Seeking The Rule of Law in The Absence of The State: Transitional Justice and Policing in Opposition-Controlled Syria Part 1

This report is this first of a three-part series focusing on the current status and lessons learned relating to transitional justice and policing initiatives in opposition-controlled Syria. • Part I focuses on the effects of the departure of judicial and security elements of the Syrian state has had on conditions on the ground currently and on the nascent justice institutions that have emerged in this void (including levels of institutionalisation, Islamic law, and the legal systems currently being debated and trialed in some areas). • Part II examines the variety of institutions and structures attempting to implement these various legal systems and practices and explores attempts to build a unity among this diverse mix. • Part III explores the critical role of legal professionals in the various justice and security initiatives that have been attempted or are currently in place in areas outside of the control of the government, and examines the role of local governance organisations in such initiatives. In conclusion, Part III also provides a brief summary of lessons learned and recommendations for future efforts based upon these lessons.
Information in this paper is primarily drawn from interviews conducted between January 2013 and March 2014. It focuses in particular on cases from the Aleppo, Idlib and Dara’a governorates and alludes to some of the differences between these situations. It also refers to material from other governorates outside of government-control (Rif Damascus, Deir Ez-Zor, the three cantons of Rojava and areas of Raqqa) and those within it (where the state’s increasing reliance on, and unwillingness or inability to control, local paramilitary actors poses serious longer-term questions for the nature of administration’s judicial and policing writ). For further information or briefings on the material included in this report, please contact Integrity at [email protected] (link sends e-mail).
The report is available in Arabic, following this link.

Publisher: 
N/A
تاريخ النشر: 
الأحد, 15 يونيو 2014
نوع المورد: 
Studies and Reports
حلة: 
Safety & Security, Conflict Resolution, Legal Issues
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