Deriving from the Chorfa of Tafilalet and being the descendants of Imam Ali, The Alaouite dynasty first governed the region of Tafilalte, before becoming the sovereigns of the whole country in 1666. The founder of the spiritual leader of the dynasty Moulay Ali Cherif along with his successors, such as Mohamed Ben Ali Chérif proclaimed king since 1640, were able to unify Morocco through the application of a unique political and military strategy.

Article 60:
Parliament shall be made up of two Houses: the House of Representatives and the House of Councilors.
The Members of Parliament hold their mandate from the nation.
Their right to vote shall be a personal right and it may not be delegated.

The Opposition is an essential component in both Houses.
It shall participate in the legislative and control functions provided for in this Chapter in particular.

Article 61:
Any Member of Parliament, in either House, who gives up his or her political affiliation under which he or she had run for election, or who leaves the parliamentary group or grouping to which he or she belongs, shall be unseated.

The Constitutional Court shall, in response to a request by the Speaker of the House concerned, declare the seat vacant, in accordance with the House's rules of procedure.
The House shall also set deadlines and procedures for referral to the Constitutional Court.

Article 62:
Parliament shall be made up of two Houses: the House of Representatives and the House of Councilors.
The Members of Parliament hold their mandate from the nation.
Their right to vote shall be a personal right and it may not be delegated.

The Opposition is an essential component in both Houses.
It shall participate in the legislative and control functions provided for in this Chapter in particular.

Article 63:
Members of the House of Representatives shall be elected by direct universal suffrage for a five-year term.
The term of office shall end at the opening of the October session of the fifth year following the election of the House.
The number of representatives, the electoral system, the principles of redistricting, the eligibility requirements, the rules governing incompatibility, the rules restricting the number of offices that may be held concurrently, and rules for lodging electoral complaints shall be specified by an organic law.
The Speakers and members of the bureau of the House of Representatives and the Chairs and bureaus of the Standing Committees shall be elected at the beginning of the term of office, then during the third year of that term, at the April session, for the remaining period of the term.
Election of members of the bureau shall be by group proportional representation.

Article 64:
No Member of Parliament may be prosecuted, pursued, arrested, detained or tried because of an opinion he or she expressed, or a vote he or she cast, in the performance of his or her duties, except if that opinion undermines the monarchical form of government or the Islamic religion, or constitutes a breach of the respect due to the King.

Article 65:
Parliament shall be in session twice a year. The King shall preside over the opening of the first session, to begin the second Friday of October.
The second session shall begin the second Friday of April.
When Parliament has convened for at least four months during a given session, the said session may be adjourned by decree.

Article 66:
Parliament may convene in a special session, either by decree or at the request of one third of the members of the House of Representatives, or the majority of the members of the House of Councilors.
The special sessions of Parliament shall have a specific agenda.
Upon conclusion of consideration of agenda items, the session shall close by decree.

Article 67:
Ministers shall have access to both Houses as well as to their committees. They may be assisted by officers appointed by them.
In addition to the Standing Committees mentioned in the preceding paragraph, commissions of inquiry may be set up in either House, on the King's initiative, or at the request of one third of the members of the House of Representatives, or one third of the members of the House of Councilors, in order to collect information on specific matters or on the management of public services, institutions and State-owned enterprises, and submit their findings to the House concerned.
No commission of inquiry shall be set up when the facts concerned have led to legal action and until such time as the legal proceedings have been completed. When a commission of inquiry is set up, its mission shall end immediately after the opening of a judicial inquiry on the facts which prompted the creation of the said commission.
Commissions of inquiry shall be temporary. Their mission shall end upon submission of their report to the Bureau of the House concerned, and, where appropriate, with referral to the court by the Speaker of the said House.
A public sitting shall take place in the House concerned and shall be devoted to discussion of the reports of the commissions of inquiry.
An organic law shall determine the operating procedures of commissions of inquiry.

