Mahkamat al-Pasha Building (Pasha's Courthouse), Casablanca (must see)

The Pasha’s Courthouse is one of the most grandiose historic buildings in Casablanca, located in the Habous Quarter, an area conceived during the French Protectorate as a “New Medina”. Designed to combine traditional Moroccan urban forms with modern planning principles, Habous was intended as a center for religious, cultural, and civic life, and the courthouse was conceived as one of its key institutional landmarks.

The project was commissioned in January 1930 by At-Tayyib al-Moqri, the Pasha of Casablanca, a high-ranking administrative official and governor, son of the influential Grand Vizier, Mohammed al-Moqri. Plans called for a multifunctional complex that would bring together civil courtrooms, administrative offices, and an official residence for the Pasha. Although the concept dates to the early 1930s, construction took place later, between 1941 and 1943, during World War II.

The building was designed by Auguste Cadet, a prominent French architect active in Casablanca during the Protectorate period. Executed in a Moorish-Andalusian revival style, the courthouse deliberately evokes the appearance of a historic palace rather than a modern government facility. Wartime shortages of industrial materials contributed to this choice, leading to extensive use of traditional Moroccan construction techniques and craftsmanship. Architectural highlights include elaborate zellij tilework, carved cedarwood ceilings and doors, finely chiseled stucco decoration, slender arches, and green-tiled roofs.

Today, the Pasha’s Courthouse remains an active government building, and public access to the interior is restricted to official visits or special arrangements. Even so, its richly decorated exterior and harmonious proportions make it one of the architectural highlights of the Habous Quarter.