Options for Addressing Baathist Nationalization Decrees in the Transitional Phase
Executive Summary:
This paper examines the nationalization decrees issued in Syria during the 1960s as a pivotal moment that reshaped the country’s economic structure and redefined the relationship between the state and society. These decrees transferred ownership of commercial, industrial, and banking sectors to the state under the banner of “socialism and social justice.” In practice, however, they led to the weakening of the private sector, a decline in productive efficiency, the flight of capital and expertise, and a deterioration of trust in the principle of private property.
The paper situates the Syrian experience within a comparative framework that includes Germany, Poland, and Czechoslovakia. In East Germany, following reunification, a system of conditional legal restitution was adopted, allowing for the return of original property or compensation where restitution was not feasible. Poland relied primarily on partial financial compensation based on court rulings rather than through a comprehensive, ongoing legislative framework. Czechoslovakia adopted a hybrid approach that combined material restitution under specified conditions with partial financial compensation.
Drawing on these models, the paper discusses two principal pathways for addressing the legacy of nationalization in Syria: the first entails the full or partial restoration of properties to their original owners; the second involves financial or symbolic compensation accompanied by legal and moral acknowledgment of harm.
The report ultimately favors the second pathway, considering it more realistic and less economically disruptive. It argues that this approach better supports transitional justice objectives by combining reparative measures with the restoration of institutional trust, while avoiding threats to general stability or complications to the reconstruction process.
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مدير مركز الحوار السوري، يحمل شهادة الدكتوراه في القانون العام من جامعة حلب، وحائز على اعتمادية المعهد العالي للحقوق في الشرق الأوسط، وعمل سابقاً مدرساً في كلية الحقوق في جامعة حلب الحرة. يركز في أبحاثه الحالية على دراسة ديناميكيات العلاقة بين المجتمع السوري والنصوص القانونية والدستورية منها على وجه التحديد.
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