Justice Minister at St. Petersburg International Legal Forum: Syria committed to rules and humanitarian principles of international law

Moscow- Syria took part the open meeting of the Ministers of Justice participating in the 11th St. Petersburg International Legal Forum, titled “International Cooperation of Ministries of Justice…Formulas and New Perspectives”. the Syrian Justice Minister, Judge Ahmad al-Sayyed, represented Syria in the event which was held on Friday under the chairmanship of Russian Minister of Justice Konstantin Chuychenko.

The Ministers of Justice of China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Indonesia, Myanmar, Mali, Central African Republic, Chad, Angola, Namibia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Abkhazia and South Ossetia also participated in the forum.

“Although the powers of the Ministries of Justice differ from a country to another, we are united by a common goal which is to guarantee the rule of law and the unity of the legal space of our countries”, Chuychenko said in his opening speech.

For his part, Al-Sayyed said “we, in Syria, have been committed to applying the law in accordance with international standards, and despite everything that is happening in this world, we are committed to the rules and humanitarian principles of the international law”, noting in this regard that Syria has issued a decree granting a general amnesty for terrorist crimes committed by the Syrians, and excluded the foreign terrorists with the aim of not exporting terrorism to other countries.

“We, in Syria have been exposed to terrorism and we will never allow exporting it to other countries, because we believe in the goals of the international law and all the laws that call for maintaining peace,” he clarified.

He pointed out that Syria is trying to introduce the best standards into its judicial institutions, as all Public Prosecution institutions in Syria monitor the application of the law in accordance with the rules, stressing that Syria is cooperating with all countries that seek concluding judicial or legal agreements with it.

Participants in the forum talked about building an independent economy in the light of the unfair Western sanctions, about the legal organization of the online media, about the space economy in the context of sustainable development as well as legal support for national security in light of current threats.

Hamda Mustafa