Syrian National Court of Appeal

The Syrian National Court of Appeal (Arabic: محكمة الاستئناف الوطنية السورية maḥkamat al-isti’ināf al-waṭanīyah as-sūrīyah) is the main appellate court for the Syrian Arab Republic, a republic of the Arab Union, second only to the Supreme Court of Syria, which only hears special cases already appealed in the National Court of Appeal which affect the republic as a whole. It is led by the Deputy Chief Justice of Syria, who is directly appointed by the Chief Justice of Syria.

In the republic, the district-level trial court acts as the court of first instance for all criminal cases, with municipal courts handling only civil and/or religious matters. District courts' decisions may be appealed to the respective governorate-level trial court, which also act as courts of first instance for more serious criminal cases such as homicide, kidnapping and fraud. Governorate-level trial courts may have their rulings appealed in the National Court of Appeal, which the vast majority of the time makes the final decision regarding the case. In special instances, especially criminal cases affecting national security, National Court of Appeal rulings can be appealed to the Supreme Court of Syria, the highest court in the republic. Only if the Supreme Court of Syria's ruling somehow jeopardises the integrity of the Arab Union's federal structure can such rulings be appealed further to the Supreme Court of the Arab Union, which usually exclusively hears criminal cases affecting two or more republics or the union as a whole.