Rules on Paper, Rules in Practice (original) (raw)
Related papers
Rules on Paper, Rules in Practice. Enforcing Laws and Policies in the Middle East and North Africa
The volume examines three cases from the Middle East and North Africa that extend the application of the concept of rule of law beyond its traditional home of legal and judiciary reform and into core economic sectors: taxation in Morocco, customs in Tunisia, and land inheritance in Jordan. Each case carries economic consequences on the macro scale, and each has implications for social justice. In Morocco, the study finds that tax obligations may be renegotiated between influ- ential taxpayers and the administration. In Tunisia, despite a decade of acclaimed legal and regulatory reforms for customs law, corruption and discretion remain rampant. In Jordan, women are being denied their right to property, enshrined in laws drawing on the Islamic Sharia, due to social pressure to relinquish these rights in favor of male relatives. This study provides a wider theoretical lens, reinforced with empirical evidence, which provides a tool for policy makers to identify factors that may further or hinder the effective implementation of laws and regulations. At stake in understanding the process behind rule-of-law outcomes more deeply is the formulation of more nuanced and context-specific reform alternatives for enhanced social justice, economic growth, and political stability.
2019
As the crisis of 2011, known as the Arab Spring, broke out, two monarchies in the region, Morocco and Jordan, faced the need to reform their judicial systems in order to preserve stability by means of constitutional reforms that would deliver both countries from poor guarantees of judicial independence and lack of transparency or efficiency. This research thesis will analyse the external and internal dynamics of judicial reforms adopted in Morocco and Jordan since 2011. In particular, we have chosen an important empirical field where the two most similar countries receiving external support to judicial reforms show a variation on the judicial systemic level. This variation is still unexplored and our knowledge of the dynamics of domestic veto players and external support to the judiciary could be further enhanced through comparative analysis of two most similar cases using a Most Similar Systems Design (Mill 1882).
the-usurpation-of-law-supremacy-and-its-impact-on-rising-a-personalised-power-in-morocco-.pdf
journal of political sciences and public affairs , 2018
Through this paper, we are trying to highlight the issue of the personalization of power in Morocco, taking into account the multiplicity of approaches in order to comprehend the issue at hand. The question of the personalization of power in Morocco should first be seen from the standpoint of compliance with the rules of constitutional legality and the principle of law supremacy since the political practice of the 1980s has consistently disregarded this principle. Thus, the repeated political practices, which fall within the actor’s logic in pursuing profit and rejecting possible losses in their dealings with the rules of constitutional legality, has led to the emergence of implicit authority, the strengthening of an institution at the expense of other institutions in the State, as well as the factor of personalization which became apparent in Political practice in Morocco, as political practice has moved away from the heart of the law. On the other hand, the institutional approach may not help alone in understanding the issue of personalization power, considering that the above approach confirms the "What should be", while other approaches, especially sociological ones, seek to understand the phenomenon and monitor its manifestations in society, and the cultural and symbolic structures that Help build a political authority. Based on the two approaches, we will try to analyze the personalization forms of power in Morocco taking into consideration the two approaches.
Italian Political Science Review/Rivista Italiana di Scienza Politica, 2019
In the Southern Mediterranean region, the European Union (EU) supports the establishment of rule of law, pressuring for both the adoption of institutional guarantees of judicial independence and the enhancement of court administration capabilities. Drawing on a set of interviews with key EU and domestic actors, this study compares Morocco and Jordan, examining changes adopted at the institutional and administrative level since the ‘Arab Spring’ broke out. The findings show that external incentives for change penetrated only the administrative level of domestic judicial systems, while a path-dependent effect persisted at the institutional level. The evidence confirms the thesis that in areas of low politics even a mere normative pressure is able to drive rule adoption, whereas in more sensitive policy areas, as in the case of institutional judicial guarantees, the higher costs of adaptation make veto players resistant to external influences for change.
The Usurpation of Law Supremacy and Its Impact on Rising a Personalised Power in Morocco
Journal of Political Sciences & Public Affairs, 2018
Through this paper, we are trying to highlight the issue of the personalization of power in Morocco, taking into account the multiplicity of approaches in order to comprehend the issue at hand. The question of the personalization of power in Morocco should first be seen from the standpoint of compliance with the rules of constitutional legality and the principle of law supremacy since the political practice of the 1980s has consistently disregarded this principle. Thus, the repeated political practices, which fall within the actor's logic in pursuing profit and rejecting possible losses in their dealings with the rules of constitutional legality, has led to the emergence of implicit authority, the strengthening of an institution at the expense of other institutions in the State, as well as the factor of personalization which became apparent in Political practice in Morocco, as political practice has moved away from the heart of the law. On the other hand, the institutional approach may not help alone in understanding the issue of personalization power, considering that the above approach confirms the "What should be", while other approaches, especially sociological ones, seek to understand the phenomenon and monitor its manifestations in society, and the cultural and symbolic structures that Help build a political authority. Based on the two approaches, we will try to analyze the personalization forms of power in Morocco taking into consideration the two approaches.
Reinventing the Moroccan state and the implementation of the independent regulatory agencies (IRAs
Católica Law Review, 2020
This article focuses on the reconfiguration of the state in Morocco, through the installation of independent regulatory agencies (IRAs). The analysis is based on the levels of independence of these agencies and the explanation of their implementation in the Moroccan context. The hybrid nature of the regime and the king’s main role in the political system, ensuring its continuity and stability, raise the question of the significant impact of international pressures. Therefore, this article throws light on the IRAs and their contribution to the establishment of the rule of law, highlighting their accountability.
The Rule of Law and Arab Political Liberalization: Three Models for Change
The rule of law is an important set of political ideals and institutional arrangements in general and has been particularly salient in the Arab world before and especially since the 2011 popular uprisings that removed the leaders of Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, and Libya. Despite this, the rule of law is used by analysts and activists in vague ways that are particularly unclear with respect to the law's role in aiding a more accountable and democratic political process. This article sheds light on how legal ideals and legal growth might contribute to political opening in Arab countries in two ways. First, the article discusses the general background in which legal ideals and institutions are viewed in the Arab world, with an emphasis on the general impact of homegrown Islamic law and the legacy of the joining of Western sociolegal ideals to authoritarian colonial political practices. Second, the article describes and analyzes in detail three possible Arab pathways to political opening through the rule of law. These are: (1) the "slow and steady" growth ahead" hyper-globalized development of younger, expanding oil monarchies, illustrated by Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, and (3) the "reboot" pattern of societies that have just overthrown their governments and seek new relationships between law and politics, as shown in Tunisia and Egypt. Taken together, these three possible pathways suggest that there are particular dynamics in Arab societies around the rule of law and more open politics, which should be studied in greater depth by those hoping to understand and contribute to legal and political change in the Middle East and North Africa.