In order to ensure better appropriation of the new provisions set by Law No. 73-17 amending the Book V of the Commercial Code on the regulation of corporate insolvency and with a view to disseminating them as broadly as possible, the Ministry of Justice in collaboration with the CNEA secretariat and the Moroccan Bar Association and with the support of the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), organised three regional information and awareness-raising workshops in the cities of Casablanca, Fez and Marrakech, on 29 June, 03 and 16 July 2018 respectively.
These events were a great occasion for the participants to exchange information and inquire about the new provisions set out in Law No. 73-17, which is intended to further improve the legal framework and provide the basis for good governance in managing the regulation on insolvency proceedings.
Over 300 participants attended these workshops, including: magistrates, lawyers, clerks, trustees, accountants, academicians, entrepreneurs and representatives from the external services of central administrations as well as representatives from the regional investment centres.
At the end of these workshops, the participants reached the following conclusions and recommendations:
- The reform of Book V of the Commercial Code contributes immensely to improving the business environment in Morocco and protecting investors and entrepreneurs;
- The reform of Book V of the Commercial Code has set up new mechanisms to encourage companies and creditors to get involved in friendly settlement procedures, and facilitate their access to funding after the initiation of such procedure, while giving priority to the shareholders, who fund the company during the friendly settlement procedures, to recover their claims over other creditors;
- The importance of the safeguard procedure which detects at an early stage the company's difficulties and provides a framework that helps companies to keep their business going, preserve jobs and sort out the liabilities;
- Improving the role of creditors by granting them broad powers whether acting individually or collectively (assembly), and giving them the right to participate in the preparation of the recovery plan, monitor the work of the trustee and access the debtor's financial information as well as the right to oppose a court or trustee's decision;
- The pressing need to adopt the two statutory regulations, namely the decree governing the profession of the syndic and the decree on the dematerialisation of procedures;
- The importance of developing a procedures manual governing insolvency proceedings;
- Strengthening specialised training for the different stakeholders engaged in this process.
