Everyday Legal Problems

SJIP focuses on peoples’ everyday legal problems, with which we refer to any unresolved problem – a dispute, disagreement, grievance, or other individually experienced problem in daily life – which could be resolved in a legal way, that is, through mediation or adjudication by a third party or by reconciliation among parties themselves.

Through research and dialogue, SJIP has identified an overview of Syrian everyday legal problems, which can be ordered into fifteen categories.

Violence against women

Problems with personal documents

Problems with housing, land and property

Harm to children

Lack of access to public services

Employment problems

Crime

Family problems

Problems with welfare and social services

Money disputes

Lack of consumer protection

Disputes between neighbours

Insecurity and lack of protection

Personal injury

Corruption

Violence against women

Gender based violence and discrimination against women.

This category includes the following everyday legal problems:

  • Domestic physical abuse
  • Domestic sexual violence, including rape
  • Sexual exploitation by state/non-state armed actors, including rape
  • Denial of reproductive care
  • Human trafficking
  • Rejected from job for being a woman
  • Restrictions of freedom of women
  • Father does not approve travel of child/ren
  • Problems with inheritance rights
  • Recruitment of women in war
  1. Human Rights Watch, 2014, We are still here
  2. The Day After, 2017, Discrimination against women in Syrian society
  3. Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network, 2015, Detention of women in Syria
  4. International Alert, 2017, Most of the men want to leave
  5. International Rescue Committee, 2015, Adolescent girls assessment
  6. United Nations Population Fund, 2015, Reporting on gender-based violence in the Syria crisis
  7. Human Rights Council, 2018, I lost my dignity
  8. Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, 2016, Violations against women in Syria and the disproportionate impact of the conflict on them

As a female Syrian refugee in a neighbouring country, I commonly face harassment and discrimination, for example in the work place or when dealing with people in power.

Problems with personal documents

Loss and inability to obtain civil status (marital-, birth-, death-, proof of life-certificates, etc), educational documents (enrolment, grade level, diplomas, certificates, etc), and identity documentation (passport, ID card, driving license).

This category includes the following everyday legal problems:

  • Do not have ID or status documents (civil status documents, ID documents or education documents)
  • Confiscation of ID or status documents
  • No recognition of ID or status documents
  • No access to civil registration office
  1. Carnegie, 2018, Unheard voices
  2. Norwegian Refugee Council, 2016, Housing, land and property in the Syrian Arab Republic
  3. Norwegian Refugee Council, 2017, Displacement, housing, land and property and access to civil documentation in the south of the Syrian Arab Republic
  4. Norwegian Refugee Council, 2017, Syrian refugees’ right to legal identity
  5. European Union, 2017, Urban housing and the question of property rights in Syria
  6. Whole of Syria Protection Sector, 2018, Protection needs overview

My marriage can’t be registered because I have no identity papers. That’s why I can’t register my children either. They will be stateless like me. Only my husband can register them, but he left. We don’t have civil documents, so we don’t have a future.

Problems with housing, land and property

Loss of owned or rented land and/or property without due compensation, and restrained ability to prove ownership or tenancy agreement.

This category includes the following everyday legal problems:

  • Damage to land or property
  • Expropriation from land or property
  • Confiscation (by decree) of land or property
  • Loss of ownership documentation
  • Owner is forced to transfer property
  • Lack of compensation for damages/destruction of land or property
  • Non-recognition of title of land/property
  • Landlord raising rent unilaterally
  • Unsuitable renting conditions
  • Termination of rent
  • Eviction from rented land and/or house by landlord
  • Eviction from rented land and/or house by armed actors (state/non-state)
  • Lack of compensation for damaged/destroyed rented land and/or house
  • Loss of tenancy documentation
  • Cannot get tenancy because of sex or origin (discrimination)
  1. Amnesty International, 2015, We had nowhere else to go
  2. Arab Reform Initiative, 2016, Syrians under siege
  3. Carnegie, 2017, Is reconstruction Syria’s next battleground?
  4. Clingendael, 2018, Drivers of urban reconstruction in Syria
  5. Yazigi, 2017, Destruct to reconstruct
  6. International Center for Transitional Justice, 2017, Not without dignity
  7. International Legal Assistance Consortium, 2017, Rule of law assessment report: Syria
  8. Norwegian Refugee Council, 2017, Displacement, housing land and property and access to civil documentation in the south of the Syrian Arab Republic
  9. Norwegian Refugee Council, 2017, Reflections on future challenges to housing, land and property restitution for Syrian refugees
  10. Norwegian Refugee Council, 2017, HLP issues in informal settlements and collective centres in Northern Syria
  11. European Union, 2017, Urban housing and the question of property rights in Syria
  12. Whole of Syria Protection Sector, 2018, Protection needs overview

At this stage, I can no longer get insurance against damages to my house or other property, as insurance policies state specifically that damages sustained during the crisis are not covered. I will not be able to rebuild my apartment.

