Syrian Arab Republic
Practice Relating to Rule 100. Fair Trial Guarantees
Section E. Necessary rights and means of defence
The Syrian Arab Republic’s Military Penal Code (1950) states: “Each defendant referred to military courts for a criminal offence shall have the right to be represented by a counsel.”
In 2004, in its third periodic report to the Human Rights Committee, the Syrian Arab Republic stated:
Observance by military courts of guarantees provided in the Covenant:
…
(b) The right to defence before military courts is established by the law. A defendant or an accused person before military justice enjoys the same rights and guarantees enjoyed by their civilian counterparts. A defendant or an accused person has the right to choose a lawyer to defend him before the military magistrate, the single-judge military court or other military courts, and if he does not choose a lawyer the president of the court shall appoint a lawyer. In all cases a defendant has the right not to answer questions by a military magistrate except in the presence of a lawyer (articles 70 and 72–75 of the Military Penal and Criminal Procedure Code.