Reclaiming Syria: Law, Land, and the Politics of Restitution after Conflict
This article analyzes property restitution in post-conflict Syria and traces patterns of dispossession to six decades of state-directed manipulation of land law by the Assad governments. Agrarian reforms, demographic engineering, urban redevelopment, and counterterrorism legislation enabled the systematic use of property as a tool of political control and population displacement. Structural barriers including security sector control over transactions, destruction of records, and legal fragmentation limit the viability of conventional restitution models. Drawing on international standards and comparative experience from Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, Cyprus, and Burundi, the article proposes an independent hybrid Restitution Commission grounded in flexible evidentiary rules and mass claims procedures.
Eric Leikin is a partner in Freshfields' Vienna office and a member of the dispute resolution practice. His work centers on international arbitration across commercial, post M&A, and investor-State matters, alongside experience in aviation, energy, finance, and technology. He holds a JD from the George Washington University Law School, an MA from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, and a BA from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He is admitted in New York and Washington D.C.
Katherine Khan is a principal associate in Freshfields' Vienna office and a member of the dispute resolution practice. Her work focuses on international arbitration across commercial and investment cases, where she serves as counsel or co-counsel under a range of arbitral rules in the financial, corporate, commercial, construction, and energy sectors. She holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Miami School of Law and a BS from Florida State University.
Dr. Paul R. Williams holds the Rebecca I. Grazier Professorship in Law and International Relations at American University, where he teaches in the School of International Service and at the Washington College of Law. Dr. Williams is also the Co-Founder of the Public International Law & Policy Group (PILPG). He received his J.D. from Stanford Law School and his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge.
Heba Bawaieh is the Director of Policy and Innovation at the Public International Law and Policy Group (PILPG), where she focuses on post-conflict governance, transitional justice, human rights, and technology. She holds an MA from the University of Vienna.