legal framework. The code requires an equipped room, fair-trial guarantees, simultaneous two-way communication and written minutes. Audiovisual recording is possible, provided personal data protection is respected. The court may return to the ordinary procedure by a reasoned decision. The practical arrangements are still to be set by regulation.
Appeals and cassation: thresholds to know
Under Article 30, the court of first instance (tribunal de première instance) rules at first and last instance when the value of the dispute does not exceed 10,000 dirhams (DH): no appeal is then available. Above that amount, an appeal remains possible. Where there is no commercial court in the district, the court of first instance may hear commercial cases up to 80,000 DH (Article 31).
Appeals to the Court of Cassation (Cour de cassation, the supreme court) are also limited: Article 375 excludes them for cases worth 30,000 DH or less, and for the recovery of rent, rental charges and rent review.
Abusive challenges, conciliation and fraudulent decisions
The legislator wants to discourage proceedings brought only to buy time. Article 10 allows damages to be awarded for an action brought in bad faith, in the same case or through a separate claim. In payment order proceedings, Article 243 exposes anyone who files a dilatory objection or appeal to a fine of 5% to 15% of the debt, paid to the Treasury rather than to the creditor.
Article 8 makes conciliation and mediation essential means of settling disputes: the court may entrust them to the parties' lawyers, to social workers or to qualified persons, and a settlement is recorded in a judgment that cannot be appealed. Finally, Article 17 allows the public prosecutor to seek, within five years, the annulment of a final decision contrary to public order where it rests on forgery, a falsified document or fraud.
My case is pending: which rules apply?
Article 643 organises the transition. The former jurisdiction rules continue to apply to cases that are ready for judgment. Time limits that had already started to run continue under the old rules. Most importantly, the new appeal rules do not apply to judgments delivered before 24 August 2026.
In practice, we suggest checking three things: the date of the judgment, delivered or expected; the exact value of the claim; and the address declared to the court. These three facts now shape much of what happens next in a case.
Sources
- Médias24, 10 August 2026: « Nouveau code de procédure civile : ce qui change dès le 24 août »
- Médias24, 6 October 2026: « Reprise des avocats : ce qui change concrètement dans leur quotidien »
- Médias24, 12 October 2026: « Le courrier électronique, obstacle à l'accès à la justice »
Maître Mouad Lahfaia
Lawyer at the Rabat Bar
This article reflects the author's views as at the date of publication. It does not constitute legal advice and is no substitute for an analysis of your particular situation.