Syria’s New Parliament Moves to Dismantle Assad’s Counter-Terrorism Court and Void Its Past Verdicts

DAMASCUS, Sept 16 — Syria’s parliament voted on Wednesday to abolish a court established under the Assad regime and nullify the legal force of its rulings, state-run Al-Ikhbariya TV reported, marking one of the first major legislative actions taken by the country’s newly elected assembly.

The Counter-Terrorism Court was created in 2012 as then-President Bashar al-Assad moved to crush a popular uprising against his rule, and it was subsequently used to prosecute thousands of Syrians on terrorism-related charges.

The vote codifies the court’s dissolution after Syria’s interim authorities had already treated it as inactive. In June 2025, President Ahmed al-Sharaa issued a decree removing 67 judges who had served in what he described at the time as the “abolished Counter-Terrorism Court.”

Syria’s March 2025 constitutional declaration further called for invalidating the effects of what it characterized as unjust rulings handed down by the court, including the return of confiscated property.

The United Nations Human Rights Committee said in 2024 that the 2012 law creating the court lacked adequate judicial safeguards and flagged concerns over arbitrary detention, torture or ill-treatment, and the court’s independence. The committee also observed that the court was allowed to deviate from standard legal procedures during prosecution and trial.

The U.N.’s International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism reported in 2024 that the Counter-Terrorism Court formed part of the judicial apparatus through which detainees held by Assad-era security forces were prosecuted. That report documented widespread and systematic torture and ill-treatment across the government’s detention network.

Wednesday’s vote took place during the opening weeks of the first parliament convened since Assad was overthrown in December 2024. The chamber held its inaugural session in July.

The vote ranks among the assembly’s earliest significant legislative decisions, following initial sessions devoted to setting up internal rules and committees. This week, the parliament held a hearing with Education Minister Mohammad Abdul Rahman Tarkou on the condition of the country’s schools, and is scheduled to question the energy minister on Thursday regarding a sharp increase in fuel prices.

(Reporting by Feras Dalatey in Damascus; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

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