The phenomenon of overcrowding in prisons in Morocco, and exploring alternative methods for custodial punishments.

Agadir 24 | Agadir24

In an attempt to monitor the phenomenon of overcrowding in prisons in Morocco and explore alternative methods for custodial punishments

There are huge challenges facing an attempt to research and monitor the conditions of prisons in Morocco, and the known overcrowding that has exhausted the guardians and supervisors of them. Anticipating its solutions, especially the issue of rationalizing pretrial detention, has been linked to the constant attention of the judicial authority, the Presidency of the Public Prosecution, and the human rights bodies, most notably the National Council for Human Rights and its committees. Regional, and the thematic reports it provides, especially those responsible for protection.

Concerns that intersect between legal, human rights, and the extent to which this unprecedented situation of prisons in Morocco reflects on politics.

There is a famous saying that says: “The person who enters prison is not the same person who comes out of it.”

There is no doubt that treating the criminal phenomenon and achieving justice and judicial efficiency is an ongoing necessity, and it may seem naive to dream of a world without prisons, but in light of the changes and development experienced by societies and human awareness, it is necessary to benefit from comparative judicial experiences in many countries to reach more reformative means. A punitive system that fulfills its purpose, but at the same time preserves human humanity. It is a matter that questions the criminal policy followed in our country and the role of custodial punishment in discipline and reform, with the necessity of adopting new mechanisms in the judicial injunctive work, especially judicial impeachment, rationalization of preparatory investigation, and granting bodies The ruling is the authority to adjust misdemeanors, reviewing the requirements of the absentia procedure, adopting scientific and technical means in the procedures, developing and strengthening mechanisms to combat crime, and emphasizing the necessity of reducing the periods of rehabilitation and its effectiveness.

In addition to what we raised regarding the necessity of actually rationalizing pretrial detention in the first place, in light of the availability and alternative measures for follow-up in the event of release and the possibility of being placed under judicial supervision or attaching the release to financial bail, or any systematic procedure that guarantees the investigating judge and the Public Prosecution to carry out their procedures without resorting to pretrial detention, in addition to According to the discussion of the draft criminal law, the court can make ample room for legal excuses, whether exempting from punishment or mitigating it, such as the offender’s social, health, and economic circumstances, in addition to the personality of the accused and the seriousness of his criminal act.

Emphasizing the necessity of granting the court the power to partially suspend prison sentences that do not exceed ten years, without less than half of the sentence imposed, and this is what we find in Article 55 of the draft Code of Criminal Procedure.

In addition to consecrating punishment as a legal criminal principle, we find the most important fact, which is related to the theory of combining punishment and preventive measures on the part of the criminal judge, and the emphasis on ensuring repression and deterrence through alternative means to resolve disputes before the indictment authority and before follow-up. The same draft came to confirm that reconciliation Or waiving the complaint in specific cases puts an end to the implementation of the penalty and personal measures, without taking concrete measures, Articles 102/1 and 102/2 thereof.

Not to mention the necessity of working to reduce the differences between the maximum and minimum punishment limits in order to control the judge’s discretionary power.
The judicial authority today, with the staggering statistics of the situation

The inhumane and cruel nature, and what was provided by the General Delegation for Prison Administration and Reintegration, which is the institution responsible for prisons in Morocco since 2008, as well as the Presidency of the Public Prosecution, and the reports and monitoring of the situation of the prisons by the National Council for Human Rights and its regional committees, is something with which the judicial judiciary has become required to activate the guarantees that These are granted by defendants prosecuted before the Public Prosecution or their defence, including personal guarantees and financial guarantees, taking into account their social status, with the aim of following up upon release by setting special standards and effective controls that suit each individual defendant and the seriousness of his act and bypassing the sufficient time required by the large number and pressure of files and completing the procedures associated with them. My respect. The principle of the sanctity of innocence.

The penalties of deprivation of liberty occupy the forefront of most modern criminal legislation, but the high rates of war, especially those committed in the case of recidivism, have become a problem of the shortcomings and failure of the penal system, and it has become necessary to search for alternative methods for reform and reintegration within society.

The Moroccan legislator, as one of the advanced international legislations, is credited with effectively approving alternatives to public lawsuits: such as injunctive conciliation, Article 41, the executive bond in violations, Article 375, the judicial order in misdemeanors, Article 383, as well as stopping the progress of public lawsuits, Article 372.

And also amending what was stated in the draft law on criminal procedure by raising the limits of adopting all of these alternatives, in comparison with what European countries are adopting, and also the same Anglo-Saxon system as pioneering experiments, because of its positive effects on the administration of justice and achieving its goals, in addition to the administrative executive bond that the project confirmed in the articles. From 3-382 to 1-382

With regard to events and special rules, activating the role of institutions related to the types of events, and confirming their work with all those involved, especially the guarded freedom and activating measures of control and protection by all actors, whether the judicial police, health agencies, or correctional institutions, and all those concerned with establishing the best interest of vulnerable groups. Before talking regarding the importance of sanctions. In developing criminal policy, as well as in reconsidering the concept of punishment and reducing the deprivation of freedom, we must focus on the necessity of working to reduce the periods in both theoretical custody and pretrial detention, emphasizing their exceptionality and that the principle is follow-up in the event of release, and setting regulating standards to determine the authority The appropriateness is in the hands of the Public Prosecution, Articles 40/49. It is necessary to work on supplementing the provisions of the draft law on criminal procedure with regard to alternative penalties and expediting their adoption, such as work for the public benefit and the daily fine. We find that the Moroccan legislator adopted in draft law No. 43/22 a set of alternative penalties, in order to strengthen the penal system in Morocco and a desire to extract the unique penal system. Which gives our criminal legislation its strong character.
As soon as we examine the new text presented by this draft law, we find within its articles a new concept stipulated in an explicit form for penalties that were not before, the most important of which are “work for the public benefit, a daily fine, and the imposition of control, remedial, or rehabilitative measures.”

We believe that it is an important step to address the overcrowding in prison institutions and reduce the state’s financial burden required by spending on prison institutions? And to what extent is it considered a successful judicial option in choosing the appropriate punishment for the act as an alternative punishment that will make the convict resentful and regret his crime without repeating it? Or is Moroccan society in dire need of social and economic reform that includes all its groups and not just legal rules and procedures that can reduce crime and overcrowding in prisons? .

Mr. Al-Hussein Bakkar Al-Sibai
Lawyer and researcher on immigration and human rights.