May 2009 region middle east and northern africa legal system islamic lawcivil law uncat ratification accession a succession d 19 august 2004 a relevant laws constitution of march 1973 relevant articles. Syrias permanent constitution of march, 1973, provides for a republican form of. Government like previously stated, bashar alassad is the current president of syria and a member of the baath party. The house of representatives shall be composed of members chosen every second year by the people of the several. Heller the latest major exercise in syrian constitution writing came to fruition on march, 1973, when a new charter, qualified as permanent, went into force following its approval by the peoples assembly on january 31 and by popular referendum on march 12. Constitution 1973 this document is an english version of the syrian constitution adopted on march 1973 syria constitution 1973.
Among other things, it determines syrias character to be arab, democratic, and republican. Article 40 of the 1973 syrian constitution states that military service is compulsory and regulated by law. The preamble of the syrian constitution establishes that the state has an arab identity and refers to the country as an arab nation. Critics observe that the 1973 constitution, which did nothing to protect syrians from the ravages of hafiz alassads secret police, contained similar highsounding provisions and that the same regime that introduced the 2012 constitution had, since march 2011, been murdering, imprisoning, and torturing civilian prodemocracy activists and. A new constitution was adopted on march 1973 and was in use until 27 february 2012. Syria is a member of the union of the arab republics. The literacy rate of syrians over age 15 is 86% for males and 73. The arab nation 112 managed to perform a great role in. The syrian law of personal status slps was established in 1953 replacing the ottoman law of personal status. This constitution was adopted via a popular referendum and imposed the.
The elections were technically syrias first multiparty vote since 1963. The center mainly documents the victims of the syrian armed. The syrian arab republic adopted its constitution on march 1973 3a. Syria is a country about which few people, inside or outside, ever learn very much.
Redirect this article has been rated as redirectclass on the projects quality scale. Article 8 was inserted into the syrian constitution exactly. The previous version of the syrian constitution dates back from 1973 and has been valid up until february 2012 when the syrian government. Women in syria have a relatively long history of emancipation, and the. Constitution and the war powers resolution of 1973. Constitutional provisions on national and religious. Earlier in the week, the draft syrian constitution, prepared by russian experts, was presented to the syrian opposition during the settlement talks in the capital of kazakhstan. These calls focused on the abolition of article 8 of the constitution, which provides for the imposition of the.
Syria approved a new constitution in february 2012 during. There is the further consideration that if a law is. Sputnik has obtained a document of the draft syrian constitution proposed by the russian delegation during the astana talks. The syrian constitution 19732012 carnegie middle east center. The institute on religion and public policy religious.
The 1973 constitution, on the other hand, stated that it is the right of every. Syria is also divided into fourteen governorates, which are divided into sixty. To participate, please visit the project page for more information. As such, it provides for the freedom of its citizens to practice various religions but places restrictions on this right. In addition, the 1973 constitution requires that legislation enacted previously should be amended to accord with the constitution, article 38 of which guarantees freedom of expression. Text of draft syrian constitution proposed by russia.
The first states that the syrian revolution was part of a larger arab revolution. Syria has been under close government supervision by the baath party. Government policies have also encouraged womens education and participation in the workforce. The constitution of 1973 is one of the instruments that laid the foundation for and imposed the legit. The project works to allow users to contribute quality articles and media files to the encyclopedia and track their progress as they are developed. But hafez alasad, who rose to power in an internal coup in 1970, soon established a. The preamble of the constitution of the socialist republic of vietnam 1992 states as follows. The permanent syrian constitution of march, 1973 peter b. Under the service of the flag law of 1953, all syrian males, with the exception of jews, must serve in the military n.
The 1973 constitution, for example, calls for equal ity among all. The range of information extends from the intimate correspondence of the most senior baath party figures to records of financial transfers sent from syrian ministries to. The islamic sharia is the principal source for legislation. Syrian man holds a wounded turtledove injured in a bomb. The syrian constitution, adopted in 1973, was adopted to achieve aspirations for unity, freedom and socialism. Moscows policy record in the middle eiast is mixad. There were explicit calls for an amendment to the 1973 constitution, which replaced a series of interim baathist constitutions.
