Criminal law in Syria

The main legal sources are the Syrian Penal Code under Legislative Decree 148/1949, the Code of Criminal Procedure under Legislative Decree 112/1950, the Prison Code under Decree 122/1929 and the Military Criminal Code and Procedure under Decree 61/1950, each with later amendments. Economic and financial offences are also addressed by Economic Penalties Law 3/2013, while Anti-Terrorism Law 19/2012 contains broad terrorism provisions, severe prison and death penalties and asset-freezing rules. Cybercrime Law 20/2022 covers offences involving information systems, data security, privacy, non-consensual intimate images, defamation and disinformation. Traffic and Vehicles Law 31/2004 and its amendments apply to road offences, including cases involving death or permanent disability caused by a traffic violation. A criminal matter commonly begins with a complaint to the police or Public Prosecution (النيابة العامة). The Public Prosecution generally brings the public criminal action, while a victim may bring a personal action (دعوى الحق الشخصي) before an investigating judge in serious or major offences. The investigating judge collects evidence and decides whether the case proceeds to indictment and trial. Criminal courts may also address compensation for damage connected with the offence. The formal arrest framework provides for a stated legal basis, understandable interpretation, access to a lawyer, silence, defence and possible release or bail. A person arrested under a warrant should be brought before questioning within 24 hours. In flagrante delicto detention may continue for up to 24 hours without a court order under the stated framework. A lawyer may be appointed through the Bar Association or court for a person without means, but nationwide legal-aid availability is not established. Actual access to lawyers, records and courts varies substantially by territory and institution. The ordinary court process may run from a Magistrate or Justice of the Peace to a Court of First Instance or Criminal Court, then appeal and the Court of Cassation. Military courts have jurisdiction in legally defined military matters. Public hearings and appeal rights exist formally, but recent assessments identify uncertainty or weakness in civilian jurisdiction, judicial independence and procedural safeguards. Some courts in areas controlled by the interim government have reopened only partially or remain non-functional, while records may have been destroyed or removed and detention facilities may be overcrowded or makeshift. The formal sanctions include imprisonment or detention, hard labour, fines, confiscation and restrictions or reform measures. The earlier national framework retains the death penalty, but reliable evidence of its current use under the interim government is not established. Amnesties can change prosecution or sentence effects; Presidential Decree 39/2026 is one recent example. Fixed nationwide criminal justice costs cannot be verified, and case duration depends strongly on the offence, location, authority and operational condition of the court. The 2025 Constitutional Declaration provides for the removal of exceptional and human-rights-violating laws and the cancellation of burdensome rulings by the former Counter-Terrorism Court, including the return of confiscated property. Its dissolution has been announced, but the current legal status and consequences require case-specific verification. Syria has no comprehensive national offence category for crimes against humanity, war crimes or genocide. Such conduct has generally been pursued through ordinary offences such as murder, unlawful detention or torture. The National Commission for Transitional Justice and the National Commission for Missing Persons were created during the current transition. The missing-persons commission investigates fate and location, documents cases, maintains a national database and provides legal or humanitarian support to families; a specific missing-persons law is still pending. Juvenile criminal responsibility begins at age 10 under the Juveniles Act and later amendments. Children aged 10 to under 18 generally face protective or reform measures, while those aged 15 or older may also face statutory juvenile penalties for certain offences. Special juvenile courts can order family placement, supervision, institutional care, a reformatory measure, detention, probation or residence restrictions, but regional capacity and operation are uneven. For road offences, a valid driving licence is required. Article 199 provides, for death or permanent disability caused by a traffic violation, detention of three months to one year, a fine of SYP 50,000 to 100,000 and suspension of the licence for two years; the current practical enforceability of these nominal amounts should be checked. Cybercrime rules create particular legal risk for online speech because some concepts, including State prestige and national unity, are unclear and penalties for criticism of security forces or public officials can be severe. Local or non-state dispute bodies may help resolve disputes, but they do not provide an equivalent countrywide criminal-law process.