Palestinian Basic Law
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The Palestinian Basic Law

A collection of various propsals and amendments to the Basic Law of Palestine.

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Fatah’s parliamentary block meets


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According to Maan, Fatah's parliamentary block met Wednesday to discuss the Yemen initiative. This is tMaan's first report of such meetings this year. Read entire article: http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=28510.   More...

Hamas may agree to early elections


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According Maan News Agency, Hamas-affiliates told the London-based Al-Hayat newspapars that Hamas has yielded to pressure from the Yemeni president to hold early elections if the caretaker cabinet is restructured. Hamas ...   More...

Deposed Hamas cabinet may expand


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According to Maan News Agency, the Hamas-led de facto government of the Gaza Strip is considering to appoint new ministers. Hamas leaders allegedly plan to submit the plan to the ...   More...

Abbas and Haniyeh: Contest for legitimacy


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The latest poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip between 13 and 15 March 2008 shows that ...   More...

Ruling Palestine I: Gaza Under Hamas


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On 19 March 2008, International Crisis Group launched a new raport on Gaza. While the report abstains from making a stance in the debate on the constitutional and legal debates ...   More...

PCHR: Worst PLC performance since establishment


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On Tuesday, 18 March 2008, The Palestinian Center for Human Rights published a report titled “The Palestinian Legislative Council: Performance Evaluation.”  The report focuses on evaluating the PLC’s performance during its first ...   More...

Khashan discusses possible co-operation with the Venice Commission


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Palestinian Justice minister in the caretaker cabinet, Ali Khashan, has participated in the 74th plenary session of the Venice Commission. There, he participated in a discussion on possible co-operation between the ...   More...

PCHR Is Deeply Concerned Over Storming the Headquarters of Ramattan Press Agency by the PSS in Ramallah


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On Wednesday March 13, Ramattan Press Agency in Ramallah was stormed by members of the Palestinian Preventive Security Service (PSS), and a journalist was arrrested. In a press release, the Palestinian ...   More...

The Legislative Plan of the Palestinian National Authority


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While the Palestinian Legislative Council has been conducting sessions in Gaza, it seems that the Palestinian government in Ramallah has established a High National Committee in order to produce ...   More...

Maan News: Chief auditor gives Palestinian institutions poor marks


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The head of the Palestinian Financial and Administrative Oversight Bureau, Mahmoud Abu Ar-Rub told Maan News Agency that PA institutions need major reconstruction. The 2006 annual report revealed a series ...   More...

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Facts about the Basic Law

The Palestinian Basic Law is to function as a temporary constitution for the Palestinian Authority until the establishment of an independent state and a permanent constitution for Palestine can be achieved.

The Basic Law was passed by the Palestinian Legislative Council in 1997 and ratified by President Yasser Arafat in 2002. It has subsequently been amended twice; in 2003 the political system was changed to introduce a prime minister. In 2005 it was amended to conform to the new Election Law. The 2003 reform was comprehensive and affected the whole nature of the Palestinian political system, whereas the 2005 amendment was only minor and affected only a few paragraphs.

A parallel effort has been made to draft a permanent Palestinian constitution for an independent state, but this was shelved in favor of amending the existing Basic Law.


About this site

This website presents a collection of various drafts and amendments related to the Basic Law and other constitutional texts that have been compiled from various other sources.

You can also expect to find links to news items and reports that are of relevance to Palestinian constitutional law, the electoral framework, political reform and the PA branches of government.

The website was created by the Norwegian journalists Erik Bolstad and Tonje M. Viken in February 2008. The site is a private initiative and has no affiliation to any organizations or authorities.

All external links are purely for information purposes and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors of this site.

Information and contact details.