Syria | Brussels
22 August 2021
Introduction.
Rule of law is not only associated with human rights but also with "democracy," the main motto of the Autonomous Administration in north-eastern Syria. Democracy is based on the involvement of citizens in the decision-making process in society; human rights are aimed at protecting individuals from arbitrary and excessive interference with their freedoms and rights and ensuring human dignity; the rule of law is focused on restricting and independently reviewing the exercise of public powers, and the rule of law promotes democracy by establishing a mechanism of accountability for those in public power.
However, the reality in northeast Syria is contrary to the European Commission for Democracy's Rule of Law Standards List, despite the fact that the Charter of the Social Contract for the Democratic Autonomous Administration of the Al-Jazeera Province, adopted at the 1st session on 06/01/2014, emphasizes the rule of law."
Some individuals in the legal and judicial branch of the ruling authority do not have any legal background, which makes their decisions fragile and cannot be taken into account in practice.
Following the arrest and death of Amin Eissa, many questions arise in the minds of all citizens in the autonomous regions about the implementation of the articles in the Social Contract related to rule of law. Therefore, TEVIN held a dialog meeting with a group of local organizations on 12 July 2021 to discuss the following:
What is the main constraint on individual and institutional behavior in northeast Syria?
Key law enforcement challenges.
The influence of political parties on the rule of law.
The role of civil society in promoting the rule of law.
How can the law be made a major reference for governance?
The same goes for all TEVIN Meetings will lead to the development of ideas and solutions on this issue based on the responses of the panelists. Based on the input of the participants, this file represents a comprehensive measure of public opinion in northeast Syria regarding the rule of law, its procedures, tools, and rate of application.
The reality of the rule of law and the major challenges it faces.
The rule of law is only a limited and key element of the conduct of authorities and society in its various sectors and entities. There is no voice greater than the voice of the law, which is the cornerstone of good governance. The rule of law is limited in Autonomous-Administrations due to several challenges and difficulties.
A major challenge is the weak governance of the Autonomous Administration, which contributes to a lack of commitment to the rule of law. Moreover, the power of the political parties involved in the Autonomous Administration is considered to be above the law, and in many cases, the law derives its sovereignty and authority from it. These challenges can be summarized in several key points:
Legitimacy: Many citizen of the administration believe that Autonomous-Administration lacks the legitimacy to formulate and implement laws. Perhaps one of the most important reasons for citizens to diminish the legitimacy of these laws is their weak participation in decision-making processes.
Providing legal frameworks and references for Autonomous-administration is crucial, as is activating human rights organizations and providing them with a safe space to document violations, establishing legal committees, and shifting policies in order to encourage their involvement.
Corruption and conflict of interest: It is no longer restricted to specific sectors or individuals. It has become a mechanism for managing political and economic interests and for governing the relationship between the individual and public institutions. It has begun to take a vertical and horizontal form in its political, administrative, and economic forms. The spread of corruption is an inevitable and irrefutable result of the limited compliance with legislation, laws, and decrees issued.
Respect for the rule of law: In theory, everyone agrees that the law should be the basic limitation of the individual. It is the duty of every individual, not only in northeast Syria, but in the whole world. The reality is completely different but the reality is quite different and this difference has its reasons, including:
The novelty of the political experience of the parties in governance.
Political conflict between parties manifested itself in the pursuit of hegemony and the use of public institutions as tools for political action.
Lack of genuine will to build institutions of government that are neutral and independent form authorities
The intersection of the behavior of the authorities and political parties in northeastern Syria leads the individual, with limitations, to respect the rule of law.
Equality: One of the clear challenges facing the principle of the rule of law is the lack of equality. Laws are not applied in the same manner in all locations and vary from place to place and from one side to another. There are exceptions in their application to certain parties and influential individuals in power. Laws are not applied fairly and equitably, all citizens are not equal under the law.
Transparency: Although the Department of the Interior announces legislation and laws on all occasions, its enforcement is not fair to everyone. There are many issues that citizens cannot address or seek to uncover. The biggest example of this is what happened in the case of Amin Eissa, which was one of its worst effects: the confiscation of the right of citizens to access the truth after it turned into a cause of public opinion.
