A Dispute with the Authorities in Agadir: Appealing to the Administrative Court

A building permit refused in Dcheira, a demolition order in Lqliaa, expropriation to widen a road in Agadir, a disputed tax reassessment, a disciplinary sanction against a civil servant: faced with the authorities, many people think nothing can be done. That is wrong. The Agadir Administrative Court reviews the lawfulness of administrative decisions and can annul them or order the authorities to compensate for harm. You do, however, have to act in time and follow the right rules.

What does the administrative court decide?

Administrative courts, created in the early 1990s, have jurisdiction in particular over:

• actions for annulment (excess of power) against decisions of administrative authorities (ministries, prefectures, municipalities, public bodies);
• disputes over administrative contracts, such as public procurement;
• liability claims against the authorities for harm caused by their activity, public works or vehicles;
• expropriation for public purposes, in particular setting compensation;
• certain tax disputes;
• disputes concerning civil servants and public employees (career, sanctions, pensions);
• local election disputes.

The Agadir Administrative Court has jurisdiction over a large part of southern Morocco, including the Souss-Massa region.

The action for annulment

This is the most common action. It seeks to annul an unlawful administrative decision: one taken by an authority without power to do so, without following the procedure, in breach of the law, or for a purpose unrelated to the public interest.

The sixty-day deadline

The action must be brought within sixty days of the decision being published or notified. After that, the decision in principle becomes final, even if unlawful. This is the most frequent trap.

Before going to court, you can send a request for reconsideration to the authority that made the decision, or an appeal to its superior, within the same period. If the authority rejects it, or stays silent for sixty days, a new sixty-day period opens for going to court. This mechanism must be handled carefully: a wrongly dated request can cost you the right to sue.

Staying enforcement

An action does not, in principle, prevent the decision from being enforced. Where enforcement risks causing harm that is hard to repair, such as a demolition, you can ask the court to suspend enforcement pending judgment.

Expropriation: securing fair compensation

When land or a building is expropriated for a public project (road, facility, development), the owner is entitled to compensation. If the amount cannot be agreed, the judge sets it, often after an expert valuation. Owners should put forward every element of value: location, building potential, local market prices and incidental losses. To check the property’s legal status, see land title or melk land.

Planning: permits, offences and demolitions

Planning disputes are common in the fast-growing towns of Greater Agadir: refused building or occupancy permits, reports of planning offences and demolition orders. Depending on the case, they fall under the administrative court or the criminal courts. A quick analysis is essential, as deadlines are short and the consequences serious. See also lawyer in Ait Melloul, Dcheira and Lqliaa.

Liability of the authorities

An accident caused by a public vehicle, damage due to public works, an administrative error causing loss: the authorities can be ordered to compensate the harm. You must then prove the harmful act, the loss and the link between them.

Procedural rules

The claim before the administrative court is filed by a lawyer. It must set out the facts and the legal grounds and be accompanied by the contested decision. The judgment can be appealed to the competent administrative court of appeal.

A worked example

A family in Lqliaa receives a demolition order concerning an extension built a few years earlier. They seek advice immediately: the lawyer checks the date of notification to calculate the sixty-day deadline, and examines the permit file and whether the authority followed the proper procedure. An action is filed in time, together with an application to stay enforcement so that nothing irreversible happens before the court rules. Whatever the outcome, the family has preserved its rights instead of letting the decision become final. This simplified example shows that speed is decisive when facing an administrative decision.

Frequently asked questions

The authority never answered my request: what can I do?

Silence for sixty days in principle counts as an implied rejection, which can be challenged in court within the time limit.

Are judgments against the authorities enforced?

The authorities must comply with court decisions. If they resist, there are legal means to compel them.

A lawyer to deal with the authorities

The office of Maître Said Laachili, based in Inezgane near Agadir, advises and represents individuals, property owners, businesses and civil servants in disputes with the authorities, as part of its administrative law and real estate law practice. For an initial opinion, prepare your legal consultation, and for an overview of the region’s courts, read lawyer in Agadir: the guide. A decision to challenge? Contact the office without delay.