Months after the collapse of the Assad regime, Syria’s judiciary remains in an extremely delicate and challenging phase. In any country, the judicial system serves as the main guarantor of political progress, democratic transition, and the foundation for a national project to rebuild state institutions. In Syria, however, these institutions had long been transformed into tools of the ruling power and were subject to the dominance of the security apparatus.
The events and developments of recent months have underscored the urgent need for an independent and impartial judiciary, one that upholds the rule of law and protects citizens’ rights, free from the pressure and interference that previously crippled its performance and fuelled widespread corruption in this vital sector.
Malek Al-Mohammed, a Syrian lawyer, tells +963: “Reforming the judiciary in Syria will require significant effort from the government and a period of several years, especially since this body was sidelined and paralysed under the ousted regime. Security services directly interfered in all its decisions, not to mention the rampant corruption that every Syrian is aware of.”
Al-Mohammed added that in the current phase, the judiciary must be granted broad powers and freed from subordination to the executive branch, a defining feature of the old regime. He stressed the need to supply the judiciary with qualified and experienced personnel, remove corrupt officials, and give the Bar Association and civil society organizations a role in monitoring judicial performance. Adequate salaries and legal protections for judges, he argued, are essential to ensure their independence and reduce the risk of corruption driven by financial pressures.
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In January, the Syrian Ministry of Justice announced the dismissal of all judges who had worked outside the ministry’s official staff, many of whom had served as delegates in the “Ba’ath Party” or parliament.
Syria ranked 124th out of 180 countries on the 2010 global Corruption Perceptions Index, but the situation worsened dramatically after 2011. Nepotism, bribery, and misinformation became more entrenched, according to a 2024 analysis by the Syrian Dialogue Centre. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights noted that corruption directly undermines human rights, obstructs the delivery of essential services, and erodes the legitimacy of state institutions, ultimately destroying public trust in the state’s ability to deliver justice and development.
Human rights activist Fadl Abbas emphasized to +963: “Syrians today need comprehensive reform of all state institutions; starting with the judiciary. This reform must be based on a well-studied plan that ensures the continuity of the judicial system while also serving citizens’ needs, activating the rule of law through the courts, not through chaos.”
Abbas proposed creating an independent oversight body tasked with evaluating current judges and all judicial staff, reviewing the effectiveness of previously applied laws, and updating them to fit today’s highly sensitive circumstances. In his view, this moment demands the rule of law over all individuals and institutions, and strict accountability for any violations, a prerequisite for civil peace and the enforcement of justice.
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In any country, the judiciary is a cornerstone of the rule of law and justice. Yet under the Assad regime, Syria’s judiciary suffered severe subordination to the executive branch. Political authorities and security agencies often exerted direct influence over court decisions, particularly in politically sensitive cases, where the judiciary became a tool to silence dissent and suppress opposition.
This deep entanglement of the judiciary with political power eroded its credibility among Syrians, who saw it as biased and unjust. As a result, trust in legal institutions collapsed, and citizens came to view the courts as instruments of oppression rather than protectors of rights.
This judicial legacy now stands as a major obstacle to Syria’s transitional phase and its ambitions to build a state of law and institutions. The path forward requires freeing the judiciary from political and security domination, ensuring its independence and integrity, and restoring its essential role as the guardian of citizens’ rights and the rule of law
