Assessment Report I NRC
Civil status refers to an individual’s status as a result of a vital
event. These can include birth, still birth, legitimisation, recognition
of parenthood, adoption, marriage, annulment of marriage, legal
separation, divorce, and death, when that event is officially registered
or recorded with the relevant body.
Civil documentation is any official document issued by civil
registrars or any other authorised body (e.g. courts) that provides
proof of an individual’s civil status as a result of a personal event. Civil
documentation can relate to birth, still birth, legitimisation, recognition
of parenthood, adoption, marriage, annulment of marriage, legal
separation, divorce, and death.
Legal Identity in Syria is referenced in Civil Status Law, which
compels all Syrian citizens to register all life events (referred to as
civil occurrences).47 TLegal identity is the legal civil status obtained
through birth registration and civil identification that recognizes the
individual as a subject of law and protection of the state.48 The concept
of legal identity has been included in Target 16.9 of the Sustainable
Development Goals:“Provide legal identity to all, including birth
registration, by 2030.” 49
In Syria, the Civil Status Department of the Ministry of Interior, and its
civil registry offices, are responsible for registering and providing official
documentation to confirm births, marriages, divorces and deaths, as well
as issuing identity documents such as national ID cards. All Syrians are
required by law to register all civil status events with the Civil Status
Department (commonly referred to as the Civil Registry or the Nofous). 50
There are serious repercussions if civil status events are not officially
registered. The non-registration of one civil status event can have a
significant impact, often leading to the inability to register subsequent
events and claim rights. For example, if a marriage is not registered, this
will have implications for a child born to the couple in that, as a rule, Syrian
nationality is acquired through the father 51 and if the child’s parents are not
officially married, the child cannot acquire Syrian nationality through his/
her father and instead can only gain nationality through being recognised
to be illegitimate, abandoned or without other nationality. 52 If a child’s birth
is not registered and s/he cannot prove Syrian nationality, s/he will not be
entitled to a national ID card.
Syrian nationals are required to apply for an ID card when they reach the
age of 14. 53 National ID cards are very important documents in Syria as
they are legal proof of identity. Syrian nationals are required to carry their
ID cards at all times and be ready to present them to the appropriate
authorities upon request. 54 National ID cards are required for every aspect
and at every stage of life: to sit official school exams; to attend university;
to access private and public services such as banking and health; to work;
and to marry.
47 See Articles 14 and 15 of Civil Status Law Legislative Decree No 26/ 2007.
48 This concise definition is taken from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Civil Registration and Identification Glossary (2010).
https://publications.iadb.org/bitstream/handle/11319/402/Civil%20Registration%20and%20
Identification%20Glossary.pdf
49 Sustainable Development Goals http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainabledevelopment-goals
50 Under Article 5 Civil Status Law (Legislative Decree 26/2007)
51 Article 3(a) Nationality Act (Law 276, 24 November 1969)
52 Articles 3 Nationality Act (Law 276, 24 November 1969)
53 Article 51 Civil Status Law (Legislative Decree 26/2007 amended by Law 4/2017)
54 Article 55 Civil Status Law (Legislative Decree 26/2007 amended by Law 4/2017)
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