The Syrian People’s Assembly approved 160 articles of its draft rules of procedure on the third day of the second sitting of the extraordinary session in its first legislative term.
The approved articles represent 60% of the rules of procedure, the Assembly announced on Wednesday, July 29.
The sitting featured extensive discussions of articles concerning committees, including the formation, mandates, and working mechanisms of permanent and temporary committees.
Lawmakers also discussed articles regulating parliamentary sessions and the procedures governing the Assembly’s work, as well as provisions concerning voting mechanisms for draft laws and resolutions.
The Assembly said the discussions “entrench the principles of organized legislative work and ensure the clarity and soundness of legislative procedures.”
It added that the discussions are part of efforts to complete the adoption of the People’s Assembly’s rules of procedure, “laying the foundation for a new phase of work that enhances its effectiveness in carrying out its legislative duties in accordance with the highest standards of institutional organization and national responsibility.”
The rules of procedure are the first measure issued by the Assembly and will form the framework governing its legislative and organizational work during the coming period.
On July 26, the People’s Assembly approved 16 articles of the draft rules of procedure while continuing the work of the first extraordinary sitting of the first legislative term.
Procedural Instructions for the Assembly’s Work
People’s Assembly Speaker Abdul Hamid al-Awak said on July 27 that the rules of procedure serve as the procedural instructions for the Assembly’s work, adding that debate on the draft would continue in successive sittings until it is approved in full.
The draft rules include provisions governing the People’s Assembly’s duties and powers, the mechanism for electing the Assembly Bureau, the organization of ordinary and extraordinary legislative sessions, and procedures for managing sittings, debating draft laws, and voting on them.
The People’s Assembly began debating the draft on July 26, starting with articles on the Assembly’s duties and powers, the process for electing its presidential bureau, and the internal procedures governing its work.
The articles are being approved sequentially through a process under which lawmakers vote on each article separately before voting on the draft rules of procedure in their final form.
Debate began after the 17-member Rules of Procedure Drafting Committee completed the initial draft following four days of meetings during the previous week.
Assembly Secretary Mueyed Habib previously told Enab Baladi that each article is voted on separately before the rules of procedure as a whole are put to a majority vote.
People’s Assembly member Adnan al-Khatib also previously told Enab Baladi that the draft was prepared in one week instead of one month to accelerate its adoption, and that it provided for the formation of between 20 and 23 specialized committees to discuss laws and legislation according to their respective mandates.
The Syrian People’s Assembly began its work on July 12 in the presence of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, Justice Minister Mazhar al-Wais, Interior Minister Anas Khattab, Mohammad Taha al-Ahmad, chairman of the Higher Committee for People’s Assembly Elections, and Assembly members.
The first sitting saw the election of the Assembly speaker, his two deputies, and the secretary after the Assembly’s formation was completed under Decree No. 143 of 2026, which named the members of the new People’s Assembly, including those appointed to complete the final third of its membership.