Harm to children

Abuse, neglect, exploitation, and other harm to children.

This category includes the following everyday legal problems:

  • Child conscription
  • Child sexual abuse and exploitation
  • Child labour
  • Violence against children
  • Father is unknown or father refuses to recognize child
  • Child marriage
  • Unregistered / stateless child
  1. International Center for Transitional Justice, 2017, Not without dignity
  2. Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion, 2016, Understanding statelessness in the Syria refugee context
  3. Save the Children, 2016, Childhood under siege
  4. Save the Children, 2017, Invisible wounds
  5. Syrian Network for Human Rights, 2017, Children of Syria, the glaring letdown
  6. United Nations High Commission for Refugees, 2017, Child labour within the Syrian refugee response
  7. United Nations High Commission for Refugees, 2017, We keep it in our hearts
  8. United Nations Children’s Fund, 2017, Facts and figures
  9. United Nations Children’s Fund, 2017, Hitting rock bottom

I am 15 years old. My brother married me off to a man twenty-years older than me, because he couldn’t afford to take care of me after we lost our parents.

Lack of access to public services

Lack of adequate access to public services (hospitals, clinics, schools, etc) and utilities (water, electricity, gas, roads).

This category includes the following everyday legal problems:

  • Denied access to healthcare
  • Denied access to education
  • Denied access to public transport
  • Denied access to infrastructure (roads, bridges etc.)
  • Lack or low quality of water, electricity, gas and similar services
  1. Amnesty International, 2017, We leave or we die
  2. Citizenship Movement, 2015, A study about the current situation in Syria
  3. Whole of Syria, 2018, Humanitarian needs overview
  4. Pax, 2017, Siege Watch No.7
  5. United Nations Economic and Social Commission for West Asia, 2016, Syria at war
  6. World Bank, 2017, Syria damage assessment
  7. World Bank, 2017, The toll of war
People are living without some of the most basic of life’s necessities.

Employment problems

Deterioration of employment conditions, resulting in insecure and exploitative work environments.

This category includes the following everyday legal problems:

  • Unfairly dismissed from work
  • Irregular work (absence of valid contract)
  • Unpaid wages
  • Dangerous working conditions
  • Excessive work hours
  • Workplace discrimination
  1. Bayram, 2017, Entrepreneurship in Conflict Zones
  2. International Institute for Environment and Development, 2017, Fitting aid to context
  3. International Money Fund, 2016, Syria’s Conflict Economy
  4. Mercy Corps, 2018, The Wages of War

We actually have strong labour laws, protecting workers. The problem is that workers often have no contract and do not enjoy these protections.

Crime

Theft, violence, and other unlawful claims on, or threats to life and property.

This category includes the following everyday legal problems:

  • Theft
  • Insult
  • Libel
  • Fraud
  • Robbery and burglary
  • Harassment
  • Assault and battery
  • Kidnapping
  • Murder
  1. Norwegian Peacebuilding Resource Centre, 2015, A violent compound
  2. Norwegian Peacebuilding Resource Centre, 2015, The balance-sheet of conflict
  3. Steenkamp, 2017, The crime-conflict nexus and the civil war in Syria
  4. European Council on Foureign Relations, 2014, Syria’s war economy

The neighbours gathered in front of the forced door. Kids were pleading to leave their teacher alone. But their pleas made no difference. Their teacher was kidnapped, taken out of the house blindfolded. His mother is still waiting for his return.

Family problems

Separation of families and personal status disputes.

This category includes the following everyday legal problems:

  • Forced disappearance of family members
  • Family member abandons the family
  • Separation of family
  • Disputes over legal guardianship of minors
  • Denial of child visitation rights
  • Divorce
  • Inheritance and wills
  • Child maintenance or spouse support (alimony)
  1. International Alert, 2017, Most of the men want to leave
  2. Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion, 2016, Understanding statelessness in the Syria refugee context
  3. Save the Children, 2017, Invisible wounds
  4. Whole of Syria Protection Sector, 2017, Protection needs overview

My mother and father broke up and fled the country. My father took me, and my mother took my sister. I miss them both, but we can’t travel to see each other.

Problems with welfare and social services

Inhibited access to welfare benefits (disability, poverty, child support) and social welfare.

This category includes the following everyday legal problems:

  • Problems with pensions
  • Problems with welfare benefits (i.e. disability, poverty, children related benefits)
  1. Whole of Syria, 2017, Humanitarian needs overview
  2. Norwegian Refugee Council, 2017, Displacement, housing land and property and access to civil documentation in the south of the Syrian Arab Republic
  3. Chatham House, 2016, Salvaging Syria’s economy
  4. Syrian Center for Policy Research, 2017, The conflict impact on social capital
  5. World Bank, 2017, The toll of war

I lost an eye by a sniper shot. After several painful surgeries and several months at the hospital, I got divorced because my husband couldn’t take a wife with one eye. I was left alone with no support.

