Syrian Constitution of 1973

The 1973 Constitution of the Syrian Arab Republic was adopted on 13 March 1973 and was in use until 27 February 2012. It describes Syria's character to be Arab, democratic, socialist and republican. Further, in line with pan-Arab ideology, it positions the country as a region of the wider Arab world and its people as an integral part of the Arab nation. The constitution entrenched the power of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, and its 8th Article described the party as "the leading party in the society and the state", effectively ruling Syria as a one-party socialist state under emergency laws.