The Constitution more of a Political and Social issue than a Legal One

Since this landscape has been primarily dominated for decades by the forces of great corruption and economic monopoly, which has been translated into political monopoly, where the system controlling the majority of the state has become a representative of an economic minority that does not exceed 10% of Syrians while controlling more than 90% of the wealth.

The importance of the next Syrian constitution is that it should be primarily a true expression of the interests of the vast majority of Syrians, and the majority here is the plundered majority, which constitutes more than 85% of Syrians. This requires a high sense of responsibility and a high degree of patriotism in the constitution drafting process, which requires taking into consideration, among many things, the following:

• Since the constitution should be an expression of the landscape of dominant forces, the new constitution should be part of a comprehensive political process that guarantees the transfer of control to the plundered majority. Translating this transition starts with the full implementation of UNSC Resolution 2254, which constitutes a first step and a necessary condition, but is not alone enough, which is complemented by the concerted efforts of patriots from all sides, leading to getting out of the current crisis and reunifying the country and taking it to real stability in which the constitution is a major factor and carrier at all levels.
• The popular movement that started more than 10 years ago was an implicit expression of the desire and need to form a new political space in which the Syrian people would have the greatest role. The constitution has a major role in establishing the legal foundations for determining the frameworks within which this political space can arise and develop, including the nature of the structure of the state, the nature of the distribution of powers, the nature of political parties, and election laws.
• Real engagement in political life constitutes the most important pillars of the new political space, which supposed to represent and express the people. This cannot be achieved if the people do not enjoy basic rights and freedoms that translate into reality the saying “rule of the people by the people and for the people”. At a minimum, they must guarantee freedom of expression; political activity; the formation of political parties, trade unions, and associations; equal citizenship; the election and monitoring of authorities, and the withdrawal of confidence from them; and the mechanisms that guarantee their realization and implementation. All of this is closely connected to the legal system as a whole, where legislations regulate the relevant details, which makes it important that the constitutionality of laws is always subject to examination by the legislature and supervision of the Supreme Constitutional Court, and all of that must be stipulated in the constitution itself.
• For decades, the corruption forces have worked to plunder the people, something they have done during the past ten years by several sides under different names. All of that led to the deterioration of the socioeconomic structure and the solidification and expansion of societal fissures, in addition to other negative effects and on all levels – cultural, educational, and health. All of these require restoration and rebuilding within the framework of the reunification of Syria and its people. Part of this process will be through the constitution, which should lay the foundations for organizing and codifying all these aspects in addition to ensuring the continuous development and growth thereof.
• External issues are no less important than internal issues, and Syria as part of its regional environment and the important role it plays regionally and, in this sense, internationally as well, must take its true position through its foreign policies and its regional and international relations. This primarily requires a balanced return to its historical role in the region – particularly, its position on the Palestinian issue – in line with its regional and international positioning within the new international balance. The constitution embodies and expresses these matters, including the foundations that will end the economic subordination, and through that the political subordination to the retreating Western system, which has played a major role in supporting the corruption forces and the corruptors, and in the past ten years has also supported the warlords.

There are many other factors that must be seriously considered, which requires the Syrian sides to get involved in the political process in a manner that rises to the level of the responsibility they face and the task entrusted to them, including getting Syria and Syrians out of the catastrophe they are experiencing and the rapid deterioration Syrians are living. This also requires the participation of all Syrian sides in all dialogues aimed at reaching a political solution, which also means the need to neutralize the extremists on all sides who are doing everything in their power to obstruct the political process and prolong the crisis.

This is where the political importance of the constitution at this stage comes from, before the legal, as it constitutes the initial formula and initial vision for post-crisis Syria, and how to bring about a comprehensive radical change by establishing the right of Syrians to self-determination, which will be the primary carrier and guarantor of translating the constitution on the ground through its implementation and application, so that it is not merely ink on paper as it has been for decades.

(Arabic Version)