The Arbitration System in Syria
By Nadia Farwati
Arbitration or otherwise “tahkeem – تحكيم ”, [1] has been a part of the Syrian Civil Procedure Code since 1953, governed by Articles 506-534.[2] In 2008, the Arbitration Law in Syria enacted international practices based on United Nations Commission On International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration to aid both domestic and foreign investors in their legal disputes.[3]
The provisions of the Arbitration Law are applicable to arbitration conducted within Syria and abroad.[4] The parties are free to decide on the law applicable to govern the arbitration, the language, the location of the arbitral proceedings, the procedure the arbitral tribunal should adhere to, and whether the law of another country will govern the substantial rules.[5]
It is worth pointing out that provision is made in the Arbitration Law for the establishment of private arbitration centers in Syria. Up to 54 aspiring arbitration centers sought licenses to operate following the passage of the Law but none are functioning currently due to the conflict. The Ministry of Justice and the Syrian Investment Agency are however studying plans for the establishment of international arbitration centers to consider the claims of Syrian investors who are based overseas. Moreover, potential amendments to the Arbitration Law are expected to consider international practices in the operation of arbitration centers, which failed to accumulate experience since foreign investment was driven outside Syria during the past six years.[6]
Syria is one of the countries that has ratified the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards of 1958.[7] However, regardless of the fact that it has ratified the New York Convention, international arbitral decisions have been difficult to enforce.[8] It has also ratified the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in 2006 and the Mauritius Convention on Transparency in Treaty-based Investor-State Arbitration of 2014. Arbitration returned to the spotlight in early 2016 when Syria’s Public-Private Partnership Law was enacted after a five-year delay due to the ongoing conflict.
However, even though there have been efforts to encourage arbitration as an alternative dispute resolution (ADR), it is not frequently used by parties to resolve disputes. Domestic arbitration may be used sometimes, whereas international arbitration is rare.[9] Thus, a special committee has been created to reform the Arbitration Law.[10] An issue in Syria is that arbitration is not exactly part of its culture and arbitral tribunals are seen as competing with the authority of the courts rather than complementary bodies.[11]
Recently, Syria has been striving for modern law with high standards to support the needs of reconstruction and development of arbitration.[12] An initiative to make a change has been taken by the Damascus Securities Exchange to use arbitration to resolve disputes in the stock market. As well, the Damascus Chamber of Commerce has been providing lectures and seminars to promote and develop a culture of ADR, mainly commercial arbitration.[13]
The laws and treaties which Syria has ratified strengthen Syria’s position as an arbitration-friendly system. However, the ongoing conflict has disrupted efforts to develop arbitration and encouragement of ADR. Stay tuned for another blog post on ADR and how has it been affected by the Arab Spring.
[1] Cherine Foty, ‘The Evolution of Arbitration in the Arab World’(Kluwer Arbitration Blog, JJuly 1, 2015) <http://arbitrationblog.kluwerarbitration.com/2015/07/01/the-evolution-of-arbitration-in-the-arab-world/?doing_wp_cron=1596119620.1851809024810791015625> accessed 20 July 2020.
[2] ‘An overview of Arbitration in Syria’ (Syrian Law Journal, 28 May 2020) <http://www.syria.law/index.php/overview-arbitration-syria/#:~:text=Arbitration%20has%20been%20a%20feature,was%20enacted%20back%20in%201953.&text=The%20Law%20seeks%20to%20adopt,Law%20on%20International%20Commercial%20Arbitration. > accessed 15 July 2020.
[3] ‘Court System’ (Syrian Law Journal)<http://www.syria.law/index.php/main-legislation/court-system/#l2-6> accessed 15 July 2020.
[4] ‘An overview of Arbitration in Syria’ (Syrian Law Journal, 28 May 2020) <http://www.syria.law/index.php/overview-arbitration-syria/#:~:text=Arbitration%20has%20been%20a%20feature,was%20enacted%20back%20in%201953.&text=The%20Law%20seeks%20to%20adopt,Law%20on%20International%20Commercial%20Arbitration. > accessed 15 July 2020.
[5] Ibid.
[7] ibid.
[8] ‘Developing a Culture of Arbitration in Syria’ (Syrian Law Journal, 6 August 2017)<http://www.syria.law/index.php/developing-culture-arbitration-syria/> accessed 16 July 2020.
[9] ibid.
[10] ibid.
[11] ibid.
[12] ibid.
[13] ibid.