Any person who remits a cheque in payment must prove his identity, as follows, by means of an official document bearing his photograph: 1 - In respect of natural persons: - the national identity card; - the registration card for resident foreigners; - the passport or any other identity document serving in lieu thereof for non-re…
Commercial Code
Unofficial translation. The English interface is for information only — only the Arabic text published in the Bulletin Officiel is authentic. Read this page in العربية · Français
A cheque stipulated as payable to the order of a named person with or without the express clause 'to order' is transferable by means of endorsement. A cheque stipulated as payable to a named person with the clause 'not to order' or an equivalent clause is transferable only in the form and with the effects of an ordinary assignment.
Endorsement may be made even in favour of the drawer or of any other obligor. Such persons may endorse the cheque again.
Endorsement must be pure and simple. Any condition to which it is subject shall be deemed unwritten. Partial endorsement is void. Endorsement by the drawee is also void. Endorsement to bearer is valid as a blank endorsement. Endorsement to the drawee is valid only as a receipt, except where the drawee has several establishments and the endorsement is made in favour of an establishment other than that on which the cheque was drawn.
Endorsement must be written on the cheque or on a sheet attached thereto (allonge). It must be signed by the endorser. The endorsement may omit designation of the beneficiary or consist simply of the endorser's signature (blank endorsement). In the latter case, the endorsement, to be valid, must be written on the back of the cheque or on the allonge.
Endorsement transfers all rights resulting from the cheque and in particular ownership of the provision. If the endorsement is blank, the holder may: 1) fill in the blank, either with his own name or with the name of another person; 2) endorse the cheque again in blank or to another person; 3) deliver the cheque to a third party without filling in the blank and without endorsing it.
The endorser is, unless otherwise agreed, guarantor of payment. He may prohibit a further endorsement; in that case, he is not bound by the guarantee towards persons to whom the cheque is subsequently endorsed.
The holder of an endorsable cheque is considered a lawful holder if he establishes his right by an uninterrupted series of endorsements, even if the last endorsement is blank. Crossed-out endorsements are, for this purpose, deemed unwritten. Where a blank endorsement is followed by another endorsement, the signatory of that endorsement is deemed to have acquired the cheque by the blank endorsement.
An endorsement appearing on a bearer cheque makes the endorser liable under the provisions governing recourse; it does not moreover convert the instrument into an order cheque.
Where a person has been deprived of an order cheque by any event whatsoever, the beneficiary who establishes his right in the manner indicated in Article 258 is required to surrender the cheque only if he acquired it in bad faith or if, in acquiring it, he committed gross negligence.
Persons sued under the cheque may not set up against the holder defences based on their personal relations with the drawer or with previous holders, unless the holder, in acquiring the cheque, acted knowingly to the detriment of the debtor.
Where the endorsement contains the words 'value for collection', 'for collection', 'by procuration', or any other words implying a simple mandate, the holder may exercise all rights arising from the cheque but may endorse it only by way of procuration. In this case, the obligors may invoke against the holder only the defences th…
An endorsement made after protest or after expiry of the presentation period produces only the effects of an ordinary assignment. Unless proof to the contrary, an undated endorsement is presumed to have been made before protest or before expiry of the period referred to in the preceding paragraph. It is forbidden to backdate orders on pain of forgery. Chapter III: Aval
Payment of a cheque may be guaranteed in whole or in part of its amount by an aval. This guarantee is provided by a third party, except the drawee, or even by a signatory of the cheque.
The aval is given either on the cheque or on an allonge or by a separate instrument indicating the place where it was given. It is expressed by the words 'good for aval' or by any other equivalent form; it is signed by the giver of the aval. It is considered to result from the sole signature of the giver of the aval placed on th…
The giver of the aval is bound in the same manner as the person for whom he has stood guarantor. His undertaking is valid even where the obligation he guaranteed would be null for any cause other than a defect in form. When he pays the cheque, the giver of the aval acquires the rights arising from the cheque against the guarante…
A cheque is payable at sight. Any contrary mention is deemed unwritten. A cheque presented for payment before the day indicated as the date of issue is payable on the day of presentation.
A cheque issued and payable in Morocco must be presented for payment within twenty days. A cheque issued outside Morocco and payable in Morocco must be presented within sixty days. The starting point of the above-mentioned periods is the day appearing on the cheque as the date of issue.
Where a cheque payable in Morocco is issued in a country where a different calendar is in use, the day of issue shall be reduced to the corresponding day of the calendar in use in Morocco.
Presentation to a clearing house is equivalent to presentation for payment.
The drawee must pay even after expiry of the presentation period. He must also pay even if the cheque was issued in violation of the injunction provided for in Article 313 or of the prohibition provided for in Article 317. Objection to payment of the cheque is admitted only in case of loss, theft, fraudulent use or falsification…
Neither the death of the drawer nor his incapacity occurring after issue affects the effects of the cheque.
The drawee may require, when paying the cheque, that it be delivered to him discharged by the holder. The holder may not refuse partial payment. If the cover is less than the amount of the cheque, the drawee banking establishment is required to offer payment up to the amount of the available cover. The drawee may not refuse this…
A person who pays a cheque without objection is presumed validly discharged. The drawee who pays an endorsable cheque is obliged to verify the regularity of the chain of endorsements, but not the signature of the endorsers.
