DNA Testing and Paternity Lawsuits in Morocco: The Tangier’s Court Case

Abstract

Abstract A child born out of wedlock is typically not entitled to paternity recognition in Morocco. In an unprecedented move in 2017, the First Instance Family Court in Tangiers recognized the familial relationship connecting a father to his biological daughter and ordered him to pay child support, but the ruling was revoked at the appellate court. The appellate court also invalidated the lower court’s use of international conventions, explaining that the child is so foreign to her father that the possibility of their future marriage would not be overruled. After further appeal, the overruling of the appellate court was confirmed at the cassation level in September 29, 2020. The Tangiers First Instance Family Court allowed for DNA tests to be admitted into evidence in family law cases, a procedure that is usually avoided. The plaintiff was a mother who wanted to prove the paternity (bunuwwa) and lineage (nasab) of her daughter born out of wedlock. The case illustrates how, as medical science advances, international law and conventions may interact with domestic, Islamic, and constitutional law. This case also shows how two Muslim jurists reacted to DNA testing and their starkly different use of such expertise in their judicial reasoning.