Throughout the Rule of Hafez and Bashar al-Assad, the Supreme Constitutional Court Did Not Challenge the Constitutionality of Any Legislation, Decree, or Law
Expressive image
Languages
Available In
Paris – Syrian Network for Human Rights:
I. The Syrian Regime Legitimizes Complete Control of the Constitutional Court Through a ‘Constitutional’ Text
In February 2012, the Syrian regime unilaterally instituted a ‘constitution,’ whose very essence violates all recognized constitutional legal standards because it contains articles that violate human rights. The most prominent of these texts is Article 141, which stipulates the terms of the establishment of the Supreme Constitutional Court: “The Supreme Constitutional Court is composed of seven members, at least one of whom is a Head, named by the President of the Republic by a decree.” Two years later, the Supreme Constitutional Court Law No. 7 of 2014 was issued containing the details of the court’s establishment and provisions, determining the number of its members at eleven, all to be appointed by the President of the Republic by decree, for a period of four years, subject to renewal.
The appointment of all members of the Constitutional Court by the President of the Republic is an embodiment of absolute autocratic rule, which undermines the principle of the independence of the judiciary and the separation of powers. In addition, the Syrian regime has deliberately made these court officials’ terms of office shorter than that of the President of the Republic.
Democratic countries, which respect the principle of separation of powers, establish their Constitutional Courts with the participation of the three powers, namely the judicial (the Supreme Judicial Council), the legislative (Parliament), and the executive authority, with the proportions