التحكيم والوساطة الاتفاقية الإلكترونية في منازعات المقاولة: قراءة في القانون 95.17 على ضوء التحول الرقمي للعدالة

This study examines whether Moroccan Law No. 95.17 on Arbitration and Conventional Mediation can accommodate electronic means in the resolution of business disputes, at a time when state justice is rapidly going digital following the entry into force of Law No. 03.23 amending the Code of Criminal Procedure and Law No. 58.25 on Civil Procedure, and when international standards are shifting after UNCITRAL adopted new texts on electronic arbitral awards in July 2026 and the EU Artificial Intelligence Act classified AI systems used in alternative dispute resolution as high-risk. It argues that the Moroccan legislator adopted an approach of “permission without regulation”: the law allows arbitration and mediation agreements to be concluded by electronic message, pleadings to be filed electronically, and awards to be rendered on an electronic medium, yet it leaves unregulated remote hearings, the notion of the “original” of an electronic award and its deposit, the proof of electronic notification, and the use of artificial intelligence. Using an analytical method supported by comparison with UNCITRAL instruments, institutional arbitration rules, and UAE and EU legislation, the study concludes that the effectiveness of these tools depends on an integrated reading of Law No. 95.17 together with Law No. 43.20 on trust services and Law No. 09.08 on personal data protection. It proposes targeted legislative and regulatory reforms, notably codifying remote hearings with explicit safeguards, enabling electronic deposit of awards and settlement agreements, setting rules on the use of AI, and considering accession to the Singapore Convention on Mediation. Keywords: Electronic arbitration; Conventional mediation; Law No. 95.17; Trust services; Remote hearings; Artificial intelligence; Digital justice; Business disputes.