Mediation Rules of al Wassit Al Banki

The purpose of these regulations is to govern the mediation system managed by the Moroccan Banking Mediation Center: Al Wassit Al Banki. It has the support of all its members and partners of the Center and in particular: Banks, financing companies, Payment institutions, Micro-credit associations, Offshore banks.

Considering:

• The provisions of Law No. n°95-17 on arbitration and mediation. repealing and replacing Chapter VIII of Title V of the Code of Civil Procedure, promulgated by Dahir No. 1-07-169 of 19 Kaada 1428 (November 30, 2007 );
• The provisions of Law No. 103-12 relating to credit institutions and similar organizations, promulgated by Dahir No. 1-14-193 of 1^st Rabii I 1436 (December 24, 2014 ) in particular its article 158;
• The provisions of Law No. 31-08 of February 18, 2011 enacting consumer protection measures and in particular in its articles 111 and 149 providing for cases of dismissal and unforeseeable social situation;
• The provisions of the circular of the Wali of Bank Al-Maghrib No. 9/W/16 of June 10, 2016 relating to the operating modalities of the banking mediation system;
• The actions undertaken by Bank-Al-Maghrib and the banking sector to improve the relationship between credit institutions and their customers;
• The provisions of the statutes of the Moroccan Banking Mediation Center, in particular its article 11, adopted during the constitutive general assembly of June 25, 2013.

• Establishments: these are credit institutions within the meaning of law no. 103-12 relating to credit establishments and similar organizations:
  • Banks: governed by the provisions of Law No. 103-12 relating to credit establishments and similar organizations
  • Financing companies: governed by the provisions of Law No. 103-12 relating to credit institutions and similar organizations
  • Micro-credit associations: governed by the provisions of Law No. 103-12 relating to credit establishments and similar organizations and by Law No. 18-97 relating to micro-credit as modified and supplemented.
  • Offshore Banks: governed by the provisions of Law No. 103-12 relating to credit institutions and similar organizations and by Law No. 58-90 relating to offshore financial centers of March 18 1992.
  • Payment institutions: rgoverned by law no. 103-12 relating to credit institutions and similar organizations
• Customer: the term customer is understood in its broadest sense covering both regular Customers and passing Customers of the Establishments.
• Parties: these are the Establishments and their Clients.
• Mediation agreement: Act, in the form of a clause inserted in a contract or compromise established by the parties after the occurrence of a dispute.</li >
• Transactional agreement : Act establishing the agreement of the parties, signed by them and the Mediator, at the end of the mediation procedure.
• Act of non-transaction : Act bearing the signature of the Mediator noting the non-completion of the mediation procedure.
• Center: Moroccan Banking Mediation Center: Al Wassit Al Banki
• Mediator: Al Wassit Al Banki mediator, responsible for the conduct and processing of mediations and director of the Center; the exercise by the Mediator of his mandate is done in accordance with:
  • law n°103-12 in its article 158,
  • law n°95-17 on arbitration and mediation.
  • the circular of the Wali of Bank-Al-Maghrib n°9/W/16 relating to the operating modalities of the mediation system.
  • to the mediation regulations
  • internal regulations
• Expert: this is the natural or legal person that the mediator can call upon for their technical skills.

The Center manages the banking mediation system intended for the amicable settlement of disputes arising or which may arise between Establishments and their Clients. This is a conventional or judicial institutional mediation system for the benefit of natural or legal persons governed by Law 95-17 relating to mediation.

The Establishments include Al Wassit Al Banki mediation clause in any contractual document linking them to customers. In the event of a dispute, the Center has the Client sign a mediation request according to a pre-established model.
The mediation compromise can also be made during legal proceedings in accordance with article n°88 of law 95-17.

Recourse to mediation is free.

Disputes between the parties relating to:

• to current accounts, savings accounts and securities accounts;
• means of payment;
• the conditions for reimbursement of financial assistance;
• the delivery of all documents to Clients (releases, amortization tables, certificates of outstanding amounts, bank statements, copies of contracts and various other documents);
• operations relating to the marketing of insurance contracts directly linked to a banking product or service distributed by the Establishment;
• to the recovery of debts in the event that non-payment is due to a case of dismissal or an unforeseeable social situation, in accordance with the provisions of article 111 of law No. 31-08 enacting protection measures of the consumer.
• the difficulties in settling bank debts by very small and medium-sized businesses.
• As well as all other banking or financing transactions.

The Center can be contacted by the Client, by the Establishment and by the Judge.

