Debt collection in Syria

Debt collection in Syria begins with a combined legal and practical assessment of the debtor, the documents proving the debt, the debtor’s commercial activity, available assets, existing court cases, enforcement proceedings and the likelihood that the claim will be disputed. In Syrian debt cases, the initial review should also cover whether the debtor is still operating, whether its assets are located in Syria, whether payments may be affected by banking or sanctions-related restrictions, and whether the creditor can rely on contracts, invoices, delivery documents, correspondence, acknowledgments of debt or a foreign judgment.

If the debtor continues to trade, has identifiable assets and there are no active proceedings or unsatisfied judgments that make negotiations ineffective, the case can begin with an out-of-court recovery stage. This approach is most useful when the debtor’s decision-makers can be reached, the debt is supported by clear documents and there is a realistic prospect of voluntary payment, restructuring, return of goods or another commercial settlement.

The out-of-court stage is based on negotiations with the debtor aimed at payment of the creditor’s claim or another acceptable settlement option, such as return of goods, assignment of the debt to a third party, set-off, replacement performance, restructuring of payment terms or a documented repayment schedule.

Communication with the debtor usually begins after sending a written demand or notice by an appropriate channel, including mail, email, telephone or business messaging tools. At this stage, it is important to record the debtor’s position: acknowledgment of the debt, request for additional time, partial payment, objections to the amount claimed, reference to force majeure, lack of liquidity or a proposal to settle the debt through goods, services or another commercial arrangement. These materials may later support the creditor’s position in court if voluntary payment is not achieved.

In practice, out-of-court debt collection in Syria is often limited to a period of up to 60 days, unless the parties agree on a payment plan or another longer settlement mechanism. If the debtor avoids communication, disputes the debt without sufficient documents, has no realistic payment proposal or the initial assessment shows a risk of asset dissipation, the creditor should move to judicial debt collection and consider whether interim protection of assets is necessary.

Before initiating judicial collection, the creditor should assess the limitation period for debt collection in Syria. For claims based on the Syrian Civil Code, the general limitation period is generally 15 years. For commercial matters falling under the Syrian Commercial Code, the limitation period is generally 10 years unless a shorter period applies. A 5-year limitation period may apply to periodically renewable rights, including rent, interest, recurring income and wages. The consequences of the expiry of the limitation period are applied by the court of first instance and on appeal when the debtor relies on this defence.

The limitation period may be interrupted if the debtor directly or indirectly acknowledges the creditor’s right. After interruption, the limitation period starts to run again. For this reason, written acknowledgments, partial payments, settlement proposals, correspondence confirming the debt and other debtor statements should be preserved as part of the evidence file.

Syrian law provides for judicial debt collection in Syria through ordinary court proceedings. Before filing a claim, the creditor should determine the competent court, the amount and legal basis of the debt, the documents proving the claim, the debtor’s address for notification and the assets that may later be used for enforcement. Where there is a risk that the debtor may dispose of movable or immovable assets before judgment, the creditor may consider a provisional attachment strategy. Under Syrian civil procedure, a provisional attachment may be requested before or during the main proceedings, and a formal lawsuit must follow the attachment order within the required procedural time when the attachment is granted before the main claim.

Ordinary court proceedings are carried out by filing a statement of claim with the competent court together with copies of the supporting documents. After payment of the applicable court fee, the claim is registered in the court records, and a copy of the claim with its attachments is transferred for service on the defendant. For an international creditor, the evidence package should normally include the contract, invoices, delivery documents, account statements, correspondence, acknowledgment of debt, proof of partial payments, powers of attorney and certified translations where documents are not in Arabic.

The defendant must submit a written response to the claim within eight days from the date of notification of the filed claim. The response should be accompanied by the documents relied on by the defendant and copies of those documents. If the debtor disputes the claim, the creditor’s strategy should focus on written evidence, proof of delivery or performance, calculation of the debt, interest and damages, and any debtor correspondence confirming the obligation.

If the defendant’s response is received, a copy is served on the plaintiff or the plaintiff’s representative. Three days after service of the defendant’s response, or on the day following expiry of the response period, the case is transferred to the chairman of the court to set a hearing for an interim or final decision.

The chairman of the court may postpone setting the hearing and allow the plaintiff to respond to the defendant’s arguments when the plaintiff requests this procedural opportunity.

In simple cases, the judge may set a hearing date immediately after the filing of the claim without a prior exchange of written submissions. A case is treated as simple when the chairman of the court decides at the time of filing that the exchange of documents is not required. In such cases, the defendant or the defendant’s representative must present objections and evidence at the first hearing when the parties are present.

The period for appearing in court to participate in the hearing is at least three days. In simple cases, the period for appearance is twenty-four hours, and in cases of extreme necessity it may be reduced to one hour if the notice is handed personally to the other party.