Article 68:
The sittings of both Houses of Parliament shall be public. A verbatim report of the debates shall be published in the official gazette of Parliament.
Each House may sit in camera, at the request of the Head of Government or of one third of its members.
The meetings of parliamentary committees shall be held in camera. The rules of procedure of each House of Parliament shall specify the cases and rules for holding public committee sittings.
The two Houses of Parliament shall hold joint sessions, especially in the following cases:

• The opening, by the King, of the parliamentary session, on the second Friday of October, and the presentation of Royal messages to Parliament;
• The adoption of the revision of the Constitution, in accordance with Article 174;
• The statements of the Head of Government;
• The presentation of the annual Finance Bill;
• The speeches of foreign Heads of State and Government.

Article 69:
Each House shall lay down its rules of procedure. They shall not be enforced until the Constitutional Court has declared them to be consistent with the provisions of the Constitution. In laying down their respective rules of procedure, the two Houses of Parliament shall take into account the required cohesion and complementarity between the two sets of rules in order to ensure efficient parliamentary action. The rules of procedure shall include, in particular:

• Rules governing membership, composition and operation of groups and parliamentary groups, as well as the specific rights granted opposition groups;
• The obligation of actual participation of members in committees and plenary sessions, including penalties for absence;
• The number, purpose and organization of Standing Committees; the chairmanship of one or two Standing Committees shall be entrusted to the Opposition, subject to the provisions of Article 10 of the Constitution.

Article 70:
Parliament shall exercise legislative power.
It shall pass laws, control government action and assess public policies.
An enabling act may allow the Government, for a limited period of time and for a specific objective, to take, by decree, measures that normally fall within the scope of the law. The decrees shall take effect upon publication, but they must be submitted to ratification by Parliament within the period specified by the enabling act. The enabling act shall lapse upon the dissolution of one or both Houses of Parliament.

Article 71:
In addition to matters explicitly assigned to it by the Constitution, the Legislative Power shall be competent to legislate on the following:

• Fundamental rights and freedoms stipulated in the Preamble and in the Articles of this Constitution;
• Family status and marital status;
• Principles and rules relating to the healthcare system;
• Laws relating to the various audio-visual and media outlets;
• Amnesty;
• Citizenship and the status of foreigners;
• Determination of offenses and the related penalties;
• Organization of the judiciary and the setting up of new categories of courts;
• Civil procedure and criminal procedure;
• Laws relating to the prison system;
• Civil Service regulations;
• Fundamental guarantees granted to civil servants and members of the military;
• Status of law and order institutions and services;
• Laws relating to territorial organizations and the principles of jurisdictional delimitation;
• Electoral system for local government, the principles of redistricting;
• Tax scheme and the tax base, rates and methods of tax collection;
• Laws relating to the issuing of currency and the status of the central bank;
• Laws relating to customs;
• System of civil and commercial obligations, company and cooperatives law;
• Rights in rem and public, private and collective real estate schemes;
• Laws relating to transport;
• Labor relations, social security, work hazards and occupational diseases;
• Laws relating to banking, insurance and mutual funds;
• Laws on information and communication technology;
• Town planning and land development;
• Rules regarding environmental management, protection of natural resources and sustainable development;
• Regulations on water resources, forestry and fisheries;
• Determining the general policy and organization of education, scientific research and vocational training;
• Setting up of public institutions and other legal entities governed by public law;
• Nationalization of companies and the privatization system.

Article 72:
Matters other than those lying within the legislative domain shall fall within the framework of the regulatory sector.

Article 73:
Texts adopted as legislative provisions may be changed by decree when they concern an area falling within the scope of regulatory power, subject to the assent of the Constitutional Court.

Article 74:
The state of siege for a period of thirty days may be declared by Royal Decree, which shall be countersigned by the Head of Government. This period may not be extended, save by law.

