Morocco Defamation Laws: Civil, Criminal & Defences

In Morocco, defamation is treated as both a civil wrong and, in defined situations, a criminal offence. The 2016 Press and Publication Code (Law 88-13) removed prison sentences for ordinary press defamation and replaced them with fines, but the Penal Code (Code penal) still keeps custodial penalties for certain insult offences, including insulting state institutions, magistrates, and the King.

Is defamation civil, criminal, or both in Morocco?

It is both, and which regime applies depends on who speaks and what is said. Since 2016, Morocco's main framework for press and published expression is the Press and Publication Code (Law 88-13), which decriminalised ordinary press defamation by replacing imprisonment with fines. Under that Code, defamation (diffamation) is an allegation or imputation of a fact that harms the honour or consideration of a person or body. Separately, the Penal Code (Code penal), amended in 2016 by Law 73-15, keeps several insult and contempt offences that still carry prison, particularly where the target is a public official, a state institution, the judiciary, or the monarchy. A person harmed by a false statement may also pursue civil compensation under the general civil-liability rules of the Dahir of Obligations and Contracts (DOC), which require fault, harm, and a causal link.

What counts as defamation under the Press Code?

The Press and Publication Code distinguishes defamation from insult. Defamation is the public allegation or imputation of a specific fact that damages a person's honour or reputation, while insult (injure) is an offensive expression or contemptuous term that imputes no precise fact. Article 85 addresses defamation of private individuals, and Article 84 addresses defamation of courts, the armed forces, public bodies, and public officials acting in office. The Code applies to newspapers, periodicals, and, through the electronic press provisions, to online news outlets. Because Law 88-13 sets fines rather than prison for these press offences, a journalist or publisher who defames a private person faces a financial penalty and civil liability rather than incarceration, a significant change from the pre-2016 regime.

Watch out: The Press Code covers expression published through the press. Speech outside that framework, such as a direct insult of an official or of a state body, can still be prosecuted under the Penal Code, where prison remains available.

What criminal penalties remain in the Penal Code?

Several Penal Code offences continue to carry imprisonment. Article 263 punishes insulting a public official, magistrate, or law-enforcement agent in the exercise of their functions with one month to one year and a fine. Article 265 applies similar penalties to insulting public institutions, and Article 266 punishes acts intended to discredit judicial decisions in a way that undermines judicial authority, also with one month to one year. Offences touching the monarchy are treated more severely: Article 179 punishes offending the person of the King, the royal family, or the heir apparent with six months to two years and a fine of 20,000 to 200,000 dirhams. These are distinct from ordinary defamation and are categorised by Moroccan law as offences against state institutions or persons, not as private reputation claims.

How does civil liability work?

Civil liability for a false and damaging statement is grounded in the general tort rules of the Dahir of Obligations and Contracts. Under those rules a person who causes harm to another through fault must repair it, so a defamatory statement that injures reputation can support a claim for damages where the claimant proves a wrongful act, actual harm, and causation. A claimant may seek monetary compensation and, in appropriate cases, corrective measures such as publication of the judgment. Civil claims can run alongside a press-offence prosecution, and a person harmed by defamatory press content commonly pursues both the statutory press remedy and ordinary civil damages. Moroccan civil courts assess damages by reference to the seriousness of the imputation, its reach, and the harm shown, rather than by a fixed statutory tariff.

What defences and privileges apply?

Moroccan law recognises defences familiar from civil-law systems. Proof of truth (exception de verite) generally defeats a defamation charge where the matter concerns public conduct rather than private life, and good faith, meaning an honest belief in the truth of the statement pursued for a legitimate purpose without malice, is a recognised defence in press cases. Fair reporting of public proceedings and reproduction of official acts are protected. The Press Code also gives a person named in a publication a statutory right of reply, allowing a correction to be published, which can mitigate harm before litigation. Courts weigh freedom of the press, protected by the 2011 Constitution, against the protection of honour and private life, and they distinguish criticism of public conduct, which receives latitude, from gratuitous attacks on private individuals.

Watch out: The truth defence is narrower for statements about a person's private life. A claim that a matter is true does not automatically excuse publishing private facts that have no bearing on public conduct.

What is the limitation period?

Press offences under the Press and Publication Code are subject to short limitation periods typical of press legislation, so a complaint over a defamatory publication must be brought promptly after publication rather than years later. Claimants who wait risk having a press-offence prosecution declared time-barred. For ordinary civil claims under the Dahir of Obligations and Contracts, the longer general limitation rules for tort actions apply, which give a claimant more time to seek damages than the press-offence window allows. Because the two regimes carry different deadlines, a person harmed by a publication is well advised to act quickly to preserve the press remedy and not rely solely on the longer civil period.

How is online defamation treated?

Morocco brought online and electronic publications within the Press and Publication Code, which contains provisions on the electronic press (presse electronique). News websites and registered electronic publications are therefore subject to the same defamation and insult rules, and the same fine-based penalties, as print media. A defamatory article on a registered news site is handled like a defamatory print article, while statements on social media by ordinary users can fall under either the Press Code or, depending on the content, the Penal Code, particularly where the speech targets officials, institutions, or the monarchy. A person harmed online can seek the statutory right of reply or correction, civil damages, and, where a Penal Code offence is alleged, a criminal complaint.

How do you bring a defamation claim in Morocco?

There are parallel routes. A person targeted by a defamatory publication can file a complaint so that the public prosecutor pursues the press offence before the criminal court, which can impose the statutory fine, or can pursue a Penal Code insult offence where prison is available. Separately, the claimant can bring a civil action for damages under the Dahir of Obligations and Contracts before the civil courts, seeking compensation and corrective measures. Many claimants combine a demand for a published right of reply with a civil claim. Because the press and Penal Code regimes carry different penalties and deadlines, the correct route depends on the nature of the statement and the target. This is general information about Moroccan law, not legal advice for any specific dispute.