Family Code reform: KMKB challenges Moroccan parties on the Constitution

This update focuses on Family Code reform Morocco. As Morocco heads towards the September 23 parliamentary elections, the long-awaited reform of the Family Code has been pushed back to the centre of the political scene by the association Kif Mama Kif Baba (KMKB), which is openly challenging the country’s main parties.

Family Code reform Morocco: KMKB seeks pledges from eight parties

On 19 August, KMKB delivered a letter to the general secretariats of eight political formations: PPS, FGD, RNI, PAM, Istiqlal, PJD, the Popular Movement and the USFP. The association is asking them for a clear public commitment for the next parliamentary term.

Its request is straightforward: none of these parties should propose, support or vote for any law or regulation related to the family that would, in KMKB’s view, contradict the 29 July 2011 Constitution.

The association stresses that its move, first announced in December 2025, is mainly legal in nature. It describes it as a “matter of law”, not as a political bargaining tactic. KMKB says it does not promote any particular ideological agenda but wants to remind parties of the constitutional framework that must guide the upcoming debate on Family Code reform in Morocco.

A 2004 law tested against the 2011 Constitution

Adopted in 2004, the Family Code is an ordinary law, which is hierarchically below the Constitution that came into force in 2011. For KMKB, any future reform cannot ignore this shift.

The association relies on several key constitutional provisions:

• Article 19, which enshrines equality between women and men and commits the State to work towards parity;
• Article 22, which guarantees protection of every person’s physical and moral integrity;
• Article 32, which provides equal legal protection to all children, regardless of their family status;
• Article 175, which forbids any rollback on fundamental rights and freedoms.

From KMKB’s perspective, no existing or future provision of the Family Code should contradict these guarantees. The Family Code reform Morocco must therefore be treated as a process of bringing family legislation fully into line with the 2011 Constitution.

Three sensitive areas: filiation, inheritance and protection

In its letter to the parties, KMKB structures its initiative around three issues it considers decisive for the announced reform.

The first deals with the filiation of children born out of wedlock. The association criticises the current refusal to give legal effect to DNA testing in establishing paternity. According to KMKB, this denies some children a legal father, with direct consequences for their identity, inheritance rights and access to social protection.

The second area concerns inheritance equality. KMKB questions the “taâsib” mechanism, which may force daughters of a deceased person to share the estate with distant agnatic relatives, as well as the rule that gives male heirs a share that is often double that of female heirs in several situations.

The third issue relates to the protection of individuals within the family, especially from violence and violations of dignity. Here, the association highlights the scope of Article 22 on physical and moral integrity.

What is at stake for Moroccans living abroad

For Moroccans residing abroad, these discussions are far from abstract. The Family Code still governs many procedures back home: marriages celebrated in Morocco, divorces, child custody, inheritance involving property in the country and recognition or transcription of civil status documents issued overseas.

A reform of the Family Code in Morocco that is more closely aligned with the Constitution could eventually clarify a number of complex situations faced by families settled in Europe, North America or Gulf countries. This is particularly true when dealing with real estate inheritance in Morocco or cross-border family disputes involving children.

Until election results are known and institutions settle key reform choices, KMKB’s initiative seeks to secure one basic principle: whatever form the new Family Code takes, it must remain within the 2011 constitutional framework, with no step backwards on fundamental rights.

Moroccans living abroad who anticipate family or inheritance procedures in Morocco can monitor official announcements from the competent authorities and, where necessary, seek specialised legal advice in both their country of residence and Morocco.

For more context, readers can follow Canal212 news for Moroccans abroad.

For official updates, readers can check the relevant official source.