On Tuesday, the House of Representatives approved, on second reading, a proposed overhaul of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The bill, labeled 03.23 and amending Law 22.01, passed with 47 votes in favor and 15 against. No members abstained.
This latest vote follows a series of amendments introduced by the upper house and then reviewed by the Justice, Legislation, Human Rights and Freedoms Committee. Lawmakers aimed to clarify the language of the bill and ensure internal consistency, while tightening regulations surrounding the seizure and freezing of assets linked to criminal activity. The revised text now explicitly protects certain types of property—such as salaries, pensions, and inheritances obtained before an offense—from being seized.
The reform also touches on the practice of imprisonment for unpaid debts, known as “contrainte par corps.” The requirement for a prior warning has been removed, and the process will now be handled through a centralized digital platform designed to streamline debt recovery. The minimum age for being subjected to this procedure has been raised from 18 to 20, depending on when the offense occurred. Additionally, debts below 8,000 dirhams are now exempt from this form of enforcement, given the relatively minor penalties they carry.
Another significant update eliminates the traditional method of broadcasting court summonses and other legal notices through radio or public television. These will now be published on a dedicated digital platform, aiming to modernize and standardize legal communications.
The legislation also includes more favorable provisions for minors. Under the revised version of Article 632.7, the number of days deducted from their sentence as part of automatic sentence reductions has been doubled.
Finally, the law shortens the maximum time allowed for verifying a person’s identity following arrest. Authorities will now be limited to four hours, with a possible four-hour extension permitted only with a prosecutor’s approval. Previously, the standard limit was six hours.
