Personal Status Law for Muslims (Law No. 59 of 1975)

The Personal Status Law is the main law regulating family relations in Syria, covering matters such as marriage, dissolution of marriage, guardianship, custody, and inheritance.[1]

The age of capacity for marriage in Syria has been raised to 18 years old for both boys and girls (Articles 15(1), 16, Personal Status Law; Article 19, Children’s Rights Law). However, adolescent children of at least 15 years of age may be married if they meet certain conditions set out in Articles 18, 19 and 21. The judge granting permission has discretion to see if the required elements are met, namely that the parties: (i) must be sincere; (ii) must be physically able to have sexual relations; (iii) must have the consent of their legal guardian; and (iv) the bride must give her approval. A judge may also require couples to attend sessions on marital life. Moreover, a judge may withhold permission if there is a disparity in age or if the judge can see no benefit of the marriage.

Children under 18 and unmarried women over 18 require a marriage guardian who must consent to the marriage on their behalf (Article 21). The legal guardian is typically the father or paternal grandfather, but the mother may also now act as ‘marriage guardian’ without the consent of a judge where the (male) legal guardian is absent and unreachable. Conducting a marriage without approval is punishable by imprisonment or fines (Article 469(1), Penal Code as amended by Law No. 24 of 2018).

Under Law 24/2018, customary marriages now incur fines. Law 24/2018 was introduced as a result of numerous instances of people being abused through fraudulent marital procedures during the conflict, in particular, women who were left in a vulnerable position with no legal remedies if their partners abandoned them. In other situations, legal complications arose in cases of pregnancy or childbirth occurring before the religious courts registered the marriage in question and issued the license. Moreover, there was a growth in the number of customary marriages in Syria since the war broke out, especially due to the absence of government control in certain parts of the country. The original bill even went as far as mandating prison sentences for violators to reflect the gravity of the situation, but the People’s Assembly deemed it too arbitrary a provision, so they instead voted to substitute that penalty with a fine.

In 2019 an amendment to the Personal Status Law (Law 4/2019) aimed at strengthening legal safeguards for women and children. The amendment grants women priority status when dealing with affairs concerning their family and children. The resulting reform also fixed the minimum marital ages of both males and females at 18 years. Another change to the Law allows a prospective wife to stipulate her right to work in her marital contract.

While underage marriage is technically illegal, early and forced marriages are widespread and are still practiced in some areas, particularly in rural parts of the country. The ongoing war contributed to the aggravation of the situation. Many girls inside the country, in camps and countries of refuge have been forcibly married, either because their families were unable to support them or in the hope that a dowry would improve the family’s living conditions.

The father, or the paternal grandfather in the absence of the father, has legal guardianship over children of the marriage as well as over any possessions of the child (Article 172, Personal Status Law). Legal guardianship formally ends once a child turns 18 (Article 163(4), Personal Status Law). In matters of marriage, Muslim men have control over women. This has become a growing problem because of the war because a large number of households in Syria are now female-headed.

Furthermore, in Syria, marriage is a religious, not a civil institution. Muslim men are not permitted to marry any woman who doesn’t belong to one of the monotheistic religions, and Muslim women aren’t permitted to marry any non-Muslim man. Any child born out of a marriage considered null and void will not be legally recognized.

Child custody is also a contentious issue and has a significant impact on mothers going through a divorce, during which they are often subject to pressure and intimidation, as well as restrictions in their freedom of movement, travel, and employment. Mothers going through a divorce are also deprived of control or guardianship over their children.

[1] For more information about the issues discussed in this description, see Daad Mousa, “Syrian Personal Status Laws,” Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, December 2018, https://library.fes.de/pdf-files/bueros/beirut/14969.pdf; and “Guide to Child’s Rights in Syria,” Norwegian Refugee Council and Syria Trust for Development, July 2023, https://www.nrc.no/globalassets/pdf/guidelines/legal-protection-of-children/syria-child-rights-guide_english.pdf.