Heated Constitutional Debate in House Justice Committee Over CNDH President’s Absence as Minister Delegate Qoloub Feitah Responds

RABAT (FesNews Media) — A heated constitutional and parliamentary debate erupted on Monday evening, November 9, 2026, inside the House of Representatives’ Justice, Legislation, Human Rights and Freedoms Committee chaired by MP Mohamed Ghiyat, immediately prior to the presentation of the 2027 draft sub-budget of the National Human Rights Council (CNDH).

Following Minister Delegate in charge of Relations with Parliament and Civil Society Qoloub Feitah‘s presentation of her department’s 105.34 million MAD draft budget for 2027, lawmakers from both the parliamentary opposition and majority raised a formal Point of Order in the presence of CNDH Secretary-General Mounir Bensalah and Finance Director Mourad Abbad, protesting the absence of CNDH President Amina Bouayach from presenting the independent constitutional institution’s budget in person before Parliament.

MPs Cite Belgrade Principles and Question Authorizing Officer Accountability

Opening the Point of Order, MP Abdessamad Haiker (Justice and Development Parliamentary Group) emphasized that under the Moroccan Constitution, Parliament embodies the sovereignty of the Nation. While acknowledging the institutional independence of constitutional governance bodies under the Paris Principles, he cited the 2012 Belgrade Principles on the relationship between national human rights institutions and parliaments, recalling the precedent set by former Court of Accounts First President Driss Jettou, who consistently presented his institution’s budget in person before parliamentary committees.

MP Said Baaziz (Socialist Group — Ittihadi Opposition) argued that tasking a government minister with presenting the CNDH budget places the executive branch in an awkward institutional position regarding public funds over which the government exercises neither supervision nor management authority, while MP Mohamed Ahjir (Istiqlal Group of Unity and Egalitarianism) stressed that direct dialogue between heads of constitutional institutions and lawmakers strengthens institutional balance.

Abdellatif Ouahbi and Mohamed Chaouki Challenge Presentation Procedure

Joining the debate, former Minister of Justice and Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) lawmaker MP Abdellatif Ouahbi questioned how committee members could hold a substantive budgetary debate when the authorizing officer of the institution is absent: “What discussion can we hold with the Minister Delegate when she does not supervise this institution, and who is the authorizing officer accountable for its financial policy?”

National Rally of Independents (RNI) Parliamentary Group Chairman MP Mohamed Chaouki directly addressed Minister Delegate Qoloub Feitah after she noted that she had previously advocated for the same parliamentary principle while serving as a lawmaker. “Today you speak in your capacity as a Minister, not as a former MP,” Chaouki remarked, adding that if she remained convinced by that position, presenting the report while expressing reservations risked creating a dual discourse.

Minister Delegate Qoloub Feitah and Chairman Mohamed Ghiyat Invoke Constitutional Court Ruling

Delivering a firm response, Minister Delegate Qoloub Feitah stated that assuming executive office does not mean disowning her parliamentary principles, but stressed that presenting the CNDH draft sub-budget before the committee “causes her zero embarrassment and fulfills a strict constitutional duty in compliance with Constitutional Court jurisprudence, which explicitly ruled that summoning presidents of independent constitutional bodies to present budgets before parliamentary committees is unconstitutional.” She pledged to convey the committee’s observations to the Head of Government and the CNDH President.

Committee Chairman MP Mohamed Ghiyat concluded the Point of Order by confirming that the committee bureau had indeed sought the personal attendance of the CNDH President, but was bound by the explicit Constitutional Council and Constitutional Court rulings prohibiting such appearances during budget appropriations, prompting the bureau to request that the Minister Delegate present the CNDH 2027 sub-budget alongside CNDH senior executives following the completion of the Ministry Delegate’s 105.34 million MAD budget presentation.