Attorney-General v Salomon Toledano

• Jurisdiction: Marruecos
• Date: 05 July 1963
• Court: Court of Appeal (Morocco)

Morocco, Court of Appeal of Rabat (Third Chamber).

Attorney-General

and

Salomon Toledano.

Recognition Of States Non-recognition Effect of Acts of unrecognized State Whether exequatur may be granted in respect of such acts Acts of Israeli official The law of Morocco.

Summary.The Moroccan Courts will refuse an exequatur to an Israeli notarial act on the ground that Morocco does not recognize the State of Israel and that therefore all official Israeli acts are non-existent in the eyes of Moroccan law.

The following is the judgment of the Court:

The Court,

Having examined Articles 237 and 290 of the Decree on Civil Procedure and Article 19 of the Decree of 12 August 1913;

After having considered the matter in conformity with the law;

Deciding on the appeal lodged on 24 April 1962 by the Attorney-General before the Court of First Instance of Rabat against a judgment given by that Tribunal on 19 December 1962 [sic] which had granted an exequatur in respect of a notarial act executed in Tel-Aviv for the benefit of Salomon Toledano;

Whereas this appeal is admissible, since the notification of the relevant judgment had not been given; whereas such notification is necessary;

Whereas in fact the State Attorney cannot be considered as a secondary party to the proceedings and cannot participate in the argument in this capacity since the claim of Toledano is for the grant of an exequatur in respect of an act executed abroad for the purpose of an entry in the Land Register in accordance with the terms of the Decrees of 12 August 1913;

And whereas since Toledano did not make use of the procedure provided for in this text to challenge the refusal of the Registrar, and whereas, in default of this prior action, the claim for an exequatur relating to a foreign act setting in motion the operation of Moroccan administration and relating to public order and public law should be directed against the State Attorney, the only lawful defendant thereto;

Whereas it follows that in order to rectify the procedural error which has occurred, the Procureur du Roi should be brought in both at first instance and on appeal as the principal and not as the secondary party;

On the merits: Whereas Salomon Toledano has requested the Tribunal of First Instance of Rabat to give executory force to an act of April 1956 of a notary of Tel-Aviv (Israel);

Whereas the act involved was performed by a ministerial officer of the State of Israel, a State not recognized by Morocco;

Whereas it is established that a...