Morocco launches online marriage service

CASABLANCA – Morocco has launched an online marriage service in a bid to break the obstacle of interaction restrictions that are part of the government’s stringent measures to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The ministry of justice set up a portal dedicated to authorising couples to wed in the midst of their confinement.

“The strategy is one of the main pillars adopted by the ministry of justice in order to activate its strategies for modernising the judicial administration through the intangible incarnation of leaders and judicial procedures,” underlines the Ministry.

The portal allows the wedded-to-be to make requests remotely in order to obtain authorisation to marry in most of the courts of the North African kingdom.

Morocco has banned social gatherings, including wedding ceremonies, as part of several measures to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The procedure is not as easy as people think it is,” lawyer Zakaria Mrini told Middle East Online.

“The wedded-to-be have to gather the necessary legal documents to prove their eligibility and hand them over to the Adoul (notary),” said Mrini.

“The Adoul will upload the documents online and file them to the family court to get the marriage authorisation, which once given, will allow the wedded-to-be to sign the marriage certificate at the Adoul’s office,” he added.

The decision seeks to avoid congestions in courts which could spread the deadly virus.   

Morocco’s launch of this service came three days after the United Arab Emirates launched an online marriage service that allows couples to wed.

The Gulf Arab state’s justice ministry said on Sunday that citizens and residents can set a date for an online wedding ceremony conducted via video link with a cleric after their paperwork is submitted and approved, also online, according to the UAE's official news agency WAM. 

The couple will receive confirmation of their marriage certificate via text message upon validation from a specialised court, after a cleric confirms the identity of witnesses and the wedded-to-be.