Book 2 — Dissolution of Marriage

No one should resort to the dissolution of the bonds of matrimony through repudiation or
divorce except in exceptional circumstances, considering the rule of the least harm,
given the family dislocation and harmful effects on children.

Marriage is dissolved by death, annulment, divorce, repudiation or khol’ (divorce in
exchange for compensation by the wife).

Dissolution of a marriage produces the effects cited in this Moudawana from the date of
the:
1- Death of either spouse, or the issuance of a judgement declaring him or her
deceased;
2- Annulment, repudiation, divorce, or khol’ (divorce in exchange for compensation by
the wife).

Divorce must be expressed by explicitly spoken words and in writing, and for those
incapable of both, an unequivocal sign from which divorce is inferred.

Title Two: Of Death and Anullment
Chapter I: Of Death

Death and its date are established before the court by all accepted means.
The court shall declare a disappeared person deceased according to Articles 327 and
following.

If a disappeared person who has been pronounced deceased by the court turns out to
be alive, the Public Prosecutor’s Office or the concerned person shall petition the court
to issue a decision declaring that he or she is still alive.
The court’s decision declaring the person still alive nullifies the previous judgement
pronouncing the person deceased and annuls all of its effects, with the exception of the
remarriage of the disappeared person’s wife, which remains valid if consummated.

In the event the real date of death is proven and turns out to be different from the one
issued by the court, the Public Prosecutor’s Office as well as all concerned parties

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should petition for the issuing of a judgement proving that fact, and this nullifies the
effects related to the wrong date of death, except for the remarriage of the wife.

Chapter II: Of Annulment

The annulment of the marriage contract before or after the marriage is consummated is
decreed in certain cases and according to the conditions set out in this Moudawana.

Title Three: Of Repudiation

Repudiation is the dissolution of the bonds of matrimony exercised by the husband and
wife, each according to his or her respective conditions, under judicial supervision and
according to the provisions of this Moudawana.

Whoever wishes to repudiate must petition the court for authorization to certify the
repudiation by two adouls (public notaries) accredited for this purpose in the judicial
district of the conjugal domicile, the wife’s domicile or place of residence, or the place
where the marriage contract was issued, in that order.

The petition for authorization to certify a repudiation contains the identity of both
spouses, their professions, their address(es), and the number of children if any, their
ages, and their state of health and educational status.

The petition must be accompanied by the marriage record and evidence of the
husband’s material situation and financial obligations.

The court shall subpoena the two spouses for a reconciliation attempt.
If the husband personally receives the summons and does not appear, this is considered
a withdrawal of his petition.

If the wife personally receives the summons, and neither appears nor submits a written
response, the court notifies her through the Public Prosecutor that if she does not
appear, the case will be decided in her absence.

When the wife’s address is unknown, the court, with the assistance of the Public
Prosecutor, determines the facts, and if it is established that the husband provided false
statements, upon the wife’s request he shall incur the penalties provided for by Article
361 of the Penal Code.

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Article 82
When the two spouses appear, the discussions take place in the consultation room,
including the hearing of witnesses and any other person the court deems useful to hear.
The court may take all necessary measures, including the appointment of two
arbitrators, a family council or whomever it deems qualified to reconcile the couple. In
the existence of children, the court undertakes two reconciliation attempts separated by
a minimum of 30 days.

If the attempts to reconcile the spouses succeed, an official report is written and filed at
the court.

[Official Arabic source text — English rendering unavailable in this section]
عند حضور الطرفين ،تجري المناقشات بغرفة المشورة ،بما في ذلك االستماع إلى الشهود ولمن ترى المحكمة فائدة في االستماع إليه. للمحكمة أن تقوم بكل اإلجراءات ،بما فيها انتداب حكمين أو مجلس العائلة ،أو من تراه مؤهال إلصالح ذات البين .وفي حالة وجود أطفال تقوم المحكمة بمحاولتين للصلح تفصل بينهما مدة ال تقل عن ثالثين يوما. إذا تم اإلصالح بين الزوجين حرر به محضر وتم اإلشهاد به من طرف المحكمة.

If the attempts to reconcile the spouses fail, the court shall fix a sum of money that the
husband must deposit at the court within a maximum delay of thirty days to discharge all
vested rights due to the wife and dependent children as provided for by the two following
articles.

