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

– Time to throw Abbas


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
Efraim Halevy, former chief of the Israeli intelligence services, has said to Israel's Army Radio that the Palestinian Authority is "useless and nothing but students of Israel and the US.  Halevy further said tit is ...   More...

PLO extends term for president and PLC


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 Liberation Organisation (PLO) has decided that President Mahmoud Abbas will stay on after the expiration of his term on 25 January 2010.  PLO has also extended the term ...   More...

Majority supports decision not to run


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 majority of Palestinians support President Mahmoud Abbas not to run in future Palestinian elections. This is one of the main findings in a poll conducted by the Palestinian Center ...   More...

Abbas to stay until next vote


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
President Mahmoud Abbas states that he will stay on as President until new elections are held, but repeats that he will not stand for reelection. Elections were originally slated for ...   More...

Abbas confirms postponed elections


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
President Mahmoud Abbas confirms that he has accepted advice not to hold Palestinian elections as scheduled for January 2010. Abbas states that measures will be taken to avoid a constitutional ...   More...

Reasons to doubt Abbas’ withdrawal


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
"Speculation abounds as to the seriousness with which Abbas has declared his intention not to run for the Palestinian presidency, and so it should", writes Hassan Nafaa in an OpEd ...   More...

Alertnet Q&A: Does Abbas really intend to step aside?


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
President Mahmoud Abbas has stated that he does not intend to stand for elections that are scheduled to be held on 25 January 2010. Is he serious? Read: Alertnet,  "Q&A Does ...   More...

Q&A: Fatah’s party congress


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
President Mahmoud Abbas will chair the Fatah Congress beginning on Tuesday in Bethlehem. Reuters Alertnet have compiled some questions and answers about Fatah. Read: Reuters Alertnet, "Q&A: Abbas's Fatah holds long-awaited congress", 3 ...   More...

Denies that Abbas ordered talks to fail


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
Senior Fatah official Ibrahim Abu An-Naja denies media reports suggesting that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas might have intentionally thwarted unity talks with the rival Hamas movement.  The statements were published ...   More...

Abbas swears in new cabinet amidst protests


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
President Mahmoud Abbas has sworn in a new cabinet against objections from both Hamas and his own Fatah party. Salam Fayyad was reappointed prime minister in spite of demands from ...   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.