Its goals are to help prevent and resolve violent conflicts, promote postconflict peacebuilding, and increase conflict management tools, capacity, and. Security council resolution 2254 which calls for the drafting of a new constitution and u. Its political platform calls for the syrian constitution to declare syria a nation of islamic civilization and culture, but without making sharia a principal source of legislation. Under the 1973 constitution, the president is nominated by the ruling baath party and approved by a popular referendum. In 1973, hafez alassad formed a committee to draft a permanent constitution for the country. What links here related changes upload file special pages permanent link page information. At the january 2324 syrian peace talks in astana, kazakhstan, russia proposed a draft to serve as a guide for the syrian constitution, outlining that it will be the syrians who draft the final version, taking into account proposals made by both the government and the opposition. While the founders wisely gave the office of the president the authority to act in emergencies, they foresaw the need to ensure public debate and the active engagement of congress prior to committing u. Belonging to the party became a means to receive the privileges of the state. The united states institute of peace is an independent, nonpartisan institution established and funded by congress. Constitution of the syrian arab republic 2012 preamble arab civilization, which is part of human heritage, has faced through its long history great challenges aimed at breaking its will and subjecting it to colonial domination, but it has always rose through its own creative abilities to. Between the collapse of the ottoman empire in 1916 and promulgation of a permanent constitution in 1973, syria adopted several constitutions, all reflecting an amalgam of west european chiefly french, arab, and islamic political cultures. The current constitution delineates the basic function of that states government. Article 40 of the 1973 constitution of syria states that military service is compulsory and regulated by law syria mar.
Citizens of syria cannot change their government democratically. Article 3 also provides that islamic jurisprudence must be a major source of legislation in the state. Syrian constitution of 1930, syrian constitution of 1950, syrian constitution of 1953, constitution of the united arab republic, syrian provisional constitution of 1964, syrian provisional constitution of 1969, syrian constitution of 1973, constitution of syria. The syrian constitution of 1973 was drafted under the strong guidance of assad, and was the first arab constitution to adopt socialist nationalist principles. Similarly, we were unable to retrieve the syrian constitution in force at the first point in time this was an amendment of the constitution adopted in 1973. The syrian government held parliamentary elections on may 7, 2012 amidst a backdrop of intense regime repression and an increasingly militant opposition. Further, in line with panarab ideology, it describes the country as a region. The syrian arab republic lies on the eastern coast of the mediterranean sea, bounded by turkey to.
Article 32 of the 1973 constitution reads that islamic jurisprudence is a main source of legislation. Alassad also controlled the judicial system and created exceptional courts that operated under the emergency law. This document is an english version of the syrian constitution adopted on march 1973. The syria files shine a light on the inner workings of the syrian government and economy, but they also reveal how the west and western companies say one thing and do another. The constitution of syria, drafted in 1973, makes islam the state religion. The 1973 constitution, for example, calls for equality among all citizens and includes an article that obliges the state to remove all obstacles to womens advancement. The current constitution of the syrian arab republic was adopted on 26 february 2012, replacing one that had been in force since march 1973. Israel in 1973, confrontation between the regime and the muslim brotherhood. I swear by the almighty god to respect the countrys constitution, laws and republican system, to look after the interests. In practice, these referendums are orchestrated by the regime, as are elections to the.
These 5 principles stress the unity of the arab world. Article 305 of the syrian law establishes hanafi jurisprudence as a residuary source of law. Article 2 also states that the religion of the state is islam. The permanent syrian constitution, adopted on march 1973, stresses the. The syrian political system the current regime in syria finds its institutional origins in the baathist coup of 1963, and the 1973 constitution, which confirmed the leading role of the baath party. Old documents are also available at the ministry of electricity moe. The current constitution of the syrian arab republic was adopted on 26 february 2012. The syrian constitution of 1973, as am ended in 1984, provides for a republican government consisting of a president, up to three vice presidents there are currently two appointed by the president, a cabin et, and a 250member onehouse legislature elected by adult citizens including women. Article 1 of the constitution of the kingdom of bahrain provides that he kingdom is an islamic t arab state whose territory is part of the great arab homeland. While the 1973 constitution sets out basic freedoms that reflect international standards, syrian domestic law cannot be adequately relied on because it violates constitutional guarantees and. An approach to the syrian constitution from a democratic point of view 14. All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a congress of the united states, which shall consist of a senate and house of representatives. Soviet policy and the 1967 arabisraeli war memorandum to recipients the course of events befwe, during, and after the arabismeli war of 1967 pvides a apse srrcdy of the dilemmas and dangers which raise when the soviet union seeks to implement its basic middle fist strategy of support for the arab mtionalist movements.
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