The amount due to the wife includes: the delayed dowry if appropriate, maintenance for
the iddat (legal waiting period) and the Consolation Gift, which is assessed based on the
length of the marriage, the financial means of the husband, the reasons for the
repudiation, and the degree to which the husband has abused this right.
During the iddat period the wife remains in the conjugal home, or, if need be, in a
suitable home based on her and the husband’s financial situation. Failing this, the court
shall fix an amount of money to cover housing expenses to be deposited with the court
as part of the vested rights due to the wife.

The amount of vested rights due to dependent children is determined according to
Articles 168 and 190 below, taking into consideration their standard of living and
educational situation prior to the divorce.

If the husband does not deposit the amount of money provided for in preceding Article
83 within the fixed deadline, this is considered as a renunciation of his intention to
repudiate, and the court certifies this.

As soon as the husband deposits the required sum of money, the court authorizes him
to register the repudiation with the two adouls (public notaries) in the same district as the
court.

As soon as the judge has affixed his seal to the repudiation decree, a copy is transmitted
to the court that issued the repudiation authorization.

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Article 88
After the court receives the copy indicated in the preceding article, it shall issue a
wellsubstantiated decision that includes:
1- The names, dates and places of birth and of the marriage, and domicile(s) or place(s)
of residence of the two spouses;
2- A summary of the two parties’ claims and their requests, the evidence and arguments
they presented, the procedures already undertaken, and the Public Prosecutor’s
conclusions;
3- The date of the authentication of the repudiation;
4- Whether the wife is pregnant or not;
5- The names of their children, their ages, the name(s) of their custodian(s), and the
organization of visitation rights;
6- Specification of the amount due as cited in preceding Articles 84 and 86, and the
salary due to the child custodian after the iddat (legal waiting period).
The court’s decision is open to appeal according to the usual procedures.

[Official Arabic source text — English rendering unavailable in this section]
بعد توصل المحكمة بالنسخة المشار إليها في المادة السابقة ،تصدر قرارا معلال يتضمن: - 1أسماء الزوجين وتاريخ ومكان والدتهما وزواجهما وموطنهما أو محل إقامتهما؛ - 2ملخص ادعاء الطرفين وطلباتهما ،وما قدماه من حجج ودفوع ،واإلجراءات المنجزة في الملف ،ومستنتجات النيابة العامة؛ - 3تاريخ اإلشهاد بالطالق؛ - 4ما إذا كانت الزوجة حامال أم ال؛ - 5أسماء األطفال وسنهم ومن أسندت إليه حضانتهم وتنظيم حق الزيارة؛ - 6تحديد المستحقات المنصوص عليها في المادتين 84و 85أعاله وأجرة الحضانة بعد العدة. قرار المحكمة قابل للطعن طبقا لإلجراءات العادية.

If the husband has assigned his right of repudiation to his wife, she can exercise this
right by petitioning the court according to the provisions of preceding Articles 79 and 80.
The court shall verify that the conditions for the assignation of the right of repudiation as
agreed upon by the two spouses are fulfilled, and attempt reconciliation according to the
provisions of preceding Articles 81 and 82.

If the reconciliation attempt fails, the court shall authorize the wife to petition for the
certification of the repudiation and rule on her vested rights, and if appropriate, those of
her children, in accordance with preceding Articles 84 and 85.
The husband cannot prevent his wife from exercising the right of repudiation that he has
previously assigned to her.

The repudiation authorization petition is not accepted from an inebriated person, a
person who has been forced to do so, or an irate person.

Vows and pledges do not result in repudiation.

Multiple expressions of repudiation pronounced verbally, with a symbolic gesture or in
writing result in only one repudiation.

Repudiation made conditional on doing something or abstaining from something has no
effect.

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 Title Four: Of Divorce
Chapter I: Of Divorce Sought by Either Spouse for Irreconcilable Differences

If either or both spouses ask the court to settle a dispute that risks to breakdown their
marriage, the court must make all efforts to reconcile them according to the provisions of
preceding Article 82.

The two arbitrators or two persons that can assume this role shall investigate the causes
of the dispute between the spouses and do their best to resolve the conflict.
If the two arbitrators reconcile the two spouses, they shall write a report, make three
copies of it, signed by them as well as the spouses, and submit the three copies to the
court, which remits a copy to each spouse and files one in the record, and certifies it.

