Report on Media in Morocco - Arab Center for the Rule of Law and ...

happen under the rule of King Hassan II with the current situation under his successor
King Mohammed VI. The report also tries to reveal if there has been a shift from one
regime to another.
II- Chapter Two: Analysis of Principles
1- Independence
The concept of independence in media is still ambiguous in terms of definition. The
question raised was if independence meant independence from the State, political
parties, capital or from all these parties. In earlier phases, when the media of the
opposition was the first one to compete with the official media, the prevalent concept
of independence meant in the first place independence vis-à-vis the State and its
options. However, the perception towards this concept rapidly changed when
independent press emerged on the media arena. This press succeeded in breaking the
hegemony imposed by the partisan press. The concept has become more and more
related to "professional considerations" 26 , which means "seek to serve the recipient
via the media of truth and integrity."
However, this vision of the media's independence, even if it became clearer in the
rhetoric in the media, is facing some difficulties. Some of these difficulties are related
to the legal framework regulating the media in Morocco, as there is contradiction
between texts underlining the freedom and independence of press and others opposing
this orientation. Other difficulties are linked to practice and the ambiguity of choices
of political actors in terms of their vision of media in Morocco. The precipitations of
the culture that prevailed during the conflict between the public media and the
opposition's media are very present here.
1-1 Media Independence Guarantees
Whether in the Constitution, or in the Law of Press or other laws related to media,
there are guarantees that either concern the freedom of speech in general or the
freedom of the press in particular, or even with the freedom of the journalists' and
media outlets association, or the right to access information. However, these
guarantees find themselves surrounded by other conditions limiting them.
1-1-1 Freedom of Speech
The Moroccan Constitution guarantees the "freedom of opinion and speech of all
forms" (Article 9). It also guarantees "the freedom of establishing association, as well
as the freedom to join any syndicate or any political organization." The Constitution
stresses that "curbing the practice of these freedoms could not occur except by virtue
of the law."
There are other legal texts regulating the practice of the mentioned freedoms. For
instance, the public freedoms decree (zahir), that preceded Morocco's entrance into
26 Abdel-Nasser Fathallah: "Applaud for the speech of the leader: Political Communication in
Morocco," Imperial Printing office, First Edition, 2002, p.54.