The establishment of civil institutions that play actual roles and are not only formal but also have a role in exerting pressure on the authorities to change policies, amend laws and amend the methodology for drafting these laws, such as the formation of specialized committees that observe international law in amending and drafting laws
Justice and Lack of Accountability: "The lack of accountability of some influential political parties, the lack of judicial independence, the lack of absolute rule of law for public institutions and security agencies, and the continued existence of a state of emergency have made the clauses in the social contract mere ink on paper."
Civil society: Despite all the roles played by CSOs, their role in protecting the law remains weak due to restrictions imposed on them and the absence of a 100% safe and neutral environment, not to mention their limited potential.
the law is applied in places where the authorities want to apply the law as a specific phenomenon or situation, for example, "laws that apply to civil society organizations; Most organizations that adopt these laws follow them out of fear of withdrawing licenses and procedural approvals from their centers or suspending their work." However, the laws are not used in the political interest of the authorities. (Having organizations in this context will lead to a disaster and make them accomplishes)
All these interconnected reasons and repeated violations, such as arrests and other extralegal violations, play a negative role in the citizens' trust in the legislation and laws in force, including the social contract.
Some individuals in the legal and judicial branch of the ruling authority do not have any legal background, which makes their decisions fragile and cannot be taken into account in practice.
The establishment of civil institutions that play actual roles and are not only formal but also have a role in exerting pressure on the authorities to change policies, amend laws and amend the methodology for drafting these laws, such as the formation of specialized committees that observe international law in amending and drafting laws
What are the negative effects of weak rule of law?
The importance of the law is that it guarantees a just and equitable society. The panoramic picture presented by the participants illustrates the urgent need and desire of all parties to achieve fair and equal justice for all without discrimination based on political, national or religious affiliation. Everyone is aware and agrees that the weak rule of law has negative effects on the individual's failure to respect the laws and reduces their commitment to its implementation.
The weak rule of law leads to a lack of transparency, lack of accountability leads to impunity for perpetrators of violations and creates fear in the population that may cause migration. The existence of political frameworks and public institutions above the rule of law reduces the space for participation and democratic practice and reduces the space for individual and political freedoms. All this harms the idea of justice that Autonomous-Administration seeks.
The law should not be a tool to promote corruption and a tool for political or factional benefit. It should not be a tool in the hands of the influential to increase their wealth and control the economy, especially in a country where the percentage of people living below the poverty line exceeds 75%. The absence of the law leads to the unjust distribution of wealth among citizens and increases the level of favoritism and clienteles in the institutions of Autonomous-Administration.
What impact do political actors have on the rule of law?
The political situation in northeast Syria "plays a major role in the lack of respect for the rule of law, since the authority of the political parties is above the law, as we mentioned earlier. The political violence that exists between the political parties is beyond the control of the existing law. At the same time, political parties and movements must respect the rule of law, be a role model for democratic change, and be the main lever of the law, we find that the conflict is taking an uncalculated turn by using the laws to consolidate their control and bypass the laws and procedures that have been announced continuously.
The political conflict in northeast Syria over the law has transformed from a point of reference for resolving differences into a tool for exercising or accessing power, and has made institutions of Autonomous-Administration, including the public once, tools for political action, which should have the highest degree of neutrality in the region to be composed primarily of various components and political parties."
Another negative effect of political instability is contributing to weakening the law and widening the circle of favoritism, corruption and conflict of interest which in turn has affected the legitimacy of laws in the public opinion.
The facts should not be distorted for partisan political interests, while not denying that the legal responsibility lies with the Autonomous- Administration in finding realistic solutions to these arrests. This is also why public opinion issues should not be invested in destructive criticism of the Autonomous- Administration. On the contrary, the legal discourse should be aimed at changing and amending policies.
"The need to govern the participants in the formulation of the social contract, whether academics, jurists, independents, civil society activists or others relevant actors, to serve the people of the region and not to serve a certain political party, and benefit from international laws, taking into account that in the social contract in self-administration there are many articles derived from international conventions, but they only need to be activated."
Civil society and the protection of the rule of law.
Civil society can play critical roles in protecting the law, especially in situations of armed conflict and in unstable states, which characterizes the situation in Syria now, and protecting the rule of law is not limited to NGOs, but includes local communities, community leaders, trade unions, and the media, which can play a prominent role through:
Dialog: Play a significant role in fostering dialog between local authorities and citizens and between different sectors to enhance citizen involvement in decision-making, which in turn will contribute to strengthening democratic practice and protecting the rule of law.
