Palestinian Basic Law
About the site
& contact info

The Palestinian Basic Law

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

News & updates

British MPs meet Gaza parliamentarians


Deprecated: Function the_content_rss is deprecated since version 2.9.0! Use the_content_feed() instead. in /home/3/p/palestinianbasic/www/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6078

Warning: Undefined variable $excerpt in /home/3/p/palestinianbasic/www/wp-includes/deprecated.php on line 1714
In a meeting with British Members of Parliament, acting speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Ahmad Bahar, (PLC) called on Europe to support the Palestinian people and work to end ...   More...

HRW: Report highlights abuse on both sides


Deprecated: Function the_content_rss is deprecated since version 2.9.0! Use the_content_feed() instead. in /home/3/p/palestinianbasic/www/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6078

Warning: Undefined variable $excerpt in /home/3/p/palestinianbasic/www/wp-includes/deprecated.php on line 1714
A new report by the New York based human rights group Human Rights Watch points to abuse by both Fatah and Hamas. The report titled "Internal Fight: Palestinian Abuses in Gaza ...   More...

Hamas PLC member asks de facto cabinet to stop “illegal actions”


Deprecated: Function the_content_rss is deprecated since version 2.9.0! Use the_content_feed() instead. in /home/3/p/palestinianbasic/www/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6078

Warning: Undefined variable $excerpt in /home/3/p/palestinianbasic/www/wp-includes/deprecated.php on line 1714
The Palestinian Human Rights organization Al-Haq has released a report on arbitrary detention and torture in Palestinian prisons. According to the report, there has been a dramatic increase in the ...   More...

Amnesty calls for respect for Basic Law


Deprecated: Function the_content_rss is deprecated since version 2.9.0! Use the_content_feed() instead. in /home/3/p/palestinianbasic/www/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6078

Warning: Undefined variable $excerpt in /home/3/p/palestinianbasic/www/wp-includes/deprecated.php on line 1714
In letters to President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Amnesty International criticizes both sides of failing to observe legal safeguards contained in the Palestinian ...   More...

PCHR condemns mass arrests


Deprecated: Function the_content_rss is deprecated since version 2.9.0! Use the_content_feed() instead. in /home/3/p/palestinianbasic/www/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6078

Warning: Undefined variable $excerpt in /home/3/p/palestinianbasic/www/wp-includes/deprecated.php on line 1714
The PCHR condemns mass arrests by Hamas supporters in the West Bank and Fatah supporters in Gaza respectively. In a press release Sunday, the PCHR expresses concern "that these arrests ...   More...

PLC condemns attack


Deprecated: Function the_content_rss is deprecated since version 2.9.0! Use the_content_feed() instead. in /home/3/p/palestinianbasic/www/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6078

Warning: Undefined variable $excerpt in /home/3/p/palestinianbasic/www/wp-includes/deprecated.php on line 1714
Interior Minister in the de facto Gaza government Sa'id Siyam has called for the issuing of new laws that will protect civilians from such incidents such as the bombing near ...   More...

De facto gvt spokesman: Rabu deepens divisions


Deprecated: Function the_content_rss is deprecated since version 2.9.0! Use the_content_feed() instead. in /home/3/p/palestinianbasic/www/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6078

Warning: Undefined variable $excerpt in /home/3/p/palestinianbasic/www/wp-includes/deprecated.php on line 1714
Secretary general of the PLO Executive Committee, Yasser Abd Rabu, has called for the arrest of Said Siyam, interior minister of the de facto cabinet in Gaza. A spokesperson of ...   More...

PCHR condemns detention of Mona Mansour


Deprecated: Function the_content_rss is deprecated since version 2.9.0! Use the_content_feed() instead. in /home/3/p/palestinianbasic/www/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6078

Warning: Undefined variable $excerpt in /home/3/p/palestinianbasic/www/wp-includes/deprecated.php on line 1714
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights Condemns the Detention of PLC Member Mona Mansour from the pro-hamas Change and Reform Party. The PCHR views the detention as "a continuation of ...   More...

Siyam: Will not deal with Abbas as president after 9 January


Deprecated: Function the_content_rss is deprecated since version 2.9.0! Use the_content_feed() instead. in /home/3/p/palestinianbasic/www/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6078

Warning: Undefined variable $excerpt in /home/3/p/palestinianbasic/www/wp-includes/deprecated.php on line 1714
Said Siyam, interior minister in the de facto government in Gaza, declares that the de facto government will not deal with president Mahmoud Abbas as president of the Palestinian Authority when his ...   More...

PICCR changes name and launches new website


Deprecated: Function the_content_rss is deprecated since version 2.9.0! Use the_content_feed() instead. in /home/3/p/palestinianbasic/www/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6078

Warning: Undefined variable $excerpt in /home/3/p/palestinianbasic/www/wp-includes/deprecated.php on line 1714
The Palestinian Independent Commission for Citizens' Rights changes its name to Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR). Their former website www.piccr.org is no longer available. Their new web adress is ...   More...

Next,

Resources
Search
About

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.