Morocco’s First Professional Association Of Mediators Takes Off

	M. Mohammed Belmahi, president of the Moroccan association of professional mediators

Mediation is nothing new to Morocco. As in other Islamic cultures, the tradition of using a neutral third party to settle a dispute between two people or groups has been around for centuries. What is new, however, is that for the first time ever in Morocco, mediation has become an institutionalized alternative to the court system.

A new law was passed in the Moroccan Parliament on 6 December 2007 (Law nº 08-05), giving legitimacy to private, out-of-court mediation and importantly, ensuring the whole process remains confidential. For a group of over fifty Moroccan professionals this new law came at exactly the right time, as it helped pave the way for Morocco’s first Association of Mediators.

These fifty professionals were brought together for Morocco’s first commercial mediation training held between June 2007 and January 2008, organized by the USAID’s ‘Improving the Business Climate in Morocco’ program in collaboration with the NGO ‘Search for Common Ground’ and the Rabat International Center for Mediation and Arbitration (CIMAR). The need for this training was apparent. In Morocco, commercial mediation disputes can take over two years before an expensive in-court settlement is reached. However, cases can be settled in just one month through mediation.

By January 2008, Morocco’s first trained commercial mediators were ready to put their skills to good use, but they still faced a major challenge. As court-referred mediation is not yet institutionalized in Morocco, where would their clients come from? Individually they would struggle but by grouping together with other professional mediators and forming an association, they could expect referrals.

On 14 February 2008, Morocco’s first Professional Association of Mediators held its first General Assembly in Rabat. Their mission: to promote mediation throughout Morocco and increase the number of disputes settled in this way. To achieve this, the association is working for the inclusion of a clause in contracts, recommending that mediation be used if a dispute should arise. In the meantime, members are busy marketing their mediation skills to make sure potential clients come to them.

As Mohammed Belmahi, the president of the association, points out: “Our mediators are from all professions – from doctors to trade unionists – so we have the expertise to settle all types of disputes that are brought to us. Furthermore, we are from cities throughout Morocco, so potential clients won’t have to look far.”