Syria's new leader Ahmad Al Shara has appointed a seven-member team to draft constitutional principles for a political system to replace the former regime.
A decree issued late on Sunday by Mr Al Shara tasks them with drafting a "constitutional declaration" to provide a framework for a transitional phase, without saying how long that period would be. "The committee will draft a constitutional declaration that regulates the transitional period in Syria," the decree said.
Syria's new administration, which is dominated by Mr Al Shara's Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS) group, has come under Western pressure to commit to a degree of pluralism. The group is also facing opposition in areas inhabited by Kurdish, Druze and other minorities afraid of the possible imposition of Islamic rule.
Mr Al Shara had been expected to form a new government, but the constitutional committee means that a replacement administration may have been postponed, observers said. The current cabinet is composed entirely of loyalists to HTS, which was formerly linked with Al Qaeda. HTS led an 11-day offensive that resulted in the dictator Bashar Al Assad's removal on December 8.
Radeef Mustafa, a prominent human rights lawyer, said he expected the transitional phase to take two years. "Until now the new authority has been giving balanced signals, to transform Syria and take it to safe shores," he said. "It is important to have national principles, and preserve the freedom and openness."
Official pictures broadcast by state media showed Mr Al Shara meeting members of the committee, which is comprised of five men and two women. Among them are the deans of law schools in Aleppo and Damascus universities, along with another legal specialist who teaches in Turkey. The women are Bahia Mardini, a journalist and academic who lives in exile in Britain, and Reyaan Kheylan, a lecturer at Damascus University.
Justice Minister Shadi Al Waisi, one of the most hardline members of the new order, also sat in on the committee meeting. Mr Al Shara has said that imposing tenets of Islam should be left to experts and that "shura", a form of collective decision-making in Islam, should be adhered to. He has not committed to democracy and has cautioned against importing systems of government from abroad.
Ahmad Aba Zeid, an independent Syrian researcher, said the appointment of the new committee by decree shows there "remains no participation in political decision-making beyond the ruling elite".
"The authorities are afraid of [creating] multiple power centres in the country," Mr Aba Zeid said. Including more voices in the new order is the best way to avoid any break-up of Syria, he added.
The new administration has been grappling with how to extend its control over the whole country. Russia still maintains a coastal base near the Alawite Mountains, a region that formed the core support base for the former regime.
The US, which backs a Kurdish militia in the east, also has bases in the country. Israel has expanded a buffer zone in the Golan Heights, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last month said HTS forces must not deploy in Suweida, a governorate mostly inhabited by the Druze.
Last week, a Syrian national dialogue meeting backed by Mr Al Shara called for armed groups to surrender their weapons, saying those who refused would be "considered outlaws". Over the weekend, three people were killed in clashes in Damascus involving members of the Druze sect and HTS. The violence prompted Israel to renew its verbal commitment to defend Syria's Druze community, a religious minority also present in Israel, Lebanon and Jordan.
