The legal framework governing the criminal responsibility of the insane person in Morocco

Introduction. - The lunatic is any person deemed unfit for societal life. Nowadays, insanity is defined as a mental illness. The psychiatric expertise constitutes a judicial procedure designed to determine the insanity with regards to the effects on penal responsibility. Objectives. - The aim of this work was to highlight the different rules governing penal responsibility of the insane in Morocco. It also aims to emphasize the main function of the expert psychiatrist in determining the mental status of the offender at the time of the crime. Method. - This is a legal analysis of the effects of insanity on criminal liability. It is based on the examination of different rules governing the penal procedure, and the study of different judgments and case treatments either by the judge, the expert psychiatrist or by the institutions where the insane was placed. Results. - To detail procedural rules of criminal responsibility of the insane in Morocco as well as the role of the psychiatric expertise. Discussion. - The fundamental question is to determine whether the penal responsibility of the offender in the case of insanity is assumed solely by the criminal court, or whether it is mandatory to obtain the opinion of the expert psychiatric. Although the psychiatric expertise is the cornerstone of the procedure, the criminal court has the potential power to judge the different elements of the criminal process, whereas the medical expertise represents only one. Conclusion. - The determination of insanity is paramount due to the importance of the effects that it may have on the criminal responsibility of the offender. Even if the legislature cares to determine the conditions and effects of the insanity on criminal responsibility, the boundaries between the judicial and medical expert intervention remain unclear. Therefore, it is crucial to establish a detailed legal schedule to specify the boundaries and limits, considering that both judge and psychiatrist must collaborate to find the way to improvement. (C) 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.