The right to water in the new Constitutions of Morocco (2011) and Tunisia (2014)

Abstract

Abstract
The legal regime of water in Morocco and Tunisia is still a composite of legislation and customs but in which Muslim law has lose ground since both countries proceeded to uproot the water regime of Muslim law by not contemplating in Its legislation references to Muslim law as a source of law unlike what happens in other sectors of property law.
In Morocco the constitutionally guaranteed content of the right to water seems to be limited to equal access to this natural resource. This is a mandate that has not been configured as an obligation of result, since the heading of art. 31 of the Moroccan Constitution mandates public authorities to mobilize resources, which implies a duty to perform that should guide public policies. From art. 44 of the Tunisian Constitution only it follows as a concrete obligation the rational use imposed not only on the State but also on society as well as the preservation of existing water, which admits to be understood both, as a duty to preserve the quality of the Water that must include its sanitation, and as a duty to preserve the existing water quantity promoting its rational use.
The way in which the right to water is formulated in both Constitutions can be seen as a reflection of the embryonic dogmatic status of content of emerging rights, such as the right to food, housing or water. It is therefore required a task of delimitation and hermeneutical concreteness in order to specify the contours of this right. This essay will examine the new proposed legislation after the new Constitutions.