The Constitution of the Syrian Arab Republic was issued in 1973 (♥). The legislative authority is Parliament; the executive authority comprises the President, Cabinet, local councils and local administration. The Ministry of Culture, in particular the Copyright Office, is responsible for proposing amendments on copyright legislation regarding Syrian cultural life. The Copyright Office presents the amendments to Parliament, where they are discussed and examined, and the appropriate measures to be taken are decided. Several laws protect the copyright of authors (literary writers and artists): Decree No 2385 (1924), articles 708 and 709 of the Syrian Penal Code and the Law on the Intellectual Property in Syria (2008). Authors’ rights are protected for 50 years after their death; for performing artists this is 50 years from the date of the first public performance.
The Ministry of Culture also plays a role in terms of approving the establishment of cultural associations, even though they are the administrative responsibility of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour. Granting a license for establishing a cultural society requires a number of approvals, including that of the Minister of Culture.
The Syrian Antiquities Law is originally from October 26 1963 and was promulgated by Legislative Decree No. 222 of 1963. Today it entails several amendments, the last one from 1999. For the lawand its latest amendments see at (AR)… or see at (EN)….
[♥] From: Syria by Reem Al Khatib and Rana Yazaji published in ‘Cultural Policies in Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Syria and Tunisia. An introduction’, Cultural Resource/European Cultural Foundation, Bookmanstudies, 2010, 186-187.
On December 12 2013 DGAM announced that a new draft law is completed on the protection of archaeological heritage, for more information click here.