Where a cheque is stipulated payable in a foreign currency, the amount may be paid, within the cheque's presentation period, according to its value in dirhams on the day of payment. If payment has not been made on presentation, the holder may, at his choice, request that the amount of the cheque be paid in dirhams according to t…
In the event of loss or theft of a cheque, the person to whom it belongs may pursue payment thereof on a second, third, fourth and so on. If the person who has lost the cheque or to whom it has been stolen cannot present the second, third, fourth and so on, he may request payment of the lost or stolen cheque and obtain it by order of the president of the court, justifying his ownership by his books and providing surety.
In the event of refusal of payment, on the application made under the preceding article, the owner of the lost or stolen cheque retains all rights by an act of protest. This act must be made at the latest on the first business day following the expiry of the presentation period. The notices prescribed by article 285 must be given to the drawer and to the endorsers within the time limits fixed by that article.
The owner of the lost or stolen cheque must, in order to procure the second, apply to his immediate endorser, who is bound to lend him his name and assistance to act against his own endorser, and so on by going back from endorser to endorser up to the drawer of the cheque. The owner of the lost or stolen cheque shall bear the costs.
The undertaking of the surety mentioned in article 276 is extinguished after six months if during that time there have been neither claims nor legal proceedings. Chapter V: The Crossed Cheque
The drawer or holder of a cheque may cross it with the effects indicated in the following article. Crossing is effected by means of two parallel lines affixed on the front. It may be general or special. Crossing is general if it bears between the lines no designation or the words 'banking establishment' or an equivalent term. It…
A cheque with general crossing may be paid by the drawee only to one of its customers or to a banking establishment. A cheque with special crossing may be paid by the drawee only to the designated banking establishment or, if the latter is the drawee, only to its customer. However, the designated banking establishment may have r…
Cheques for crediting to an account issued abroad and payable in Morocco shall be treated as crossed cheques. Chapter VI: Recourse for Failure to Pay
The holder may exercise his recourse against the endorsers, the drawer and the other obligors if the cheque, presented in due time, is not paid and the refusal of payment is established by a protest.
The protest must be made before the expiry of the presentation period. If presentation takes place on the last day of the period, the protest may be established on the first following business day.
The holder must give notice of non-payment to his endorser and to the drawer within eight business days following the day of the protest and, in the case of a 'return without costs' clause, on the day of presentation. The officers of the clerk's office shall, where the cheque indicates the name and domicile of the drawer, notify…
The drawer, an endorser or a guarantor may, by the clause 'return without costs', 'without protest', or any other equivalent clause, written on the instrument and signed, exempt the holder, for the exercise of his recourse, from having a protest established. This clause does not exempt the holder from presenting the cheque withi…
All persons obliged under a cheque are jointly and severally liable to the holder. The holder has the right to act against all persons individually or collectively, without being required to observe the order in which they became obliged. The same right belongs to any signatory of a cheque who has reimbursed it. An action brough…
The holder may claim from the person against whom he exercises his recourse: 1) the amount of the unpaid cheque; 2) interest from the day of presentation at the legal rate for cheques issued and payable in Morocco; that rate being increased by one per cent for other cheques; 3) protest costs, those of the notices given as well as other costs.
A person who has reimbursed the cheque may claim from his guarantors: 1) the entire sum he has paid; 2) interest on that sum from the day on which he disbursed it, calculated at the legal rate for cheques issued and payable in Morocco, that rate being increased by one per cent for other cheques; 3) the costs he has incurred.
Any party liable against whom recourse is exercised or who is exposed to recourse may, against reimbursement, require delivery of the cheque with the protest and a settled account. Any endorser who has reimbursed the cheque may strike out his endorsement and those of subsequent endorsers.
When presentation of the cheque or drawing up of the protest within the prescribed time limits is prevented by force majeure, those time limits shall be extended. The holder shall be required to give notice of the case of force majeure to his endorser without delay and to mention that notice, dated and signed by him, on the cheq…
Except for bearer cheques, any cheque issued in one country and payable in another country may be drawn in several copies. When a cheque is made out in several copies, those copies must be numbered in the text of the instrument itself, failing which each of them shall be considered a separate cheque.
Payment made on one of the copies shall be discharging even if it is not stipulated that such payment cancels the effect of the other copies. The endorser who has transmitted the copies to different persons, as well as subsequent endorsers, shall be liable in respect of all copies bearing their signature which have not been returned. Chapter VIII: Alterations
In the event of alteration of the text of the cheque, signatories after that alteration shall be liable under the terms of the altered text; prior signatories shall be liable under the terms of the original text. Chapter IX: Limitation
Recourse actions of the holder against the endorsers, the drawer and the other parties liable shall be barred by limitation after six months from the expiry of the presentation period. Recourse actions of the various parties liable for payment of a cheque against one another shall be barred by limitation after six months from th…
Limitation periods in the case of an action brought before a court shall run only from the day of the last judicial proceeding. They shall not apply if there has been a judgment or if the debt has been acknowledged by a separate instrument. Interruption of limitation shall have effect only against the person in respect of whom t…
The protest must be made by officers of the court registry at the domicile of the person on whom the cheque was payable or at his last known domicile. In the event of a false indication of domicile, the protest shall be preceded by an act of investigation.
The instrument of protest shall contain a literal transcription of the cheque and of the endorsements as well as the demand to pay the amount of the cheque. It shall state, in addition to the full address, the presence or absence of the person who must pay, the grounds for refusal to pay and the inability or refusal to sign and,…
No act on the part of the holder of the cheque may replace the act of protest, except in the case provided for by Articles 276 et seq. concerning the loss or theft of the cheque.
The officers of the court registry shall be required, under their personal responsibility, to keep an exact copy of the protests and to enter them in full, day by day and in order of dates, in a special register numbered, initialled and verified by the judge.