MOROCCO Law and Practice Contributed by: Loris Marghieri, Dounia El Aissaoui and Julien Nouchi, Gide Loyrette Nouel
Categories of Moroccan land tenure can be summarised as follows: • State ownership: (a) public domain of the Moroccan State; and (b) private domain of the Moroccan State. • Collective ownership: (a) collective lands ( terres collectives ) – lands owned by local communities/tribes; (b) habous lands – lands belonging to religious institutions (such as mosques, schools, etc); and (c) guich lands ( terres guichs ) – lands owned by military communities. • Individual ownership: (a) registered private land – characterised by the registration/publication process and the probative effect of being recorded in the Land Registry held by the National Agency for Real Estate Conservation, Property Registries and Cartography (“ANCFCC”); and (b) non-registered private lands – this includes all the lands which have not been registered (such lands do not benefit from the legal effect of the registration). Among the non-registered lands, the melk assets which are owned under moulkia rights, should be noted. The moulkia right is based on peaceful possession and uninterrupted common knowl - edge for a period of ten years (towards third parties) or 40 years (towards family members). Such ownership is proved through the issue of a document called a moulkiya from traditional notaries ( adouls ). Rights in Rem (Droit Réels) Law No 39-08 forming the Moroccan Real Prop - erty Code ( Code des Droits Réels ) lists Moroc - can rights in rem as follows.
Main rights in rem (that can be defined as auton - omous rights not depending on any other rights): • freehold; (a) easements and encumbrances; (b) usufruct right;
(c) right of use; (d) surface right; (e) emphyteusis right; (f) right of habous; (g) right of zina; (h) right of houa; and
(i) customary rights properly constituted before the coming into force of the Real Property Code. • Ancillary rights in rem (which can be defined as rights depending on a personal right):
(a) privileged liens; (b) mortgages; and (c) antichresis.
2.2 Laws Applicable to Transfer of Title Besides the general rules of contract law related to sale and purchase agreements, the transfer of private registered property is governed by spe - cific legislation, such as: • Law No 39-08 forming the Real Property Code ( Code des Droits Réels ); • Law No 14-07 amending and supplementing the Dahir of 12 August 1913 on land titling; and • Law No 107-12 amending Law No 44-00 on off-plan sales. Furthermore, specific laws apply to the transfer of certain types of real estate (land belonging to the private state domain, collective lands, indi - vidual property of unregistered land ( moulkiya ), etc).
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