Under Article 105 of Law No. 1 of 2016, parties who are not lawyers must generally appear before the court through lawyers acting under a power of attorney. One of the statutory exceptions applies to personal rights claims seeking a monetary amount not exceeding 100,000 Syrian pounds. Therefore, where a debt claim exceeds this threshold or does not fall within an applicable exception, mandatory legal representation should be taken into account at the court stage. If a party refuses to appoint a lawyer in a case where representation is required, the procedural consequences may affect the hearing of the case at first instance and the admissibility of an appeal by that party.

If the defendant is absent from the hearing, the case may proceed in absentia. If the defendant fails to file a response or does not appear at the hearing, the court may take that conduct into account when assessing the evidence and may admit oral testimony or circumstantial evidence where the law permits proof without written evidence.

If the parties appear at the hearing, the court hears their arguments, objections and evidence. The creditor should be ready to present the legal basis of the debt, the amount claimed, interest or damages, the debtor’s default and the documents proving performance by the creditor. The court may issue a judgment after the debate or postpone the decision to a later hearing.

The decision of the court of first instance may be appealed to the appellate court within 15 days from the date of notification of the decision. For decisions in simple or urgent cases, the appeal period may be 5 days. The decision of the appellate court may be challenged before the Syrian Court of Cassation within 30 days from the date of notification of the decision. A cassation challenge may suspend the contested decision in the cases and to the extent provided by the applicable procedural rules. The decision of the Court of Cassation is final and cannot be further appealed through an ordinary route.

For an international creditor, a separate issue is recognition and enforcement of foreign court judgments in Syria. If the creditor already has a final foreign judgment, enforcement in Syria may be sought before the Court of First Instance when the foreign court had jurisdiction, the judgment was issued according to the law of the country of origin, the parties were afforded their legal rights, the judgment does not conflict with a Syrian judgment, the judgment does not violate Syrian public policy, and the judgment is final, conclusive and enforceable in the country of origin. Reciprocity, treaty rules and the practical enforceability of the debtor’s assets in Syria should be assessed before choosing this route.

After the court decision becomes final and enforceable, the creditor must initiate enforcement proceedings. A judgment rendered in a civil case is generally linked to a 15-year enforcement period, while another practical enforcement reference for a judgment creditor is a 10-year period; for this reason, enforcement should be started without delay once the judgment can be acted upon. In the enforcement stage, the creditor’s claim may be satisfied through measures directed at the debtor’s bank funds, movable and immovable property, securities, receivables and other attachable assets. In a Syrian debt case, the practical value of enforcement depends on whether the debtor has identifiable assets, whether those assets are legally attachable and whether payment channels can be used without breaching applicable sanctions or banking compliance rules.

An alternative option for collecting a debt from a company or a trader is the debtor’s bankruptcy procedure under the Syrian Commercial Code. Law No. 33 of 2007 on Trade regulates commercial matters, including bankruptcy-related rules. In a debt recovery case, bankruptcy may be relevant where the debtor is a trader or commercial company, has stopped paying due commercial debts and ordinary enforcement against individual assets is unlikely to satisfy creditors in full.

If the debtor’s assets are insufficient to satisfy creditors, bankruptcy-related recovery may include challenging transactions that reduced the debtor’s estate or harmed creditors. The following actions are null and void if they were committed by the debtor after the date of cessation of payments, or within twenty days preceding that date: actions and concessions causing damage to creditors, except minor gifts; repayment of debts before maturity, regardless of the form of repayment; repayment of monetary debts by means other than money; and the creation of security over the debtor’s property for a previously existing debt.

Claims for invalidation of the above actions may be filed within eighteen months from the date of opening of the bankruptcy procedure. If such transactions are cancelled, the assets or value transferred out of the debtor’s estate may be restored, increasing the liquidation estate available to satisfy creditor claims and cover the costs of the bankruptcy procedure. This makes bankruptcy in Syria not only a liquidation route, but also a possible recovery tool where the debtor transferred assets, preferred certain creditors or created security shortly before the declaration of bankruptcy.

In cross-border recovery, the creditor should also assess sanctions, bank compliance and payment channels. Although major EU economic sanctions on Syria were lifted in 2025 and the U.S. Syria sanctions program was revoked effective 1 July 2025, targeted restrictions remain for certain individuals, entities and security-related grounds. A creditor dealing with a Syrian debtor should screen the debtor, shareholders, banks, intermediaries and payment route before accepting payment, enforcing against assets or structuring a settlement.

If you need support with international debt collection in Syria, Grandliga can assist at each stage of the recovery process: analysis of the debtor and evidence, preparation of a demand strategy, negotiations, assessment of limitation periods, court proceedings, provisional attachment, recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments, enforcement against assets, bankruptcy-related recovery and sanctions-sensitive payment planning. The appropriate route depends on the debtor’s status, documents, assets, place of enforcement and practical payment options, so the case should be assessed before choosing between settlement, litigation, enforcement or bankruptcy measures.

25.10.2024

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