Jurisdiction
- Personal and movable property claims whose value does not exceed 5,000 dirhams (Art. 10), excluding personal status, real estate, employment and eviction disputes.
- Minor offences listed by law, punishable by fines, committed within the court's jurisdiction.
- The judge first attempts to reconcile the parties.
Procedure
- Proceedings are brought by oral or written declaration at the court registry, free of charge and without mandatory representation by a lawyer.
- Judgment is delivered quickly and is not open to appeal; it may be subject to an application for annulment before the president of the Court of First Instance on limited grounds.
- Enforcement follows the rules of the Code of Civil Procedure.
Key articles
Art. 10
« Local courts hear all personal and movable property claims whose value does not exceed five thousand dirhams; they do not hear disputes relating to personal status, real property, employment matters or evictions. »
A lawyer's points to watch
- The 5,000 dirham ceiling is assessed on the main claim; above that amount, the Court of First Instance has jurisdiction.
- Since there is no appeal, preparation of the file is decisive: bring all your evidence to the first hearing.
- The application for annulment before the president of the Court of First Instance is subject to a short time limit and confined to specific cases (lack of jurisdiction, breach of the rights of the defence).
The English text on this page, including the quoted articles, is an unofficial translation. Information sheet prepared by Maître Lahfaia Law Firm, Rabat. It does not constitute legal advice. Only the text published in the Official Bulletin of the Kingdom of Morocco is authoritative; the articles cited may have been amended since this sheet was written.