The Government under legal pressure

The increase has become structural. In 2024, litigation involving the Government reached a new threshold, confirming the lasting establishment of growing legal pressure on public administrations. According to data from the Kingdom’s Judicial Agency (AJR), 21,218 new cases were handled during the year, compared to 18,395 in 2023, representing an increase of 15%. Over a decade, the trend is even more striking: the number of cases brought against the State rose from 10,930 in 2014 to more than 21,000 in 2024, representing nearly double the volume of litigation.
This increase is closely linked to the scale of administrative activity. Ministerial departments alone account for nearly 47% of new cases registered, or more than 10,000 cases. The AJR report establishes a direct link between this level of litigation and the tasks performed by government agencies: implementation of public policies, management of infrastructure, and provision of essential services. Unsurprisingly, the infrastructure and public services sectors account for nearly 93.5% of the litigation recorded in 2024, compared with only 6.5% for investment-related disputes.
In terms of structure, the vast majority of government litigation remains administrative. Cases brought before administrative courts account for nearly 58% of new cases, representing 12,308 cases. They mainly concern administrative liability, public procurement, administrative contracts, trespass, and the regularization of individual situations, particularly in relation to civil and military pensions. Appeals for full jurisdiction dominate this landscape, accounting for nearly 43% of cases. Next come appeals for annulment, which account for around 15%. Although these are fewer in number, they are nonetheless significant: the annulment of an administrative act can lead to indirect financial costs, delay major public projects, and undermine the legal certainty of administrative action.
Faced with this increase in workload, the pace of judicial decisions is slowing. In 2024, 8,963 judgments were notified to the Agency, compared with 8,716 a year earlier. The AJR points out that these decisions relate to both new cases and older cases, which are being dealt with progressively. According to the Agency, the gap between the rapid increase in cases and the more moderate increase in judgments reflects the combined effects of litigation prevention measures and efforts to clear the backlog of pending cases.

Khadija MASMOUDI