House of Representatives Unanimously Adopts Two Government Bills on the Judicial System and Renewable Energies
The House of Representatives adopted two Government bills on Monday, May 23, 2022, by unanimity of votes. The first Bill concerns the judicial system, while the second one covers renewable energies and the creation of the National Authority for Electricity Regulation. The adoption took place during a legislative plenary sitting chaired by the Speaker of the House, Rachid Talbi El Alami, in the presence of the Minister of Justice, Abdellatif Ouahbi; the Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication, Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid, and Mr. Mustapha Baïtas, the Minister in charge of Relations with the Parliament and the Government Spokesperson.
The House unanimously approved Government bill 38.15 on the judicial system, as the House of Councilors referred for second reading. This legislative text comes to complement the legal arsenal for implementing the justice system reform project. In addition, it is part of modernizing the legal arsenal to keep pace with international legislative developments and the clauses of international conventions and respond to the demands and aspirations of litigants.
The amendments presented by the parliamentary groups focused on a number of issues, mainly the addition of the Public Prosecutor’s Office to the parties whose opinion is requested during the determination of the judicial map, the creation of chambers attached to the courts of the second instance. It will also allow the court to request litigants to provide a translation into Arabic of documents submitted in a foreign language. The Bill also adds the Supreme Council of the Judiciary and the representative of the decentralized authorities of government as parties with whom the Ministry of Justice may coordinate in courts' administrative and financial supervision.
During the same sitting, the Representatives unanimously adopted Government Bill 40.19, amending and supplementing Law 13.09 on Renewable Energies and Law 48.15 on Regulating the Electricity Sector and Creating the National Authority for Electricity Regulation.
The Bill is part of the efforts to accelerate the pace of energy transition to exceed the target of 52% of the electricity generated from renewable sources in the national electricity blend by 2030.
This reform will enable the resolution of the technical constraints on the development of the safety and advancement of the national electric system to enable it to accommodate a large number of applications for licenses submitted by private companies for the establishment of renewable energy projects and open new horizons for the development of these projects.
Law No. 13.09, as amended and supplemented, promotes the production, marketing, and export of energy from renewable sources, subjects the installations of energy production from renewable sources to a free system, authorization, or license, and grants operators the right to produce electricity from renewable sources for one or a group of consumers.