expression and to freely distribute information, ideas, and opinions, limited only by that which is expressly provided for by the law.” The new constitution’s preamble states that Morocco undertakes to “grant to international conventions duly ratified by Morocco – in the framework of the provisions of the constitution and the laws of the kingdom, while respecting its immutable national identity – upon their publication, primacy over internal law of the country, and to harmonize as a consequence the pertinent provisions of its national legislation.” The Penal Code Article 263 penalizes “anyone who gravely offends a judge, public official, or commander or agent of the public forces, with the intent of harming his or her honor, esteem, or the respect due his or her authority.” Article 264 states that the offense of “gravely offending” someone includes accusing the person of a crime that one knows did not occur. Article 266 allows penalties for material that is either written with the purpose of “exercising pressure on decisions on matters that are still before judges,” or “that tends to discredit court decisions and undermine the judiciary’s authority or independence.” International Law The UN Human Rights Committee, the treaty body that is an authoritative interpreter of state duties under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, wrote in 2011 with respect to article 19, which guarantees the right to freedom of freedom of expression: Defamation laws must be crafted with care to ensure that they… do not serve, in practice, to stifle freedom of expression.… At least with regard to comments about public figures, consideration should be given to avoiding penalising or otherwise rendering unlawful untrue statements that have been published in error but without malice. In any event, a public interest in the subject matter of the criticism should be recognised as a defence.... States parties should consider the decriminalisation of defamation and, in any case, the application of the criminal law should only be countenanced in the most serious of cases and imprisonment is never an appropriate penalty.