Article 75:
Parliament shall pass the Finance Act, which shall be submitted to the House of Representatives on a priority basis, as provided by an organic law. The latter shall determine the nature of the information, documents and data needed to enrich parliamentary debate on the Finance Bill. Parliament shall vote once on the capital expenditures needed in the area of development to implement strategic development plans and multiannual programs prepared by the Government, of which the latter shall inform Parliament. Approved expenditure shall be renewed automatically for the duration of those plans and programs. Only the Government shall have the right to submit bills to amend programs thus adopted.
Should the Finance Bill not be voted by the end of a financial year, or should it not be promulgated as a result of its submission to the Constitutional Court by virtue of Article 132 of the Constitution, the Government shall authorize, by decree, the appropriation of the funds needed for the conduct of public services and the exercise of their mission, according to the budget proposals submitted for approval.
In this case, revenues shall continue to be levied in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations, save for revenue whose termination is proposed in the Finance Bill. As for revenues for which a rate reduction is suggested in the Finance Bill, they shall be levied according to the new rate proposed.

Article 76:
The Government shall submit annually to Parliament an appropriation bill on the Finance Act during the second year following the implementation of the said Act. The bill shall include results of capital budgets which have expired.

Article 77:
Parliament and the Government shall endeavor to preserve balanced state finances.
The Government may reject, in a duly justified manner, any proposal or amendment put forth by Members of Parliament which, if adopted, would result in reduced government income, or in new or increased burdens.

Article 78:
The right to initiate legislation shall lie concurrently with the Head of Government and the Members of Parliament.
Draft bills shall be tabled, first, in the House of Representatives. However, draft bills related, in particular, to local governments, regional development and social affairs shall be tabled, first, in the Bureau of the House of Councilors.

Article 79:
The Government may object to any proposal or amendment which is outside the legislative domain.
In case of disagreement, the Constitutional Court shall take action within a period of eight days, at the request of the Speaker of one of the two Houses of Parliament, or of the Head of Government.

Article 80:
Draft bills and proposals shall be submitted for consideration by the committees which remain in session during recess.

Article 81:
During recess, the Government may, in agreement with the committee concerned, in both Houses, adopt ordinances, which must be submitted for ratification by Parliament at its following regular session.
The draft decree-law shall be tabled in the Bureau of the House of Representatives. It shall be considered successively by the relevant committees in both Houses, with a view to reaching a joint decision within a period of six days; otherwise, the decision shall be made by the relevant committee in the House of Representatives.

Article 82:
The Bureau of each House shall prepare the agenda for the House, which shall include draft bills, then proposed laws, in a sequential order set by the Government.
At least one day per month shall be devoted to discussing proposed laws, including those tabled by the Opposition.

Article 83:
Members of each House, as well as the Government, shall have the right to table amendments. After the opening of the debate, the Government may object to the examination of any amendment which was not submitted, beforehand, to the relevant committee.
If requested by the Government, the House before which the text under discussion was tabled shall take action by single vote on the entire bill under discussion, or part thereof. Only amendments proposed or endorsed by the Government shall be considered. The House concerned may object to this procedure by a majority vote of its members.

Article 84:
Any draft bill or proposed bill shall be considered successively by the two Houses of Parliament, with a view to adopting a single text. The House of Representatives shall address, on a priority basis and successively, bills and proposed bills tabled by its members. The House of Councilors shall address, on a priority basis and successively, bills and proposed bills tabled by its members. A House in which a bill, already adopted by the other House, is tabled, shall examine the draft as referred to it.
The House of Representatives shall adopt the draft under consideration, in the last resort. The absolute majority of members attending shall be required to endorse a draft bill pertaining to local government, and to areas relating to regional development and social affairs.

Article 85:
Draft and proposed organic laws shall be submitted for consideration by the House of Representatives only after a ten-day period following their registration in the Bureau of the House, and in accordance with the procedure stated in Article 84. They shall be considered as definitively endorsed by the absolute majority of the members attending in the House. However, a bill or a proposed organic law pertaining to the House of Councilors, or to local governments, shall require a majority vote of House members.
Organic laws pertaining to the House of Councilors shall be adopted upon an agreement between the two Houses of Parliament on a single text.
Organic laws shall be promulgated only after the Constitutional Court has determined that they conform to the Constitution.

Article 86
The organic laws provided for in the present Constitution must be submitted to Parliament for approval within a period not exceeding the duration of the first legislature following the promulgation of the Constitution.