Civil Law System: Public and Private Law

Law Disciplines

• In civil law systems, a distinction is made between public law and private law.
• Public law governs the organization of public moral persons and their relationships with private persons.
• Public moral persons include the State, local collectivities, and public companies, and public law seeks to protect society's general interest.
• Public law provisions are mandatory and binding.

Private Law

• Private law governs the relationships between private physical and private moral persons.
• Private law seeks to protect private interests, and conflicts between parties are solved by courts.

Business Law

• Moroccan business law is a branch of private law that deals with business affairs.
• It is based on civil law provisions concerning obligations and contracts, as applied to the Code of Obligations and Contracts.
• Commercial law deals with the rights and obligations of commerce professionals and their activities.

Commercial Law

• Commercial law organizes all aspects of work, including:
  • Working conditions
  • Financial compensations
  • Protection of employees
  • Labor disputes
  • Collective bargaining
• The act of commerce is carried out by a Trader in the exercise of their trade.
• There are four types of acts of commerce:
  • Acts of commerce by nature
  • Acts of commerce by accessory
  • Acts of commerce by form
  • Mixed acts of commerce

Classification of Acts of Commerce

• Acts of commerce by nature are habitual or professional exercises of activities listed in the Commercial Code.
• Acts of commerce by accessory require the person exercising the act to be a Trader and the act to be exercised on the occasion of their trade.
• Acts of commerce by form are subject to commercial law regardless of whether they are made professionally by a Trader or in isolation by a non-Trader.
• Mixed acts of commerce are practiced by a Trader and a non-Trader, with two sides: commercial for the Trader and civil for the non-Trader.

Legal Regime of Acts of Commerce

• The execution of acts of commerce has different rules than civil law, including:
  • Evidence by any means
  • Solidarity between traders is presumed
  • Prescription of obligations is shorter
  • Formal notice is an injunction addressed to the debtor to accomplish their obligation
• Traders have the choice of resorting to two kinds of commercial justice:
  • Justice of the commercial courts
  • Arbitral justice, which is a process by which parties invest private individuals or an organization with the task of settling their dispute.