23/12/2025
How can we ensure truly accessible justice for children in conflict with the law in Morocco? How can we transform legal texts into concrete practices that respect the dignity and fundamental rights of minors?
These are the central questions of the qualitative study presented on 19 December 2025 by our research and consultancy firm, at the closing workshop of the JUSTEMENT project in Rabat.
Coordinated by Zouhir Adaoui and Dr Driss El Ghazouani, this fieldwork study, supported by the European Union, Progettomondo Morocco and ADALA, gives voice to those rarely heard: the minors themselves. Their testimonies, collected in six prisons and two child protection centres in Morocco, reveal a contrasting reality.
On one hand, a legal framework that has made considerable progress: the 2011 Constitution, Law 22-01 on criminal procedure, and the recent Laws 43-22 on alternative sentencing and 10-23 on penitentiary reform.
On the other hand, young people who do not understand the procedures they are subjected to, who feel judged without being heard, and who struggle to envision a future beyond the walls.
The finding is clear: normative advances are not enough. Investment is now needed in professional training, the development of alternatives to detention, psychosocial support, and reintegration programmes tailored to the local labour market.
Juvenile justice is not a matter for specialists alone. It is a matter for an entire society that believes in every young person’s capacity to rebuild their life and contribute positively to their community.
