Enab Baladi – Halim Muhammad
Khaled (40 years old) from Daraa found no other judicial entity than the Arbitration Committee to recover his financial dues from a merchant for the guarantee of his pomegranate crop on his land.
The merchant who purchased the crop from Khaled’s land tried to evade payment, claiming losses in the season, especially since Khaled does not have official documents proving his right.
Khaled told Enab Baladi that he did not file a complaint with the courts under the administration of the Syrian regime due to the lack of a signed contract with the merchant. Instead, he resorted to the Arbitration Committee in the western Daraa countryside, which was able to mediate between the two parties and compel the merchant to pay the agreed amount.
Among the cases reported by Enab Baladi‘s correspondent in Daraa that were presented to the Arbitration Committee, was a complaint filed by a woman residing in Kuwait against a person who claimed to be a sorcerer and extorted her for amounts exceeding ten thousand dollars.
The committee was able, through transfer notifications, to convict this person and force him to pay nearly nine thousand dollars, after which the woman dropped her personal right following the issuance of the ruling.
The option of the Arbitration Committee
After the Syrian regime took control of Daraa province in July and August 2018, the work of the Dar al-Adl court affiliated with the military factions opposing the regime came to an end and was replaced by the regime’s courts in the province.
The formal control of the regime and its inability to enter several areas in Daraa limited the effectiveness of these courts, leading to a lack of accountability for perpetrators of fraud, theft, murder, and other crimes.
To address these issues, the Arbitration Committee was formed in the western Daraa countryside initially based on reconciling conflicting parties, then transformed into a committee sought out by local residents to resolve their issues.
Sheikh Yusuf al-Bakkar, one of the judges of the Arbitration Committee, told Enab Baladi that the committee was established in 2023 as a reconciliation body among conflicting parties, especially in felony cases.
The committee was granted a mandate from local factions affiliated with the central committee to operate within the realm of arbitration for all disputes, and subsequently established working guidelines, such as handing over murderers to the Arbitration Committee and detaining those who need to pay debts and other issues.
The central committee in the western Daraa countryside includes several military factions that were once opposed and underwent “settlements” during the regime’s control over Daraa in 2018, and are currently accused of being subservient to the military security of the regime’s forces.
Al-Bakkar added that the committee’s work began in the western region and then consultations were initiated with leaders and religious figures in the eastern countryside, becoming a unified committee referred to as the Arbitration Committee in Horan.
The region’s need for an Arbitration Committee
The prevailing trend in Daraa province before the formation of the Arbitration Committee was for individuals to resort to force or tribal interventions to secure their rights, leading to tribal disputes requiring notable figures for resolution.
However, the absence of organization and coordination among notables, along with the lack of deterrent force, contributed to non-compliance with their decisions.
One notable in the Daraa countryside described their work to Enab Baladi with the phrase “we work with dignity,” meaning with honor, and our role is to urge, without coordination or enforcement, of any party.
Therefore, it was necessary, according to notables and residents in Daraa, to establish an alternative arbitral body to resolve residents’ issues through a court based on established legal proceedings applicable to all.
A lawyer residing in Daraa, who requested anonymity for security reasons, clarified to Enab Baladi that the Arbitration Committee in Daraa “filled the legal void,” operating based on the agreement of the conflicting parties, and obliges them to abide by the ruling after they sign a document indicating acceptance of the ruling.
The committee derives its power from the central committee, the currently active force on the ground in the western and northern Daraa countryside (being a significant military force in the region), according to the lawyer.
Sheikh al-Bakkar sees that the most significant achievement of the Arbitration Committee for the region is establishing a legitimate reference that people can turn to for resolving their issues amid the absence of the control and authority of the Syrian regime.
The committee has intervened in many criminal cases, with the acceptance and consent of the conflicting parties to the outcome of the rulings, according to al-Bakkar, because the work carried out by the committee is legitimate based on evidence and testimonies.
Reliance on Sharia rulings
The committee relies on Islamic Sharia as its primary reference in its judiciary, as all of its judges are religious figures.
The Arbitration Committee is criticized for not including judges or lawyers in its core formation, based on what Enab Baladi has observed regarding the committee’s organizational structure, which is solely comprised of religious figures.
According to Sheikh al-Bakkar, the committee has previously dealt with legal issues such as property or forensic reports or official documents, in such cases the committee relies on these documents as they are issued by official entities.
Al-Bakkar ruled out any similarity between the rulings of government courts and those of the Arbitration Committee, since the latter is based on Islamic Sharia.
The lawyer residing in Daraa indicated that there is stagnation in the Arbitration Committee’s dealings with legal experts such as judges or lawyers, but its presence at this time is crucial for resolving residents’ issues and creating a perception among the people of a judicial entity that restores rights to their owners, which has limited instances of fraud, theft, and assault in the region.
Allowing room for reconciliation
One notable in the Daraa countryside stated that the Arbitration Committee gives importance to tribal elders and reconciliation between conflicting parties, and its work comes in case the reconciliation attempts between the parties fail or if one of the parties directly files a complaint to the committee. Nonetheless, it always prioritizes reconciliation, the dropping of rights, or mutual agreement between the two parties.
Sheikh al-Bakkar pointed out the “great harmony” between the committee and tribal rulings, as the committee always allows room for tribal reconciliation before and after the ruling, especially in cases of murder, and sometimes the committee delays the ruling to give an opportunity for tribal reconciliation, “this does not contradict Sharia and arbitration,” he stated.
There are several tribal customs followed by notables in case a dispute leads to casualties, including involving notable figures to separate the conflicting parties, then requesting from the family of the murdered or injured “to give a truce,” a tribal custom through which the victim’s family commits not to confront the killer’s family for a period determined by the notables.
Subsequently, consultations begin among the authorities to impose penalties such as “exile,” which requires the killer to leave the area; or “diya” (blood money); or “qisas” (retaliation).
If the case is referred to the Arbitration Committee, it invites the parties to sign three documents: a document appointing the committee to resolve the case, a document authorizing the committee to question the suspect or witnesses and inspect the site and investigate, and the third document is the acceptance of the committee’s ruling.
On October 10, the Arbitration Committee issued rulings on several cases that were referred to it in the city of Jassem in northern Daraa, particularly concerning conflict between two armed groups of local residents.
The committee received 14 cases in Jassem, comprising 11 murder cases and three injury cases.
The committee’s rulings in these cases involved condemning the perpetrator in all cases of gunfire that resulted in injuries, requiring payment in accordance with medical reports for treatment and disability, ranging between $500 and $2000.
As for cases of intentional murder, there are four divided into two categories: the first entails intentional murder requiring retaliation, with three cases; the second category entails intentional murder requiring blood money valued at $48,000 due to lack of evidence against a specific individual, with one case.
In cases of unintentional homicide, each convicted person was required to pay diya valued at $35,000 to the family of the deceased, comprising seven cases.
Additionally, two rulings were issued for five-year prison sentences.
All cases involving Wael al-Ghabini and Jihad al-Jalam, which resulted in default judgments, will be reconsidered after they voluntarily surrender to the Arbitration Committee and appeal the rulings made against them in their absence.