L’encadrement de l’action publique en matière de délinquance financière à la lumière de la loi n°03.23’

Abstract

The reform initiated by the legislator through Law No. 03.23 amending Article 3 of the Moroccan Code of Criminal Procedure constitutes a fundamental basis for a remarkable evolution of the public prosecution system, particularly in matters relating to financial crime. In this regard, economic and financial offences have witnessed significant growth as well as increasing complexity, which has prompted the legislator to strengthen its intervention while granting broader powers to specialized institutions in order to detect any act likely to undermine the economic and financial order. Furthermore, the legislator has established a more structured framework for the proper initiation of criminal proceedings.

This article is centered on the analysis of the various contributions of this reform, as well as the limitations it raises concerning the balance between the effectiveness of criminal prosecutions, the protection of public funds, and above all the respect for fair trial guarantees. Consequently, the analysis has demonstrated that the reform seeks to improve the quality of financial investigations while enabling specialized bodies to play a significant role in such cases and to strengthen prior control mechanisms.

Nevertheless, several questions remain, particularly with regard to the impact of the new mechanism on access to justice, the promptness of criminal prosecutions, as well as the role of external reporting mechanisms in uncovering financial offences. Moreover, the reform introduced by Law No. 03.23 appears to constitute an attempt to adapt and further harmonize the Moroccan procedural system with the new requirements of contemporary economic and financial criminality