Syria

The Syria Justice Innovation Process

Launched in 2018, the Syria Justice Innovation Process is a locally driven initiative that brings together Syrian justice leaders to co-create solutions to everyday legal problems. At the heart of SJIP is the Stakeholder Team, a group of 30 respected Syrians, judges, lawyers, civil society actors, entrepreneurs, and academics, who represent diverse backgrounds and perspectives. 

Meeting regularly in safe spaces, the team analyses justice data and sets Justice Innovation Goals, which include:

• Reducing violence against women
• Safe and effective access to personal documents.
• Housing, land and property rights.
• Access to protection, education and health services for children.
• Access to public services.
• Protection against violence

HiiL acts as a neutral convener, providing facilitation, research, and innovation expertise while ensuring ownership stays with Syrians.

How SJIP works

The SJIP approach follows a clear, iterative cycle that combines data, dialogue, and innovation. It begins with a Justice Needs Assessment, gathering evidence on the most pressing legal problems Syrians face in their daily lives. These findings are then validated and prioritised during Stakeholder Dialogues, where diverse justice actors set shared Justice Innovation Goals.

From here, SJIP launches Justice Innovation Labs, structured design workshops where Syrian innovators and justice practitioners work together to develop new practical solutions from the ground up. The labs use user-centred design to ensure new services directly address people’s needs. At the same time, SJIP strengthens and improves existing solutions, helping them adapt, grow, and scale to reach more people with greater impact.

Promising initiatives receive targeted support through mentorship, partnerships, and funding. This enables innovators to test, refine, and expand their services. Throughout the cycle, progress is closely monitored, ensuring that innovations remain evidence-based, scalable, and responsive to the realities Syrians face.

This structured process makes justice reform tangible and practical. It ensures that solutions are not imposed from the outside, but built locally, step by step, by Syrians themselves.

Justice Innovation in Action

SJIP has already demonstrated that innovation can deliver meaningful results, even in fragile and divided contexts. Since 2018, the programme has:

• Supported 17 justice innovations reaching more than 200,000 Syrians.
• Built a resilient network of justice leaders, with two-thirds of original stakeholders still actively engaged.
• Expanded scope in 2024, including new focus on legal issues around the right to work, particularly for SMEs and vulnerable groups such as women.

Examples of supported innovations include:

• Yasmina Bot – An Arabic chatbot launched in 2021 that supports women facing violence by providing adaptive legal advice, ensuring anonymity, and connecting survivors of domestic abuse and rights violations to specialized in-person support
• Syrgo – an innovative digital platform that helps Syrians securely reclaim, document, and protect their property and housing rights, reducing disputes and providing legal certainty for return and reconstruction.
• Al Hakawati: A digital storytelling initiative that empowers women and highlights their role in society through online episodes performed by the traditional “Hakawati” character, using simple language adapted to the audience and reaching over 85,000 viewers.

The latest innovations we support are:

• Waseet platform: An AI-powered digital tool that helps resolve labor disputes in the private sector by giving workers and employers quick access to legal information, instant consultations, and online mediation pathways.
• Mobile legal clinics (Free Syrian Lawyers Association): A mobile service that empowers women entrepreneurs in Syria by boosting legal awareness and providing specialized consultations through traveling clinics and interactive workshops.
• The Community Mediation Initiative: A community-based mechanism in Sweida that resolves workplace disputes in SMEs swiftly and fairly through non-bureaucratic mediation with special attention to women and vulnerable groups.
• Haki Bi Idi – حقي بإيدي: A digital channel for women in Syria’s informal sector that offers simple rights-based information, personalized consultations, and referral to AI-assisted or in-person legal support while ensuring privacy and accessibility.

These initiatives are data-driven and iteratively tested, ensuring they respond to real needs. They also strengthen local organisations, building capacity and creating reliable alternatives until formal institutions are rebuilt.

Why SJIP works

SJIP draws its strength from deep Syrian roots. Two-thirds of the original stakeholders remain engaged, ensuring continuity and genuine local ownership. This legitimacy fosters trust, stability, and social cohesion.

By combining rigorous data with practical innovation, SJIP develops solutions that work on the ground, reduce barriers for businesses, and improve dispute resolution, key conditions for economic recovery.

Finally, SJIP partners with local organisations, building capacity and creating reliable alternatives until formal institutions are rebuilt. This strengthens Syria’s justice ecosystem from within and lays the groundwork for long-term growth.