Prior to referral to the Mediator, the Client must refer his or her grievances to the competent departments of his or her Establishment. Any Client who has not received a response from their Establishment within 40 working days or who is not satisfied with the response received, may contact the Mediator by any means made available to them by the Center.

The request for mediation must be accompanied by a copy of the complaint filed with the Establishment concerned. In the absence of a copy of the complaint, the Center informs the Establishment of the Client’s request for mediation.

Notwithstanding the deadline given to the Establishment to respond to the Client’s complaint, the Center can process the file if the Establishment agrees to begin the mediation process, upon receipt of the request and even before the expiration of the said deadline.

Any request for mediation addressed or submitted to the Center must clearly specify the subject of the dispute and be supported by the documents and information necessary for its investigation as well as, where applicable, the response from the Establishment concerned.

The Mediator may ask the Client and the Establishment concerned to produce any additional information or documents for processing the request.

The reasons for inadmissibility of applications are as follows:

• Any dispute that has already been the subject of a judicial or arbitral decision;
• Files outside the scope of jurisdiction;
• Incomplete files, when the missing information or document is decisive for the processing of the file.

Are admissible:

• Disputes relating to the execution of court decisions.
• At the request of the parties, any dispute which is the subject of an action pending before a court or arbitral body.

If a file is being processed and one of the parties refers the same dispute to a court or an arbitrator, this party must alert the Center within 8 days. The latter can only continue to process the file with the agreement of the parties. Failing this, the Mediator must close the file.

The Center must decide on admissibility upon receipt of a file.

The Establishment has a period of 8 working days to declare the admissibility of the Client’s mediation request. After this deadline, without a response from the Establishment, the file is considered admissible.

If admissible, the Center has 30 working days to process the request. However, a justified extension may be requested by one of the parties. At the end of this extension period, the Mediator may either close the file or propose a transactional solution within the limits specified in article 10 of these regulations.

The Mediator has full discretion to hear the Client who has submitted a request for mediation to him as well as the representative of the Establishment concerned, with a view to reconciling their points of view and proposing, if necessary, a draft resolution. transaction.

The Client may be assisted by any person whose presence he deems appropriate by providing proof of his identity and capacity. In this case, this person must sign a confidentiality undertaking according to the model established by the Center except for the person(s) legally bound by professional secrecy.

The Establishment concerned by the dispute must communicate to the Mediator all documents and information useful to the accomplishment of its mission. The Mediator, in accordance with article n°95 of law 95-17, is bound by the obligation of professional secrecy. For the purposes of mediation, the Establishment is released from banking secrecy concerning its Client.

At the end of his mission and in the event of success of the mediation, the Mediator proposes to the parties a draft transaction. He notes this in a transaction document containing the facts of the dispute, the terms of its settlement, his conclusions and what the parties agreed to put an end to the dispute. The settlement agreement is signed by the Mediator and the Parties.

The Mediator clarifies to the parties the legal effects of the settlement agreement in that it carries the force of res judicata between the parties and may be accompanied by the mention of exequatur.

In the event of failure to reach a transaction for whatever reason, the Mediator issues to the parties a certificate of non-transaction bearing his signature.

The Mediator’s findings and the statements he collects from the Client and the Establishment may only be raised before the judge hearing the dispute with the agreement of the Parties. They cannot be used in any other instance.

Notwithstanding the provisions of article 8 above, the Establishments accept the Mediator’s proposal when the amount involved does not exceed the following sums:

• 200,000 dirhams for the Banks;
• 100,000 dirhams for financing companies, with the exception of consumer credit companies;
• 50,000 dirhams for consumer credit companies;
• 5,000 dirhams for micro-credit associations;
• 5,000 dirhams for payment establishments

After the Client’s agreement, the Mediator must notify the Mediator’s proposal to the Establishment. Said notification constitutes acceptance

The mediation procedure ends in the event:

• signing of a settlement agreement by the parties and the Mediator;
• signature by the Mediator of an act of non-transaction;
• decision notified by the Client or the Establishment to the Mediator to put an end to the Mediation procedure;
• closure of mediation by the Mediator in accordance with the provisions of Law No. 95-17 or these regulations.

The Mediator, his collaborators as well as any person who, in any capacity, participates in the processing of mediation files and more generally, any person called upon to know or use information relating to “the processing of mediation files” are required to respect for professional secrecy in accordance with the provisions of article 180 of law no. 103-12 relating to credit establishments and similar organizations and in accordance with the provisions of article n°95 of law 95-17 .

The documents submitted by the parties are kept by the Center and are not returned to them.

The Mediator