Mar 03 (V7N) – Syria's interim president, Ahmed al-Shara, has announced the formation of a seven-member committee tasked with drafting a new constitutional declaration to govern the country during its interim period. The announcement was made on Monday (March 3) and was reported by Arab News.

According to a statement from the Syrian presidency, the committee is made up of experts in law and governance, including one woman, and will be responsible for drafting the legal framework for Syria’s interim government. The committee's proposals will be submitted directly to the president. However, the statement did not specify a deadline for the completion of the draft.

Ahmad al-Shara, who heads Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the group responsible for overthrowing the former regime of Bashar al-Assad, was appointed interim president in late January for an indefinite period. Since taking office, Shara and the new authorities have begun the process of abolishing the Assad-era constitution and building new legal structures for the country.

The constitutional drafting committee includes prominent figures in law and governance:

  • Abdul Hamid al-Awak, a professor at a Turkish university and expert in constitutional law.
  • Yasser al-Huwaysh, Dean of the Faculty of Law at Damascus University.
  • Ismail al-Khalfan, an expert in international law and Dean of the Faculty of Law at Aleppo University.
  • Mohammad Reda Zalkhi, a doctorate holder in international law from Idlib University.
  • The only female member, Bahia Mardini, is a journalist and holds a doctorate in law, currently residing in the UK.

The new authorities have indicated that the process of drafting a new constitution may take up to three years to complete. The goal is to replace the repressive legal structures that were in place during Bashar al-Assad’s rule, which ended with the fall of his regime on December 8, 2024, following a brutal 13-year civil war.

Since then, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has led the reconstruction efforts in Syria, including rebuilding state institutions and establishing a new governance framework aimed at stabilizing the war-torn nation.

END/RH/AJ