When the two arbitrators disagree on the content of the report or in the attribution of
responsibility, or do not submit the report within the requisite deadline, the court may
conduct an additional investigation by all means it judges appropriate.

In the event reconciliation is impossible to reach, and the conflict between the spouses
persists, the court shall make written mention of this in an official report of the
proceedings, and grant the divorce as well as fix the vested rights to be paid according
to preceding Articles 83, 84 and 85, taking into account each spouse’s responsibility for
the cause of the separation when considering measures it will order the responsible
party to take in favour of the other spouse.

The irreconcilable differences suit shall be settled within a deadline not to exceed six
months from the date the petition was filed.

Chapter Two: Of Divorce for Other Causes

The wife may petition for divorce on one of the following grounds:
1- Non respect by the husband of one of the conditions in the marriage contract;
2- Harm;
3- Non maintenance;
4- Absence;
5- Latent defect;
6- Abstinence and abandonment.

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 Section 1: Of Non Respect of One of the Conditions in the Marriage Contract or
Harm

Failure to respect any condition in the marriage contract constitutes a harm justifying a
divorce request. Any ignominious behaviour by the husband or act against good
character that causes the wife material or moral harm such that the continuance of the
conjugal relationship is rendered unendurable shall be considered a harm justifying a
divorce request

The harm suffered is established by all means of proof, including the testimony of
witnesses, who are heard by the court in the consultation room.
If the wife does not prove the harm and maintains her request for divorce, she may
resort to the irreconcilable differences procedure.

In the event the court grants divorce on the grounds of harm, the court may fix in the
same judgement the amount of compensation due for the harm.

Section 2: Of Non Maintenance

The wife may petition for divorce on the grounds of non respect by the husband of his
current maintenance obligations towards her, in accordance with the following situations
and provisions:
1- If the husband has assets from which to award maintenance, the court may fix the
means for paying the wife maintenance, and does not grant her petition for divorce.
2- In the event the husband proves his incapacity, the court shall fix, according to the
circumstances, a deadline for the husband not to exceed thirty days to provide
maintenance to his wife, under penalty of divorce, except in cases of force majeure or
exceptional circumstances.
3- The court shall grant the wife’s petition for divorce immediately if the husband refuses
to provide maintenance and does not prove his financial incapacity.

The same provisions shall be applied to the absent husband whose address of
residence is known and who receives notice of the petition.
If the absent husband’s address of residence is unknown, the court shall confirm this
with assistance of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, verify the validity of the request, and
proceed to settle the case in light of the results of the investigation and the supporting
documents.

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 Section 3: Of Absence

If the husband is absent from the conjugal home for more than one year, the wife may
petition for divorce. The court shall verify the absence, its length, and his location by all
means. If the husband’s absence is established and his address of residence is known,
the court shall inform him about the petition by formal notice to allow him to respond,
and grant the divorce if he does not appear to cohabitate with his wife or if he does not
bring her to live with him.

If the absent husband’s address is unknown, the court, with the help of the Public
Prosecutor’s Office, shall take all appropriate measures to notify him of the wife’s
petition, including the appointment of a proxy. If he does not appear, the court shall
grant the divorce.

If the husband has been sentenced to imprisonment or detention for more than three
years, the wife may petition for divorce after a year of his detention, and in all cases she
may petition for divorce two years after his detention.

Section 4: Of The Latent Defect

Defects that are considered as impacting the stability of conjugal life and that justify its
dissolution are:
1- Any defect that prevents intimate conjugal relations;
2- Diseases that will endanger the life or the health of the other spouse and cannot be
cured within one year.

The petition filed by one of the spouses for divorce on the basis of a latent defect is
subject to the following conditions:
1- The petitioner must not have known about the defect at the time the marriage contract
was concluded;
2- The petitioner must not have behaved in a way that would imply his or her consent to
the latent defect once she or he had knowledge of its incurable nature.

No dowry is paid in the case of divorce on the grounds of a latent defect granted by the
court before the marriage is consummated, and if the marriage has been consummated,
the husband has the right to seek reimbursement of the dowry from a spouse who
misled him or knowingly hid a latent defect.

When the husband is aware of the defect before the marriage contract is concluded, and
divorces before the marriage is consummated, half of the dowry must be paid.

