The King’s powers

The King’s powers

 The golden key of the new constitution is undoubtedly one that poses, immediately and unequivocally, the regulative principles of the Moroccan political system in its new configuration: “Morocco is a   constitutional, democratic, parliamentary and social monarchy. The constitutional system of the kingdom is based on the separation, balance and collaboration of powers, as well as citizenship and participatory democracy and the principles of good governance and the correlation between responsibility and accountability” Paragraph1.

 Considering this article that imposes any advised reading of the Title III disposals of the new constitution, that are related to the king’s powers (Articles 41- 59).

 This reading will necessarily involves the screening of the distinction of the explicit and the detailed distinction of the king’s powers, as commander of the faithful, - in charge of the religious matters- and as    head of the state and his supreme representative, symbol of national and territorial unity, carrying out missions for arbitration, the guarantor of democratic choice and the fundamental interests of the country.

 

The king’s attributions are practiced on different levels

The king nominates the Head of Government from the wining party of the legislative elections.

Upon the Prime Minister's recommendation, the King appoints the other Cabinet members as he may terminate their services. The King can put an end to their functions either from his initiative or from the one of the head of government. The king presides the ministers’ council; he is the supreme leader of the Royal Armed Forces, he nominates, after the head government’s proposition and the concerned minister initiative, the civil jobs of the Bank Al-Maghrib’s Wali, the ambassador, the Wali and the governor. The king promulgates law, can dissolves, by Dahir, the two other parliament Houses.

He presides over the supreme council of the magistracy on which he approved by Dahir the magistrates’ nominations; and practices the right of pardon.

In case of exceptional circumstances, the Article 35 of the Constitution disposes the following:

“when the integrity of the national territory ever be under threat or  any event interrupts the course of action of the constitutional institutions, the King can, after consulting with the head of government, the President of the House of Representatives and the president of the House of Counselors as well as the Chairman of the Constitutional Court, and addressing the Nation, have the right to declare a State of Emergency by Royal Decree. As a result of the all contrary provisions, he shall hence assume the responsibility of taking all the necessary measures that the territorial integrity defence imposes and the restoration of a normal functioning of constitutional institutions and State affairs.

The State of Emergency shall not entail the dissolution of the Parliament, the freedoms and the fundamental rights are guaranteed.

It shall be terminated according to the same procedure followed in the proclamation thereof”.

He puts an end to this state in the same forms as its proclamation, as soon as the causes that justify it disappeared.