Money disputes

Tax and loan disputes, and inhibited access to credit.

This category includes the following everyday legal problems:

  • Dispute over debt
  • Tax dispute
  • Dispute with bank over mortgage or a loan
  1. European University Institute, 2019, Syria’s manufacturing sector
  2. Bayram, 2017, Entrepreneurship in conflict zones
  3. International Institute for Environment and Development, 2017, Fitting aid to context
  4. Mercy Corps, 2018, Wages of war
  5. Chatham House, 2016, Salvaging Syria’s economy
  6. European Union, 2017, Urban housing and the question of property rights in Syria

As a farmer in the private sector, I am at a disadvantage because the procedures to get an agricultural loan are very complicated and time consuming.

Lack of consumer protection

Sustaining harm or risk of harm by sales of dangerous and defective goods.

This category includes the following everyday legal problems:

  • Defective goods and services
  1. International Institute for Environment and Development, 2017, Fitting aid to context
  2. Mercy Corps, 2015, Al-Hasakeh, Syria, Agricultural assessment
  3. Mercy Corps, 2018, Wages of war
  4. National Agenda for the Future of Syria, 2017, The strategic policy alternatives framework

You can’t really trust that the food at the local shop is safe because the owner bribes the consumer protection agency to stay away from his business.

Disputes between neighbours

Local disputes over housing, land, property, or other neighbourhood tensions. 

This category includes the following everyday legal problems:

  • Regular and excessive noise
  • Neighbour violence
  1. International Center for Transitional Justice, 2017, Not without dignity
  2. Norwegian Refugee Council, 2015, No place to call home
  3. Syrian Center for Policy Research, 2017, The conflict impact on social capital

Some people accused me of being part of a parking dispute in my neighbourhood, which I had no part in whatsoever. They extorted money from me by violently threatening with arrest and harm, pretending that they had connections with authorities.

Insecurity and lack of protection

Non-combatants subjected to threats and violations by authorities, parties, and groups.

This category includes the following everyday legal problems:

  • Unable to move around freely
  • Harassed and/or violently abused
  • Extorted
  • Arbitrarily detained
  • Ill-treated in detention
  • Tortured in detention
  • Forcibly conscripted
  1. Amnesty International, 2017, We leave or we die
  2. Amnesty International, 2016, It breaks the human
  3. Dawlaty, 2016, Transitional justice from the perspective of Syrian youth
  4. Human Rights Watch, 2017, World report: Syria
  5. Human Rights Watch, 2018, World report: Syria
  6. International Legal Assistance Consortium, 2017, Rule of law assessment report: Syria
  7. International Alert, 2016, Why young Syrians choose to fight
  8. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, 2017, Summary of the high-level panel discussion
  9. Syria Network for Human Rights, 2017, Where are they?

I was harassed inside a police station, where I was supposed to be protected. I was able to get out, thanks to having a well-connected relative.

Personal injury

Personal injury sustained by the actions of third parties. 

This category includes the following everyday legal problems:

  • Medical malpractice
  • Traffic accidents
  • Injury from warfare
  • Work related injury
  • Personal injury caused by badly maintained roads, bridges, public buildings etc.
  1. Association for Aid and Japan, 2017, Vulnerability multiplied in Syria
  2. Handicap International, 2014, Causes and types of injuries encountered by Handicap International while working with Internally Displaced Persons in Syria
  3. Handicap International, 2016, Syria: a mutilated future
  4. United Nations, 2019, Humanitarian needs overview
  5. World Health Organisation, 2018, Annual report Syria
  6. World Bank, 2017, The economic and social consequences of the conflict in Syria

I bumped my car into a pedestrian crossing the road. No one was hurt, fortunately. But when I offered to help the pedestrian, she declined because she was from a poor rural community and expected that I would blame and perhaps even blackmail her.

Corruption

Abuse of entrusted powers and lack of fair access to justice system, state and non-state public authorities, procedures, and resources.

This category includes the following everyday legal problems:

  • Asked to pay bribes
  • Abuse of power (nepotism and impunity)
  1. Carnegie, 2017, Local war and the chance for decentralized peace in Syria
  2. Freedom House, 2016, Freedom in the world 2016: Syria
  3. International Legal Assistance Consortium, 2017, Rule of law assessment report: Syria
  4. Norwegian Peacebuilding Resource Centre, 2015, The balance-sheet of conflict
  5. United States Department of State, 2016, Syria human rights report

I had to renew my driver’s license, but I could neither do the paperwork myself nor provide all required supporting documents during the crisis, so I had to pay an unreasonable amount to an unofficial middleman to renew my license.

Research methodology

The SJIP research team identified the legal problems through a combination of different knowledge gathering methods. Extensive desk research, interviews, and focus groups with relevant experts and practitioners, combined with feedback from the SJIP Stakeholder Team, resulted in the overview and categorisation of legal problems above.