Syria forms committee to draft transitional constitutional declaration

Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa announced on Sunday the formation of a seven-member committee to draft a constitutional declaration for the country’s transition after the overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad.

The new authorities are seeking to rebuild Syria and its institutions after al-Assad was ousted on December 8, following more than half a century of his family’s iron-fisted rule and 13 years of devastating war.

A statement from the presidency announced “the formation of a committee of experts,” including one woman, tasked with drafting “the constitutional declaration that regulates the transitional phase” in Syria.

It added that “the committee will submit its proposals to the president,” without specifying a timeframe.

In late January, al-Sharaa, leader of the “Hayat Tahrir al-Sham” (HTS) group which spearheaded al-Assad’s overthrow, was appointed interim president for an unspecified period.

Syria’s new authorities have repealed the al-Assad-era constitution, and al-Sharaa has said rewriting it could take up to three years.

In late January, al-Sharaa promised a “constitutional declaration” to serve as a “legal reference” during the country’s transitional period.

Sunday’s announcement came “based on the Syrian people’s aspirations in building their state based on the rule of law, and building on the outcomes of the Syrian national dialogue conference,” said the presidency.

It also came “with the aim of preparing the legal framework regulating the transitional phase,” it added.

A national dialogue conference held this week in Damascus set out a path for the new Syria.

Members

The committee includes Abdul Hamid al-Awak, who holds a doctorate in constitutional law and lectures at a university in Turkey, and Yasser al-Huwaish, who was appointed this year as dean of Damascus university’s law faculty.

It also includes Bahia Mardini – the sole woman – a journalist with a doctorate in law who has been living in Britain, and Ismail al-Khalfan, who holds a doctorate in law specializing in international law, and who this year was appointed law faculty dean at Aleppo university.

Another committee member, Mohammed Reda Jalkhi, holds a doctorate in law specializing in international law from Idlib university, where he graduated in 2023.

The final statement of this week’s dialogue conference called for “a constitutional committee to prepare a draft permanent constitution for the country that achieves balance between authorities, sets the values of justice, freedom and equality, and establishes a state of law an institutions.”

Syria’s conflict broke out in 2011 after al-Assad brutally repressed anti-government protests.

It spiraled into a complex conflict that has killed more than 500,000 people, displaced millions more domestically and abroad and battered the economy, infrastructure and industry.

In December, a caretaker government was appointed to steer the country until March 1, when a new government was due to be formed.