Constitution of Syria

The Syrian Constitution of 1930, drafted by a committee under Ibrahim Hananu, was the founding constitution of the First Syrian Republic. The constitution required the President to be of Muslim faith (article 3). It was replaced by the Constitution of 5 September 1950, which was restored following the Constitution of 10 July 1953 and the Provisional Constitution of the United Arab Republic. It was eventually replaced by the Provisional Constitution of 25 April 1964 which itself was replaced by the Provisional Constitution of 1 May 1969.

A new constitution was adopted on 13 March 1973 and was in use until 27 February 2012. It entrenched the power of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, its §8 describing the party as "the leading party in the society and the state", even if Syria was not, as is often believed, a one-party system in formal terms.[2] The constitution has been amended twice. Article 6 was amended in 1981.[3] The constitution was last amended in 2000 when the minimum age of the President was lowered from 40 to 34.[4]

During the 2011–2012 Syrian uprising, a new constitution was put to a referendum. The new constitution is explicitly Arab nationalist and advocates regional integration as a means for achieving "Arab Unity". It also declares Arabic as the official language of the country.[5] Notable changes in the constitution include:

• It abolished the old article 8, which had entrenched the power of the Ba'ath party. The new article 8 reads: "The political system is based on the principle of political pluralism, and rule is only obtained and exercised democratically through voting", while stating that legal mechanisms "shall regulate the provisions and procedures related to the formation of political parties"[6]
• In a new article 88, it limited the term of office for the president to seven years with a maximum of one re-election.[6][7]

Articles 83-150 of the new constitution increased the Presidential powers in the executive, legislature and judiciary. The executive role of the Syrian President presumes his leadership of all 3 branches. Some of the extraordinary powers bestowed by the 2012 Constitution that elevated the Presidential role include:[8]

• Article 100 grants discretionary powers to the President to accept or reject laws passed by the legislature known as the People's Assembly[9]
• Article 101 charges President with the power to "pass decrees, decisions and orders". Article 113 also stipulates that the President has powers to bypass the People's Assembly to pass laws[10]
• Article 103 entrusts the President with the power to declare or repeal a "state of emergency" during a session with his Council of Ministers[11]
• "The President of the Republic concludes international treaties and agreements and revokes them" (Article 107)[12]
• Article 111 entitles the President to "dissolve the People’s Assembly" as per his orders[13]
• "Supreme Judicial Council is headed by the President of the Republic" (Article 133)[14]

The referendum resulted in the adoption of the new constitution, which came into force on 27 February 2012.[15]