Damascus- Last Saturday, the Syrian presidency issued a decree No. (20) – to form an independent body in the name of the “National Transitional Justice Authority” concerned with revealing the truth about the grave violations caused by the previous regime, the accountability of those responsible for it in coordination with the concerned authorities, the reparation of the damage to the victims, the achievement of national reconciliation and the consolidation of the principles of non -repetition.
According to the text of the decree, Abdul Basit Abdel -Latif was appointed head of the authority, and he was assigned to form the work team and put its internal system within a period not exceeding 30 days, provided that the authority has “legal personality and financial and administrative independence, and exercises its tasks throughout the Syrian lands.”
In an interview with Al -Jazeera Net, the lawyer and legal expert Abdo Farouk Abdel Ghafour considered that the establishment of a transitional justice body constitutes a very important legal step, which can be described as the beginning of a institutional reform path that reflects serious intentions to make legal change.
Positive significance
Lawyer Abdel Ghafour considered that the legal framework that was established under which it carries a positive significance, but it still needs to be developed to match the international standards adopted in the experiences of transitional justice around the world. He explained that “the idea itself is necessary to reduce personal revenge, and to build an inclusive legal logic.”
Regarding whether the decree ensures the independence of the commission in an actually independence, he said that it is explicitly stipulated in this, which is a good indication in the legal point of view, indicating that the real challenge lies in the practical application, and the need to fortify this independence institutional, and prevent the intervention of any executive authority in the work of the authority “so that we do not return to the cycle of confusion between the authorities as it was prevalent in the era of the ousted regime.”
He stressed the necessity for the commission to grant wide powers that include investigation, access to information, and recommending reforms. He said that some of these powers have already been mentioned in the decree, while others need clarification and reinforcement, stressing the need to involve judges and lawyers who enjoy integrity and transparency within the mechanisms of their work.
Lawyer Abdel Ghafour considered that the timing of the formation of the body carries a severe symbolism for the Syrians, especially after years of violations of the security system, and that the move can be read as a political message towards openness, calm and re -balance before the legal. He added that the regional context is encouraged by it in light of a repeated international confirmation of the importance of transitional justice to ensure that Syria does not slip towards “my family’s fighting, given the multiplicity of its religious and ethnic components.”
On the extent of the authority’s ability to restore the relationship between the state and society, he said that the matter depends on the seriousness of activation, stressing the need to involve the victims and the forcible absent, the displaced, the warrants, and the civil society organizations, to ensure the achievement of concrete results that enhance confidence in the law after years of security and military chaos.
Legal guarantees
Regarding the willingness of the various parties to cooperate with the authority, especially if investigations are affected by influential personalities, lawyer Abdel Ghafour saw that success in this aspect depends on “managing the file with legal intelligence” that guarantees the comprehensiveness of justice without exceptions.
He stressed that the existence of legal guarantees and integrity in treatment, and the granting of members of the commission is real legal immunity, which may contribute to achieving the response of even current accused personalities, saying, “The accused is innocent until proven guilty, and the law must be like a saw, does not exclude anyone.”
The formation of the commission came based on the powers granted to the President of the Republic, the provisions of the constitutional declaration, and to believe in the necessity of achieving transitional justice as a basic pillar of building the state of law, in order to ensure the rights of victims, and to achieve comprehensive national reconciliation, according to what was stated in the text of the decree.
On the other hand, human rights expert Ahmed Mjjmami told Al -Jazeera Net that the National Transitional Justice Authority could have included the involvement of the victims and their families in an actual way, but this did not happen in the required manner. He explained that the decree granted the President of the Republic the authority to form the commission and was supposed to take advantage of it in communication with the ties of victims, survivors and civil society organizations, and to ensure their clear representation within the text of the decree itself.
According to Mjjmami, the mechanisms of algebra must come after revealing the truth and identifying those responsible for the violations, adding, “It is necessary for this to include the seizure of the money of the transmitted and immovable perpetrators, and fined them for the benefit of the victims. It was better for the High Commissioner for Human Rights to be involved in the process of forming the body, and that a fund for transitional justice in Syria be established to compensate the affected financially and morally.”
He expressed his concern about what he considered “the limited ability of the Syrian state” to bear the burdens of compensation on its own, stressing that the number of victims is estimated at hundreds of thousands, and the majority of the perpetrators either do not have money or fled outside the country, which requires – in his opinion – the involvement of the United Nations, especially the commission, in establishing an international fund to compensate the victims.
Challenges
Regarding the challenges facing transitional justice, the expert said that the loss of evidence is one of the largest obstacles, and that tampering with them during the liberalization of security headquarters and prisons such as Sednaya, led to the loss of important documents and computers that contained the archive of the evidence.
He stressed that the path of transitional justice in Syria cannot be completed without all the victims. He also stressed the guarantee of independent international mechanisms that oversee the process of revealing the truth and reparation of harm.
Many Syrians demanded the government to expedite the restoration of their stolen rights and compensate them for the damage caused to them, including Muhammad, who is known from the Idlib countryside, where “his house was demolished and 300 olive trees were cut on his land by workshops belonging to one of the Shabiha of the previous regime.”
The well -known to Al -Jazeera Net says that this former official and the labor workshops he brought with him, destroyed a bishop and robbed hundreds of millions of dollars from the northern and western countryside of Hama, the southern and eastern Idlib countryside and the western countryside of Aleppo, and “this is a small example of the necessity of applying transitional justice against everyone who contributed to the tragedy of the Syrian people.”
He stressed, “I want to compensate from everyone who participated and gave an order to lose my home and Aricki, I will file a legal lawsuit against them after the formation of the new body to obtain compensation from them.”
