Property
The Civil Code 1949, destroyed records, and the contested Law No. 10 of 2018
Property law rests on the Civil Code of 1949 and land registration legislation. Destruction of records, mass displacement and Law No. 10 of 2018 on redevelopment zones have made housing, land and property rights a central transitional issue.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — National, administered through directorates of cadastral affairs.
Governing law
- Civil Code, Legislative Decree No. 84 of 1949
- Law No. 10 of 2018 on the creation of redevelopment zones
- Decree No. 66 of 2012 on redevelopment in Damascus
In practice
The 1949 Civil Code, drafted with Sanhuri's involvement, is a respected codification. The problems are evidentiary and political. Land registry offices in several cities were damaged or destroyed, and an estimated large minority of holdings were never formally registered even before 2011. Decree 66 and Law No. 10 of 2018 allow the designation of redevelopment zones in which owners must present documentary proof of title within short periods to receive shares in the redeveloped area — a mechanism widely criticised as effectively expropriating displaced people who cannot safely return or produce documents. Housing, land and property restitution is now a core element of any transitional settlement.