"The need to govern the participants in the formulation of the social contract, whether academics, jurists, independents, civil society activists or others relevant actors, to serve the people of the region and not to serve a certain political party, and benefit from international laws, taking into account that in the social contract in self-administration there are many articles derived from international conventions, but they only need to be activated."
Accountability: Documenting human rights violations and protecting the rule of law by ensuring accountability, civil society is often at the forefront of accountability, protection, defense, and benefiting from the rule of law. Civil society must play its role in monitoring and auditing the extent to which parties are committed to the rule of law.
the law is applied in places where the authorities want to apply the law as a specific phenomenon or situation, for example, "laws that apply to civil society organizations; Most organizations that adopt these laws follow them out of fear of withdrawing licenses and procedural approvals from their centers or suspending their work." However, the laws are not used in the political interest of the authorities. (Having organizations in this context will lead to a disaster and make them accomplishes)
Transparency: Civil society needs to promote transparency via seeking to communicate information to the public, create mechanisms and procedures that contribute to enhancing transparency. Media institutions can play a key role in this, for example, by developing complaint mechanisms in their institutions to promote internal transparency, and Autonomous-Administration institutions can follow the same path.
Strengthening cooperation: Civil society institutions should coordinate and network among themselves, undertaking advocacy campaigns to change and develop the legal mechanisms and procedures that Autonomous-Administration must change or modify and strengthening the application of the articles included in the social contract issued by the Autonomous-Administration.
Human rights organizations should have full access to prisons for detainees to document abuses and amend laws there. Additionally, it is important to empower the role of lawyers in matters of detention and allow them to accompany and represent detainees.
How can the law be made the main reference for the ruling?
despite all the criticisms and weakness in the rule of law and living under conditions of de-legitimization and emergency laws because of the ongoing war in Syria and the siege around the areas of self-administration, in this regard, it must be recognized that there is a general openness to dialogue and room for recommendations and proposals from civil society and legal activists, but the problem is that those recommendations and proposals can be adopted and applied, in order to effectively implement the rule of law in northeast Syria, the following principles must be developed per the American Bar Association:
Specific, predictable, and publicly developed laws: Laws should be published in advance of implementation and the public must have access to them; laws need to be written in an understandable manner; and new laws must explicitly state whether existing laws should be repealed or amended, and incorporated into uniform, public versions.
The same rules apply to everyone: No discriminatory treatment shall be unjustified by law and/or under the law, and everyone shall be guaranteed equal protection against discrimination on grounds such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinions, or national or social origin.
People have a right to question legislators: Legal restrictions must be put in place to prevent abuse of power, especially when exercised by the executive branches. Public authorities must give sufficient reasons for their decisions, especially when they affect citizens' rights. Public authorities must give sufficient reasons for their decisions, especially when they affect citizens' rights. In consequence, the law must limit any executive authority to prohibit arbitrariness, any abuse of executive power must be subject to oversight by a judicial or other body and be subject to independent review, and available remedies must be clear and accessible.
The right to use the courts to settle disputes must be guaranteed: The independence of the judiciary and the independence of the judges themselves must be guaranteed, constitutional protections must be in place, and judicial activities must be controlled by the Supreme Court. Constitutionally, the integrity of the judiciary must be guaranteed, the independence and impartiality of the Bar Association must be guaranteed, the courts must be fair, the right to defense must be guaranteed, and legal aid must be available for those who do not have the means to pay for legal representation. Basically, no crime is committed, and no punishment is imposed except by law.
Human rights are guaranteed to all: Several articles of the Social Contract for Autonomous-Administration are similar to international conventions and human rights law, but the real challenge lies in how they are applied, and the domestic legal system must ensure that Autonomous -Administration complies with its obligations under international law and human rights law.
Human rights organizations should have full access to prisons for detainees to document abuses and amend laws there. Additionally, it is important to empower the role of lawyers in matters of detention and allow them to accompany and represent detainees.
There could also be committees created by all parties in the region to draft laws and articles in the social contract and involve all groups and parties. Moreover, the outputs of some issues are clarified, and those responsible for these issues are held accountable and addressed to the public as confidence-building measures between the community, officials, and the Autonomous-Administration, as well as international support in recognizing self-government with the participation of civil organizations, political parties, and other stakeholders.
For more information or to provide feedback and opinions, please contact TEVN via email.
also You can follow us on Twitter and Facebook . And subscribe to our newsletter to receive updates about the TEVN's work.
Comments