The Agreements concluded between the EU and Morocco has been challenged before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).
Before the CJEU’s evaluation, as well as during the negotiations, a number of legal opinions have been elaborated by different actors (see related information here and here) on the general topic of the exploitation of natural resources in WS, In particular, the following are worth to be recalled:
AU 2015: AU Legal Opinion 2015.
UN 2002: UN Legal Opinion 2002.
In 2014 and 2015 the CJEU has released two important judgments related to the EU-Moroccan trade deal. In particular, since the Agreement fails to specifically exclude the territory of Western Sahara, the EU Court ruled that “The decision 2012/497/UE of the Council, 8 March 2012, related to the conclusion of the Agreement […] between the European Union and the Kingdom of Morocco […] is annulled as far as it is applied to Western Sahara” (case T-512/12, para. 247).
Case C-565/13: Judgment of the Court 9 October 2014.
Case T-512/12 (available only in French): Tribunal judgment 10 December 2015.
The 2015 judgment has been welcomed widely. See, for example, the statement published by the AU: African Union’s Statement.
Yet, in 2016, following the appeal of the Council against the 2015 judgment, the CJEU has annulled the previous decision because the Tribunal erred in finding that the EU-Morocco agreements may apply to Western Sahara. In fact, according to the CJEU, by applying international law rules on self-determination, it cannot be said that agreements signed by Morocco with third parties apply to Western Sahara, which has a separate status under international law. For more details, read case C‑104/16 P: Judgment of the Court 21 December 2016.
This reasoning has been confirmed in all decisions related to other actions initiated by the Polisario Front:
Case T-180/14: Tirbunal order 19 July 2018.
Case T-275/18: Tribunal order 30 November 2018.
Case T-376/18: Tribunal order 8 February 2019.
Pending cases (as in February 2020):
Case T-279/19: Action brought on 27 April 2019 – Front Polisario v Council.
Case T-344/19: Action brought on 10 June 2019 – Polisario v Council.
Case T-356/19: Action brought on 12 June 2019 – Polisario v Council.