The Ministry of Justice has completed the interviews of the first batch of self-administration judges as part of the process of integrating the judicial system, in a step that is considered the most prominent since the faltering of this file over the past months.

Mustafa Abdi, a member of the presidential team in charge of following up on the merger file, said that 15 judges arrived in Damascus and conducted interviews before a special committee formed by Justice Minister Mazhar al-Weiss, stressing that the interviews "went well" and that their results will be completed according to the agreed mechanisms.

Abdi explained that a new batch of about 35 judges will head to Damascus within a week to complete the interviews, noting that the Autonomous Administration had submitted a list of 200 judges, and after studying their files, the ministry agreed to conduct interviews with about 100 of them, provided that they will be conducted in successive batches until the process is completed.

According to Abdi, the completion of the interviews will pave the way for the start of the procedures for the reopening of the al-Hasakah and Qamishli courts after years of closure, stressing that "all previous problems, in my opinion, have been resolved", which reinforces expectations of a near breakthrough in the judicial integration between Damascus and the Autonomous Administration.

The first batch of judges went to Damascus on July 4 for interviews, in a move that was considered at the time an indication of a practical move to revive the process of integration, which has stalled more than once and affected the progress of judicial work in al-Hasakah province.

Recognition of Degrees of Self-Management Universities

Syrian News learned from sources close to the SDF that the Ministry of Justice is moving to settle the administrative conditions of the accepted judges by granting them job degrees equivalent to their previous years of experience, and subjecting them to intensive training courses at the Higher Institute of the Judiciary to unify the mechanisms of drafting judgments and ensure their compatibility with national standards.

The sources confirmed that major obstacles that disrupted the file in the past have been overcome, including the recognition of university degrees issued by self-administration universities through an equivalent exam mechanism under the supervision of the Ministry of Higher Education, in addition to the agreement to disengage judges from local councils and link their promotions, inspections and dismissals exclusively to the Supreme Judicial Council in Damascus.

The sources said that this step would extend legal sovereignty in northeastern Syria, fill the acute shortage of judicial cadres within the courts in the retaken areas, in addition to speeding up the resolution of thousands of pending cases and provide legal cover for the management of detainees' files.

Confirmation of Civil Judgments and Personal Status

The sources said that the state is moving towards adopting a flexible approach that ensures that the daily transactions of citizens are not invalidated , stressing that the previously issued marriage, divorce and birth documents are verifiable, and are transferred to the official records after conducting a simplified administrative correction process, without retrial.

She added that the contracts of sale and real estate ownership will be re-audited through joint committees to ensure their conformity with the records of the Syrian real estate interests, in order to prevent any cases of forgery or illegal seizure that occurred during the period of the state's absence, while confirming financial and civil obligations as long as they do not violate public order.

Rigorous review of criminal and criminal provisions

The sources pointed out that the penal and criminal provisions will be subject to strict review, due to their connection to the sovereignty of the state and the concept of criminalization, with the cancellation of political charges or violations related to the decisions of the Autonomous Administration due to the lack of a corresponding provision in the Syrian Penal Code.

The sources confirmed that the major felonies such as murder, kidnapping and robbery described "will not be carried out automatically, but will be retried before the Syrian judiciary in accordance with the Code of Criminal Procedure, with the period of detention previously served by the accused being included in the new punishment."

The sources pointed out that the previous rulings acquire the status of reviewable decisions rather than concluded rulings, which gives any citizen who was harmed by a previous ruling the right to submit an appeal or objection before the currently merged courts to amend the ruling in accordance with Syrian law, considering that it reopens the door to a broad review of old files, and gives litigants an opportunity to review the rulings issued during the period of judicial division.