Legal protection: A practical guide to forestry litigation in criminal matters was presented on Wednesday during a joint ceremony between the Court of Cassation and the National Agency for Water and Forests. It aims to strengthen the legal and judicial protection of national forest heritage.
The headquarters of the Superior Council of the Judicial Power in Rabat hosted, Wednesday June 3, 2026, a joint ceremony organized by the Court of Cassation and the National Agency for Water and Forests (ANEF), dedicated to the presentation of the “Practical Guide to Forestry Litigation in Criminal Matters”. The development of this guide was entrusted to a joint commission made up of experts from the Court of Cassation and the ANEF. It is part of a common framework reflecting the active partnership between the two institutions. This document aims to strengthen the legal and judicial protection of national forest heritage, while supporting efforts to implement the national strategy “Forests of Morocco 2020-2030”.
The main objective of this guide is to supervise and improve the management of forestry disputes in criminal matters, through the consolidation and simplification of the legal and regulatory framework, presented in a practical and accessible form to all stakeholders. It also aims to harmonize practices by regulating the procedures and approaches relating to the detection and investigation of forest offenses, in order to reduce differences in interpretation and guarantee rigorous application of the law. Furthermore, it contributes to strengthening judicial and administrative efficiency, by reconciling speed in processing cases and respect for legal guarantees, while consolidating coordination and complementarity between the judicial authority and the National Water and Forests Agency. It is also a question of raising the quality of the professional practice of those involved thanks to a reference tool based on the most recent jurisprudential guidelines of the Court of Cassation.
As a reminder, this guide is part of the implementation of the constructive partnership linking the Court of Cassation and the National Agency for Water and Forests, formalized by the cooperation agreement signed in 2022, and as an extension of the strategic plan of the Superior Council of the Judicial Power 2021-2026 relating to the strengthening of coordination and communication with the various institutional actors.
