Syrian president violates constitution in swearing-in ceremony: legal expert

DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – Saturday, a Syrian legal expert said that Syrian President Bashar Assad violated the current Syrian constitution in his performance of the oath ceremony.

On Saturday, Bashar Assad was sworn in for a fourth consecutive seven-year term at the People’s Palace in Damascus.

In a post on his Facebook page the expert Ghazwan Kronfol stated that “Assad has bypassed the constitution and the People’s Assembly and summoned a number of artists, businessmen, and officers to his presidential headquarters to swear an oath before them.”

The expert added that this constitutes a constitutional violation of Article 90 of the applicable Syrian constitution, which states that the oath must be in the People’s Assembly.

Article 90 of the 2012 Syrian Constitution stipulates that the President of the Republic shall take the oath contained in Article Seven of the Constitution before the People’s Assembly before assuming his duties.

According to Article 7, the constitutional oath is as follows: “I swear by Almighty God to respect the country’s constitution, laws and republican system, to look after the people’s interests and freedoms, to preserve the nation’s sovereignty, independence and freedom, to defend the integrity of its land, and to work to achieve social justice and the unity of the Arabic nation.”