Syria amnesty decree revives debate on absence of parliament

Political and legal controversy has continued in Syria over a recent general amnesty decree issued by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, in the absence of a functioning parliament.

Sharaa issued the decree last Wednesday, triggering controversy because the power to grant a general amnesty is traditionally assigned to the legislative authority.

However, more than a year after the fall of Bashar al-Assad, Syria remains without a parliament and the decree has renewed scrutiny of this issue.

In October, authorities announced the results of the first indirect elections held in post-Assad Syria. Through electoral bodies in most provinces, 119 members were selected for the 210-seat parliament.

Twenty-one seats remain vacant for representatives from Suwayda, Raqqa and Hasakah, which are outside Damascus’s control. The president is also expected to appoint 70 members, officially to balance representation and address gaps, particularly regarding women and minority participation.

Sharaa was expected to announce his list of appointees on 8 December, marking the first anniversary of Assad’s removal, but no such list was issued. Earlier explanations linking the delay to renovation work at the parliament building in central Damascus have since lost credibility as the delay continues.

A source in Damascus told The New Arab's sister outlet Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that the administration is "waiting for the outcome of negotiations with the Syrian Democratic Forces before making the final announcement of the parliamentary list and calling it to convene", adding that there are no other reasons for the postponement.

The government came to a new ceasefire agreement with the Kurdish-led SDF last month following fighting which saw government forces take control of most territory once held by the SDF.

The absence of a legislative body has sharpened criticism of Sharaa’s amnesty decree. Lawyer Ghazwan Qarnfal told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that the president "does not have the constitutional authority to issue a general amnesty, as this falls within the jurisdiction of the legislative council".

He added that "what happened constitutes an overreach and a violation of the constitutional declaration", warning that "an empty legislative space encourages others to fill that vacuum".

Qarnfal previously argued there is "no logical justification for the continued absence of the legislative authority in Syria from the country’s legal and political scene", despite what he described as urgent pressure to amend and pass laws needed for reconstruction.

"It is fundamentally unacceptable to leave the governmental sphere to the executive authority alone, as many responsibilities require a legislative framework to regulate them," he said, warning that prolonged absence would create paralysis.

Political researcher Radwan Ziadeh told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that "the absence of the legislative authority in Syria, represented by the People’s Assembly, is the reason for the controversy that occurred after Sharaa issued a general amnesty".

He added that "the constitutional declaration issued and signed by Sharaa himself does not grant the president the authority to issue decrees related to general amnesty, and this creates real debate about the possibility of establishing the rule of law and justice in the new Syria".

However, lawyer Abdul Nasser Houshan, an elected member of the yet-to-convene People’s Assembly, offered a different view.

He told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that the absence of an explicit constitutional text does not necessarily prevent the president from exercising such authority, arguing that constitutional custom allows a head of state to issue legislation in the absence of a functioning legislature.

Wael Olwan, a researcher at the Jusoor Center for Studies, said the legislative authority is now "a necessary requirement for the success of the political transition".

He noted that while the executive branch seeks to introduce change, it remains bound by laws enacted under the former regime. The next legislative council, he said, faces "a number of duties", including reviewing and amending more than 800 laws that require revision during the transitional phase.

Olwan predicted the new legislative council would convene in the near future, adding that necessity would likely impose "a real partnership between the executive and legislative authorities" as Syria moves through its post-Assad transition.