Analysis & Features

Syria’s Committee for Freezing the Funds of Individuals and Entities (CFFIE) issues lists of terrorist or terrorism financing suspects. It enforces an immediate temporary freeze on all assets associated with these names, preventing any transfer, movement, or disposal of the assets. Two lists are maintained by the CFFIE: the local list that includes locals and foreigners curated by Damascus, and another list based on individuals and entities named by other countries requesting the Syrian government to freeze their assets.

The term termination of common property refers to the set of measures taken by the Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform to divide agricultural land owned jointly by multiple parties. On the other hand, land beautification refers to the merging of fragmented plots of land into one or more consolidated parcels, with the aim of making them easier to invest in and reclaim.

Before his recent appointment as Prime Minister in September, the name Mohammad Ghazi Al-Jalali had long been associated with his expertise as a real estate and economic specialist. Over the years, Mr Jalali put forward numerous proposals to address real estate issues and criticised the government's handling of various matters, such as social housing, the real estate market, and rental regulations.

Over the past two years, small landholders in certain rural Syrian areas have voiced objections over the halting of licenses to build agricultural houses. Following a series of conflicting ministerial decisions, constructing houses without a permit has become in the last couple of years a building violation subject to demolition.

According to Decree No. 26, issued on September 12, regarding the formation and duties of the Forestry Police, this force is a sworn and armed executive body vested with the powers of the judicial police. Its main task is to protect forests and forest lands and combat all types of crimes listed in the Forestry Law No. 39 of 2023, including removing property extortion from forest land. Property extortion is defined as the seizure of another's property without their consent and without legal justification.

According to Civil Law No. 84 of 1949, an individual who has possession of a property for a specified period can acquire ownership of that property through what is known as acquisitive prescription, also called adverse possession. Adverse possession is defined as someone exercising control over an asset as though they were its owner or had a legal right to it, including the right to use it.

The Fund for Mitigating the Effects of Drought and Natural Disasters on Agricultural Production was established by Decree No. 114 of 2011. It operates under the Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform and has a dedicated directorate within the ministry. The fund’s headquarters is located in the capital, Damascus, with branches in the governorates.

The Directorate of Cadastral Affairs is working on expanding the digitisation of the Land Registry, while also restoring real estate documents that are partially or completely lost or damaged. Despite the significant differences between these two processes, they are carried out side by side and, in some cases, complement one another.

For decades, the Aleppo City Council has been working on expanding the city, incorporating large areas, in the north and west, into its master zoning plan. While some of these expansion areas include informal settlements, they also encompass non-informal areas that have been fully expropriated, rezoned, and subdivided.

On October 11, 2023, the Second Criminal Court in Damascus issued a judgment against Palestinian-Syrian Oussama Ahmed Majdalawi, convicting him of the felony of possessing drugs with the intent to use. He was sentenced to three years in prison, fined SYP 500,000 and subjected to civil forfeiture, in accordance with Articles 328 and 329 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Since he remains at large, the court ordered the seizure of his assets and properties.

On June 23, the Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria amended the Anti-Terrorism Law No. 7 of 2021. Even after the new amendments, the law remains similar to the Syrian regime's Anti-Terrorism Law No. 19 of 2012, which threatens housing, land, and property rights.

On May 9, the Syrian President issued Decree No. 98 merging the General Company for Roads and Bridges and the General Company for Water Projects into a new entity called the General Company for Roads and Water Projects.

Depriving the Syrian mother of granting nationality to her children directly affects their rights to housing, land, and property ownership, including their ability to legally manage real estate, their rights to inheritance, and the transfer and registration of property in their names in the Land Record.

On January 14, the Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform issued Decision No. 5, which included the executive instructions for Forestry Law No. 39 of 2023. Similar to Law No. 39 of 2023, these instructions impose restrictions on the actions of private forest owners and require them to obtain licences from the ministry to manage and develop their forests under the ministry's supervision.

Law No. 4 of 2024 authorises AANES municipalities to expropriate any property. However, granting AANES municipalities the power to expropriate, amidst the absence of an expropriation law, procedural regulations, and judicial oversight, and in the context of war and displacement, could result in expropriation becoming a violation that threatens property rights.

The Cooperative Housing Directorate, part of the Ministry of Public Works and Housing, is responsible for regulating the cooperative housing sector. This sector is financed by housing cooperatives to provide affordable housing for their members. Since its establishment in 2008, the directorate has evolved, transitioning from working alongside the General Union  of Housing Cooperatives to replacing it in 2019.

The conditions for distributing state-owned agricultural land to farmers were established by Decree No. 166 of 1968, but the distribution of state-owned land to farmers in Al-Ghab Plain, Tar, Al-Ala, Al-Asharna, and Al-Rouj Plain was carried out under a special legislative decree a year later under Decree No. 66 of 1969.

The regulations governing the management of state properties have undergone various administrative and legal phases. These properties have been supervised by several institutions, directorates, and public bodies, the latest being the General Commission for the Management and Protection of State Properties (GCMPST), established under Law No. 43 of 2023. 

On April 4, the Council of Ministers issued Decision No. 16, containing the executive instructions for Law No. 26 of 2023, related to the Disposal of Movable and Immovable Properties Confiscated under a Final Judicial Ruling, under the name "Special System for the Management and Investment of Confiscated Assets."

After being approved by the Parliament in its session held on February 2, 2024, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad issued Law No. 7 of 2024, amending certain articles of Law No. 62 of 2006 concerning badia (“barren” or “steppe”) lands. The amendments included an increase in the financial penalties imposed for the following violations of badia lands: grazing livestock, deforestation, farming and agriculture.