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Article 111
Recourse is made to specialized experts to help identify the defect or disease.

Section 5: Of Abstinence or Abandonment

[Official Arabic source text — English rendering unavailable in this section]
يستعان بأهل الخبرة من األخصائيين في معرفة العيب أو المرض. الفرع الخامس :اإليالء والهجر

When the husband takes an oath of abstinence from his wife or abandons her, the wife
may petition the court, which will set a deadline of four months, and if after this time the
husband has not repented his oath, the court shall grant the divorce.

Section 6: Of Divorce Suits

Decisions shall be rendered in divorce suits based on one of the grounds provided for in
preceding Article 98 after a reconciliation attempt, except in cases based on absence,
and within a delay not to exceed six months, barring exceptional circumstances.
The court shall also rule on the vested rights of the wife and children, as specified in
preceding Articles 84 and 85.

Title Five: Of Divorce by Mutual Consent or Divorce in Exchange for
Compensation
Chapter I: Of Divorce by Mutual Consent

The spouses may mutually agree on the principle of ending their conjugal relationship
with or without conditions, provided that the conditions do not contradict the provisions of
this Moudawana, and do not harm the children’s interests.
When the spouses agree, one or both of them shall petition the court for divorce,
accompanied by the authorization to validate it.

The court shall attempt to reconcile the husband and wife. When this proves impossible,
the court shall authorize the certification and validation of the divorce.

Chapter II: Of Divorce in Exchange for Compensation (khol)

The spouses may agree on divorce in exchange for compensation according to the
provisions of preceding Article 114.

A woman of legal majority may obtain divorce in exchange for compensation, whereas
divorce by a woman who has not yet reached the age of legal majority occurs when a
third party pays in her place, and she cannot be forced to undertake this procedure
unless her legal tutor consents.

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Article 117
The wife may recover the sum she paid to obtain the divorce if she proves that she
acted under duress or as the result of harm caused by her husband, and in all cases the
divorce shall be granted.

[Official Arabic source text — English rendering unavailable in this section]
للزوجة استرجاع ما خالعت به ،إذا أثبتت أن خلعها كان نتيجة إكراه أو إضرار الزوج بها ،وينفذ الطالق في جميع األحوال. - 35 -

Anything that constitutes a source of legal commitment may be used to pay to obtain
divorce, without, however, any abuse or exaggeration.

If the woman is in a precarious financial situation, the compensation for divorce shall not
be exchanged from funds reserved for the children or their maintenance.
If the woman who divorced in exchange for compensation cannot financially maintain
her children, their maintenance becomes an obligation of the father, without calling into
question his right to renew conjugal life with her.

If the spouses agree on the principle of divorce in exchange for compensation, yet
disagree on its amount, the case shall be brought before the court to attempt
reconciliation. If the reconciliation attempt does not succeed, the court shall grant the
divorce in exchange for compensation after fixing its amount, taking into consideration
the amount of the dowry, the duration of the marriage, the reasons for the divorce
petition, and the material situation of the wife.

If the wife maintains her request for a divorce in return for compensation and the
husband does not consent, she may resort to the irreconcilable differences procedure.

Title Six: Of Divorce and Repudiation Categories
Chapter I: Of Interim Orders

When a suit between the spouses is brought before the court, and cohabitation between
them is impossible, the court may, on its own motion or upon request, prescribe interim
measures it deems appropriate for the wife and children pending judgment on the case,
including the choice of living with one of her or her husband’s relatives. Such measures
shall be immediately enforced by the Public Prosecutor.

Chapter II: Of Revocable and Irrevocable Divorces

Any divorce granted by the court is irrevocable, with the exception of cases of divorce on
the grounds of abandonment and non maintenance.

Any divorce pronounced by the husband is revocable, with the exception of a third

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repudiation, divorce before the marriage is consummated, divorce by mutual consent,
divorce in exchange for compensation, and repudiation when the husband has assigned
his right to exercise it to his wife.

The husband may take his wife back during the legal waiting period (iddat).
If the husband wants to take back his wife after a revocable divorce, two adouls (public
notaries) shall certify this and immediately inform the judge.
Before validating the “resumption document,” the judge must summon the wife to inform
her of this. If she doesn’t comply with this request and refuses to return, she may resort
to the irreconcilable differences procedure in preceding Article 94.

