The Legal and Moral Necessity of Excluding Criminals from State Institutions during the Transitional Phase in Syria (October 2025)

First: Introduction: Transitional justice is a fundamental pillar of the new Syria

After the end of half a century of the Assad Regime, Syria stands at a historic turning point. This new phase requires confronting the legacy of gross human rights violations while simultaneously laying the foundations for justice and civil peace.

The Syrian people rose up fourteen years ago, aspiring to build a democratic state that would restore the dignity robbed by a repressive security apparatus. Following the fall of the regime on December 8, 2024, and the formation of an interim government, the country must transition to a new era. In this context, transitional justice is the most effective path to comprehensive national recovery from the effects of the conflict. It is the path to establishing a state based on the rule of law and respect for human rights and promoting national reconciliation to ensure long-term stability.

The pillars of transitional justice are embodied in: criminal accountability, truthseeking and reconciliation, reparations and memorialization, and institutional reform in the judiciary, security, and military sectors. According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights’ vision for the path of transitional justice in Syria after the fall of Assad, for these mechanisms to achieve their goals, they must be managed in an integrated manner and under unified oversight.

This report attempts to demonstrate that institutional reform, particularly the vetting and exclusion of individuals implicated in violations, is an indispensable condition for the success of the remaining pillars of transitional justice. Without a clear commitment to removing perpetrators and perpetrators from positions of power, mechanisms for accountability, truth, and reparations lose their effectiveness. This administrative exclusion, which targets individuals who lack a minimum level of integrity, is a necessary step to restore trust and legitimacy to public institutions and prevent the recurrence of violations.

The continued presence of these individuals exacerbates the suffering of victims, opens the door to vengeance, and feeds the perception that transitional justice is a mere formality lacking even the most minimal accountability. This failure constitutes a secondary sacrifice of the victims and demonstrates that the transition process is superficial, as it maintains the systems that enabled the violations. Such a course undermines public trust, hinders the building of democratic institutions, and threatens long-term stability.

This report will present the legal and theoretical justifications, based on victims’ rights, for adopting a principled exclusion policy for all those proven to be involved in violations, as a basis for a just and stable future in Syria.

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