Syria at the Crossroads of Justice: A Nation Awaiting Accountability

The current Syrian situation has revealed an urgent need for relevant authorities to review policies related to constitutional obligations. This is necessary to end the ambiguity that has, until now, characterized the government’s performance in public affairs. Such a review is essential to bridge the gap between pressing necessities and the legislation required to resolve a large portion of the legal issues concerning the transitional period, justice, and other pending matters that hinder the state and society’s ability to navigate this critical bottleneck.

What is meant here is moving toward activating the legislative role of the “People’s Assembly” (elected several months ago) once the presidential third of members is named.

Indicators of the Syrian Scene

The motivation for this introduction is two recent events that have occupied public life: the meeting of the Transitional Justice Commission in Aleppo, and statements indicating that the Commission is waiting for the People’s Assembly to convene to propose draft laws for Transitional Justice and Political and Administrative Exclusion.

This step would open the door wide for the Commission to begin its work without the legislative obstacles that have hindered legal efforts since its founding. There is a broad national debate regarding the reasons for this delay and the necessity of moving the wheels of justice forward, as it is a vital milestone in rebuilding the new state and ensuring justice for the victims of the Assad regime.

This is especially critical as the public sphere is experiencing growing tension. Large segments of the population are viewing the government’s handling of this file not just with reservation-inducing ambiguity, but with doubts about the seriousness of activating transitional justice. This comes at a time when settlements are being reached for figures who were vital parts of the former repressive system, allowing them back into public service and civil work that requires -dir-ect contact with the public. Many such cases appear on social media, which has become an open platform for society to expose these issues and form public opinion, given the government’s oversight´-or-the absence of effective communication mechanisms.
The second event was the Law and Dignity sit-in last Friday. This event held significant symbolism due to its location and date, coinciding with Independence Day, a day that lacked official celebrations this year. We are also compelled to point out the organized campaign that targeted the sit-in to cause disruption and prevent its success by smearing organizers and participants as remnants of the old regime´-or-traitors. This reopens the discussion on measures regarding political and administrative exclusion, citizenship, and fundamental, inalienable rights, such as the right to protest and peaceful assembly, for all members of society without discrimination.

Necessities and Justifications

Ultimately, the state bears the responsibility for delaying the legislative steps required to fortify the country during its fragile transitional phase. Foremost among these is political exclusion. The state should have implemented this administratively at the very minimum, not merely as a response to public pressure from victims, but as a duty to avoid rehabilitating those potentially involved in the previous regime’s material and moral crimes before the relevant justice bodies could review their cases.

We understand that the authorities do not want to antagonize specific individuals´-or-groups in order to protect national stability and civil peace. However, this approach is currently being employed at the expense of one group over another, creating a clear imbalance in the simplest rules of justice, which should be the legal guarantor for everyone.

Undoubtedly, political and administrative exclusion would serve to protect the transformation process in Syria. It is a national necessity for safeguarding society from interventions that allow remnants of the dictatorial system to obstruct liberation from the legacy of dictatorship and organized violence. It also prevents the possibility of internal targeting of the new state’s structure and its development projects.

This raises questions about the nature of this transformation and the structure of the new state amid a lack of transparency, the absence of a core legislative institution, and multiple violations of the Constitutional Declaration itself. It also raises questions about protecting society: not just from the tools of the former regime, but from those who exploit the absence of legislation to bully´-or-incite against those exercising their right to expression. Can true protection for society even exist in the absence of exclusion, accountability, and redress?

The Challenges of Political Exclusion

It is vital to learn from international experiences in applying political exclusion in countries emerging from war and dictatorship. In the Arab world, examples like Libya, Iraq, and Sudan saw these experiments fail due to political, tribal,´-or-sectarian interference, leading to the suspension´-or-abolition of these laws.

In our view, the regulations must be firm, specific, and clear.

Individuals should not be excluded based on personal opinions´-or-political affiliations but rather based on political performance and ties to the security and dictatorial apparatus.

The exercise of civil rights, primarily freedom of expression, must be guaranteed.

The law should be time-bound (e.g., for the transitional period only) and subject to a system of continuous review to ensure fairness and the right to end exclusion if a radical change in status occurs.

Warning Against a ‘Witch-Hunt’

It is crucial that political exclusion does not turn into a Syrian Inquisition. This would pose a danger to society by allowing the law to be exploited for illegal practices. In this regard I must point out the “Arab Writers -union-’s in Syria” decision to form a legal committee for transitional justice to investigate the files of writers accused of crimes.

In my view, this should be the exclusive work of the Transitional Justice Commission, especially since the law has not yet been issued. -union-s and federations can apply rules based on their internal bylaws, but criminal investigation and accountability are the jurisdiction of judicial bodies alone. Such initiatives by -union-s are an extra-legal form of accountability that bypasses the proper legal context. The role of -union-s and professional associations should be to protect their members from rights violations and ensure fair trials for suspects in the New Syria.

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