Constitution of Syria

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Syria
This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Syria

Constitution President Bashar al-Assad Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa Najah al-Attar Prime Minister Muhammad Naji al-Otari Council of Ministers Parliament Speaker of the Parliament Political parties National Progressive Front Baath Party Elections: 2007 pres. 2007 parl. Governorates Districts Human rights Foreign relations Foreign aid
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The Constitution of Syria delineates the basic function of that state's government. Among other things, it determines Syria's character to be Arab, Socialist and republican. Further, in line with the official pan-Arabist ideology, it describes the country as a region of the wider Arab world.

The constitution, which has undergone only minor changes since its adoption in 1973, entrenches the power of the Baath party. Its §8 describes this organization as "the leading party in the society and the state", even if Syria is not, as is often believed, a single-party system in formal terms. Effective power in Syria rests with the President of the Republic (since 2000, Bashar al-Asad, reelected in 2007), who, according to §84 of the constitution, is elected in an uncontested popular referendum on the proposal of the Syrian branch of the Baath Party.