The Right to Information Law in Morocco: Legislative Gains and Implementation Challenges
Morocco recently marked the seventh anniversary of the implementation of Law No. 31.13, which pertains to the right to access information. This law emerged as part of a broader reform initiative designed to actualize the provisions of Article 27 of the 2011 Constitution, with the primary goal of fostering transparency, openness, and building a trusting relationship between the administration and its citizens. Despite the institutional and legislative strides made—including the establishment of a legal framework and the creation of technical mechanisms such as the national portal "Shafafiya" and the Information Access Commission—evaluations reveal a significant disparity between legislative achievements and actual administrative practices. Advocates from civil society and human rights organizations note that the transition to a culture of openness within Morocco's public administration continues to face bureaucratic obstacles and broad interpretations of legal exceptions. There are explicit warnings regarding the decline in the effectiveness of technical and institutional mechanisms in recent years. Stakeholders emphasize that addressing these shortcomings necessitates genuine political will aimed at revising the existing law and initiating a national public dialogue to ensure that the right to information serves as a genuine tool in the fight against corruption and in the support of democratic development.
Assessing the Impact of the Law
Abdelilah Khdari, the head of the Moroccan Human Rights Center, articulated that commemorating the seventh anniversary of the implementation of Law No. 31.13 provides an opportunity to evaluate this reform initiative, which is fundamentally tied to the enforcement of Article 27 of the 2011 Constitution. Khdari acknowledged that while Morocco has indeed made significant institutional and legislative advances, transitioning from a culture of secrecy that has characterized public administration for decades to a culture of openness remains a daunting challenge, with a lengthy journey still ahead. He pointed out that despite the appointment of information officers in various institutions and the establishment of mechanisms for receiving requests, bureaucratic practices and expansive interpretations of legal exceptions continue to impede citizens' effective exercise of this constitutional right. Furthermore, Khdari stressed that genuine transformation hinges on instilling a new administrative consciousness that perceives information as a public asset rather than an administrative privilege, necessitating ongoing training and awareness efforts within the administration to enhance transparency culture.
Regarding the effectiveness of the established mechanisms, Khdari noted that the launch of the national portal for the right to access information, "Shafafiya," represents a positive step towards digitizing and simplifying processes, facilitating the submission and tracking of requests, and enhancing the principle of proactive information dissemination. The establishment of the Information Access Commission is also viewed as a crucial institutional mechanism for monitoring the law's implementation and addressing related complaints. However, Khdari cautioned that bridging the gap between legal texts and practical application is closely tied to empowering this commission and ensuring it has adequate resources, along with mandating administrations to regularly publish public data.
In Khdari's view, the success of this initiative should not be solely measured by the presence of relatively advanced legal texts but by the extent to which the right to access information transforms into a daily practice that enhances accountability and fosters trust in institutions. This requires ongoing administrative reform and the entrenchment of the principle of openness as a foundational institutional choice, which in turn demands genuine political will manifested through the precise and transparent implementation of the constitutional right to information.
Mohamed Al-Aouni, a civil society activist and head of the "Freedom of Media and Expression" organization, expressed to Hespress a profound sense of futility and a decline in trust among civil actors towards the commission responsible for handling this constitutional right and the public authorities' approach to it. He emphasized that this sentiment stems from the lack of tangible outcomes despite ongoing efforts to develop this initiative legally, culturally, and practically. Al-Aouni highlighted that the seventh anniversary of the law's implementation is, in fact, the eighth anniversary of its issuance, underscoring that Moroccan civil society's interest in this right dates back to the 1990s, marking over thirty years of advocacy for transparency.
In assessing the law's implementation, Al-Aouni pointed out a concerning technical paradox: the previous "Shafafiya.ma" portal had amassed approximately 70,000 information requests despite slow response times. However, after its shutdown and the transition to the new portal managed by the commission, there has been a drastic decline, with the new platform receiving only 309 requests, of which merely 13 were processed, raising questions about the efficacy of this transition. He criticized the institutional performance of the commission, noting that it has issued only one annual report over the past eight years, which fails to address the fundamental issue of citizens' actual exercise of this right, reflecting a lack of follow-up and development in the initiative.
In conclusion, Al-Aouni called for amending the law and initiating a genuine national public discussion, asserting that the current Law No. 31.13 is inadequate in preventing the community from effectively monitoring the commission's work and democratically activating the right to information. He emphasized the necessity of launching a real public debate to amend this law, ensuring its alignment with the fight against corruption, the promotion of transparency, and the consolidation of democratic and human rights frameworks in Morocco.
As reported by hespress.com.
