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The Justice, Legislation, Human Rights and Freedoms Committee in the House of Representatives approved, by majority vote on Thursday at second reading, Bill 66.23 regulating the legal profession.
Justice Minister Abdellatif Ouahbi presented the amendments adopted by the Justice and Human Rights Committee in the House of Councillors. Of more than 200 amendments submitted by councillors, 34 were retained by a dedicated subcommittee.
The committee rejected an amendment from the House of Councillors that sought to raise the maximum age for entering the legal profession from 45 to 50, opting instead to keep the age limit at 45, as previously approved by the House of Representatives.
It also endorsed expanding the academic qualifications eligible for the entrance examination to the Lawyers' Training Institute, allowing graduates of Sharia faculties to apply alongside law graduates.
The committee further approved a provision requiring the president of the bar association to notify the government authority responsible for justice, as well as the first president of the Court of Cassation and the King's Prosecutor General, of the list of lawyers authorized to practice before the Court of Cassation.
Article 57-1, which governs lawyers' deposits and settlement accounts, prompted extensive legal and constitutional debate, particularly over whether such accounts should fall under the oversight of the Court of Auditors.
On the election of Bar Council members, the committee retained the bill's original allocation of seats: 40% for lawyers with more than 20 years of practice, 50% for those with 10 to 20 years, and 10% for lawyers with 5 to 10 years of experience.
The revised bill also guarantees minimum representation for each court of appeal on the Bar Council. It provides for 10 elected members where the number of registered lawyers ranges from 100 to 800, 20 members where there are 801 to 2,000 lawyers, and 30 members where the total exceeds 2,000.
