Enab Baladi – Mohammad Kakhi
Syria today appears to be pulled along two tracks moving at different speeds, trials that have reached defendants accused of committing violations during the coastal events in March (Latakia and Tartus governorates, western Syria), and a slower track led by the National Transitional Justice Authority, which is drafting a transitional justice law for Syria to prosecute war criminals linked to the former Syrian regime, provide reparations, compensate victims, entrench principles of non-repetition, and advance national reconciliation.
Between public expectations and building legal frameworks, views intersect around the need for objective standards that keep the country away from a logic of collective job purges, ensure public institutions continue to function efficiently, and also guarantee that the transitional justice path runs its course in cleansing these institutions of employees who took part in criminal acts tied to the former Syrian regime.
Transitional justice vision for cleansing state institutions
In the months following the fall of the Assad regime, Syrian state institutions witnessed an “unprecedented” wave of dismissals that were collective and rapid. At the time, the caretaker government moved toward sweeping termination measures issued in an “arbitrary and summary” manner, affecting thousands of male and female employees across various state sectors, according to an investigation by Syrians for Truth and Justice.
Under the plan to “restructure the economy and combat disguised unemployment,” more than 300,000 government jobs were struck off, according to the investigation. The dismissals took three main forms: not renewing annual contracts, immediate termination of service without notice or justification, and pushing thousands of employees into forced paid leave before dismissing them retroactively.
On 27 August, the General Secretariat of the Syrian Presidency issued a decision addressed to all public entities, informing employees that the paid leave granted to them had ended, that they must return to work in accordance with procedures starting 1 September, and that temporary contracts would not be renewed.
Researcher Nawras al-Abdullah at the Syrian Dialogue Center believes that job vetting of public sector employees is a central tool for rebuilding Syrian institutions after decades of corruption and violations.
These mechanisms are based on examining employee records and the extent of their links to major crimes, corruption, or support for the former regime, with the aim of removing those proven to be involved from new institutions that require a different institutional culture.
However, al-Abdullah warns against sliding into a policy of mass purges. He stresses the need for objective criteria to determine who is subject to vetting, such as ties to security services, writing reports against colleagues, major financial corruption, amassing wealth at the expense of citizens’ suffering, and ensuring the mechanism does not remain focused solely on membership in Syria’s Baath Party, as such membership was imposed on the vast majority of employees.
There is also the criterion of administrative corruption, meaning the distribution of public jobs in Syria as a reward for joining militias or participating in fighting in defense of the former regime, or any conduct that results in human rights violations.
Al-Abdullah considers these criteria essential to determining which employees deserve to remain in institutions, in a way that protects citizens’ rights and strengthens the credibility of the new state. In principle, these criteria do not mean that all employees are dismissed, nor that implementation must be immediate and direct.
Individual vetting, according to al-Abdullah’s comments to Enab Baladi, requires meticulous collection of evidence and testimonies. This was evident in judicial reform attempts carried out by the Ministry of Justice in June, when a group of judges were subjected to investigation and inspection, and those who committed serious violations and clear human rights abuses were removed, whether through the terrorism courts or field courts. This experience, al-Abdullah said, offers a model for how to balance institutional reform with individual accountability without falling into the trap of collective revenge.
Appeal safeguards are necessary
Al-Abdullah stressed the need for judicial safeguards to challenge job vetting procedures. A legal reference must be available for an employee to turn to if they feel they were wronged or that decisions were issued against them without clear evidence. He considers judicial oversight a real protection and a means of ensuring procedures do not deviate from legal standards, keeping them away from retaliatory or arbitrary impulses.
As for what Syria has seen on this track since the fall of the regime to date, al-Abdullah believes it represents an acceptable attempt to balance the need to vet records and remove those implicated, with maintaining the efficiency of public institutions. He explained that this balance is achieved through a gradual replacement process, starting by excluding employees linked to violations at senior levels, then moving down to the mid-level layer, while working to attract qualified personnel, train them, and integrate them into institutions in a carefully planned manner.
In this way, the track ensures continuity of public institutions while cleansing them of employees linked to corruption and abuses at the same time, presenting citizens with a new image that reflects the requirements of transitional justice and institutional reform, al-Abdullah added.
Why legislation matters to protect the independence of transitional justice
The constitutional declaration, as the country’s highest legal document at present, clearly states that legislative authority is confined to the legislative branch alone, and that no law gains legitimacy unless the legislative council passes it. From this perspective, bypassing this rule becomes a direct violation of the principle of separation of powers, and opens the door for executive overreach into the transitional justice track, a track that is supposed to be protected from political and administrative interference, according to public law doctor and member of the constitutional declaration drafting committee Ahmed Qurabi.
Qurabi told Enab Baladi that many accountability and compensation issues are already provided for in existing laws, such as the Civil Code and the Penal Code, and that amending these rules can only be done through new legislation. Therefore, any attempt to address these matters through executive decisions would have no effective legal impact, because such decisions do not have the power to amend or override existing legislative texts.
Since legislation ranks second after the constitutional declaration, issuing a dedicated transitional justice law gives this file additional moral and symbolic value and reinforces its place within the state’s legal structure. If inserting transitional justice rules into the constitutional text is not possible at this stage, it is natural for this file to be given legal weight through legislation passed by parliament, forming a suitable foundation for any future legal transformation.
Where has the transitional justice law reached?
The first phase after the overthrow of the former regime carried out a broad purge through the decision to dissolve the parties of the National Progressive Front, as well as the institutions of hard power, the army and security services. Yet with the absence of a legal framework for political exclusion and job vetting, a state of confusion emerged in other public institutions and deeper networks, and at the level of individual political isolation and its scope, according to Nawras al-Abdullah.
Since its formation in August under Decree No. 149, the National Transitional Justice Authority has been working on preparing a transitional justice law for Syria, to be submitted to the upcoming People’s Assembly once it is fully formed, for approval.
The press office of the National Transitional Justice Authority told Enab Baladi that the authority has been developing the complete draft of the transitional justice law for months and has reached the final stage of completing the first draft.
The authority will conduct detailed reviews in cooperation with legal experts, human rights specialists, representatives of civil society, and victims’ associations, to ensure the law is comprehensive and responds to the requirements of the transitional phase and the needs of victims.
Final details will be announced once the technical review is completed, as the authority is keen to ensure all provisions are precise, effective, and implementable. The draft will soon be shared with civil society, academics, and specialists for review and feedback through a dedicated online link, according to the press office.
What has the National Transitional Justice Authority achieved so far?
Over the past period, the authority has taken a number of basic steps that form the foundation of the transitional justice track, most notably:
Drafting the initial version of the transitional justice law in consultation with the Faculty of Law at Damascus University, alongside experts, activists, and rights organizations. Working on building a database of victims and their families to ensure their rights during reparations and accountability stages. Setting an initial framework for reparations mechanisms, including reforms within the circle of expectations. Direct coordination with judicial bodies to ensure integration between the national judiciary track and the requirements of transitional justice. Holding consultative listening sessions with representatives of victims and civil society to incorporate their perspectives into the authority’s policies. Preparing a communication and awareness strategy to strengthen public understanding of the importance of transitional justice and its pathways.
The press office of the National Transitional Justice Authority.
What is the role of transitional justice in addressing public employees implicated in serious crimes? Enab Baladi.
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