Rights
A 2011 constitution that constrains but preserves the monarchy
The 2011 constitution, adopted after the February 20 protests, transferred significant powers to an elected government while retaining the King's religious authority as Commander of the Faithful and his control over strategic sectors.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Unitary monarchy with advancing regionalisation. The Constitutional Court reviews organic laws before promulgation and hears referred questions.
Governing law
- Constitution of Morocco 2011
- Organic Law 066-13 on the Constitutional Court
- Organic Law 065-13 on the organisation of government
- Article 41 — the King as Amir al-Mu'minin
In practice
The 2011 text obliges the King to appoint the head of government from the party that wins the most seats, which converted a discretionary appointment into a constrained one and is the most concrete change in the document. Two spheres remain reserved: religion, through the King's status as Commander of the Faithful, and the strategic domains of defence and foreign policy exercised through the Council of Ministers. Amazigh was recognised as an official language alongside Arabic, with an organic law following in 2019. Constitutional review is concentrated and mostly a priori, so litigants cannot generally raise constitutionality collaterally in ordinary proceedings, which limits the constitution's practical role in private disputes.