At the conclusion of the legal waiting period (iddat) following a revocable divorce, the
woman is deemed irrevocably divorced.

Irrevocable divorce not practiced for the third time puts an immediate end to the
marriage relationship, but does not prohibit the renewal of the marriage contract.

Divorce for the third time puts an immediate end to the marriage relationship and
prohibits the renewal of the marriage contract with the divorced woman unless the iddat
(legal waiting period) following a legitimately consummated marriage with another
husband has expired.

Judicial decisions on divorce, divorce in exchange for compensation or annulment,
rendered in accordance with the provisions of this code, shall not be open to appeal as
concerns the termination of the marital relationship.

Decisions rendered by foreign courts concerning repudiation, divorce, divorce in
exchange for compensation, or annulment shall be admissible when they are issued by
a court with jurisdiction over the matter and are based on grounds for terminating the
marriage relationship that do not contradict those contained in this Moudawana.
The same standard applies for decrees issued abroad before officials and civil servants
with jurisdiction in the matter after meeting all required legal measures, noting on these
decrees the mention that they are enforceable in conformity to Articles 430, 431 and 432
of the Civil Procedure Code.

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 Title Seven: Of the Effects of the Dissolution of the Marriage Contract
Chapter I: Of the Legal Waiting Period (iddat)

The legal waiting period starts to run from the date of the repudiation, divorce,
annulment or death.

The legal waiting period is mandatory only when the marriage has been consummated
and real intimacy has occurred, or upon the death of the husband.

During the legal waiting period the divorced woman or the woman whose husband has
died shall reside in the marital home or in another home prepared for her.

Section 1: Of the Legal Waiting Period Following the Death of the Husband

The legal waiting period of the woman whose husband has died and who is not pregnant
is four full months and ten days.

Section 2: Of the Legal Waiting Period of the Pregnant Woman

The pregnant woman’s legal waiting period ends with the delivery of the baby or the end
of the pregnancy.

In the event the woman observing the legal waiting period claims doubt about her
pregnancy, and there is a dispute on this matter, the case shall be referred to the court,
which will resort to expert assistance to ascertain the pregnancy and date of conception
in order to decide whether the legal waiting period should continue or not.

The maximum duration of pregnancy is one year from the date of the divorce or death of
the husband.

The legal waiting period for non pregnant women is:
1- three full cycles for women who still have menstrual cycles;
2- three full months for women who have never had menstrual cycles or for those who
have reached menopause, but if she menstruates before the end of the three months,
she continues her legal waiting period for three additional cycles;
3- for women whose menstrual cycles are late or irregular or who cannot distinguish
menstrual flow from other secretions, they observe the legal waiting period for three
cycles after a waiting period of nine months.

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 Chapter II: Of the Overlapping of Legal Waiting Periods

When the husband of the woman who was divorced though a revocable divorce dies
while she is still under the legal waiting period, she observes the waiting period for death
rather than the legal waiting period for divorce.

Title Eight: Of Divorce Certification Procedures and Content

Divorce must be certified by two ‘adouls’ (public notaries) specialized in the matter, once
the court authorizes it and after submission of the marriage record.

The divorce decree should include the following:
1-The date of the divorce authorization and its number;
2-The identities, addresses, identity card numbers or their substitute of the former
spouses;
3-The marriage contract date of issuance, its number in the record cited in preceding
Article 68;
4-The type of divorce and its number.

The wife has the right to obtain the divorce decree fifteen days after the divorce has
been certified, and the husband may also obtain a copy.

The court shall submit a summary of the repudiation decree, the “resumption document,”
the divorce decree, the marriage contract annulment, or its invalidation to the Civil
Status Officer at the birthplace of both spouses, along with the certificate of submission
of a copy of it fifteen days after it has been certified or after the issuing of divorce decree
by the court, or the annulment or invalidation.

The Civil Status Officer must make mention of the content of the summary in the
margins of the birth certificate of both spouses. If both or either of the spouses was not
born in Morocco, the summary shall be remitted to the Attorney General at the Court of
First Instance in Rabat.

The information that must be included in the summary cited in the first paragraph above
shall be determined in a decree by the Minister of Justice.

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 BOOK THREE: OF BIRTH AND ITS EFFECTS

Title One: Of Filiation and Paternity

Chapter I: Of Filiation