Palestinian Basic Law
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The Palestinian Basic Law

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

News & updates

Natan J. Brown on the practical consequences of ignoring the Basic Law


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"The split between the two halves of the Palestinian Authority has steadily eroded the legitimacy of the Ramallah government. Any policy based on the hope that Abbas and Fayyad will ...   More...

Abbas swears in new cabinet amidst protests


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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...

HRW blasts Hamas for political violence


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Internal violence continues in Gaza, and 14 killings have been reported between January 18 and March 31, 2009 . Despite promises to investigate unlawful killings and other abuses, Hamas authorities have ...   More...

PCHR condemns raid on PLC members’ office


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On Monday 22 September, members of the Palestinian General Intelligence Service (GIS) raided the office of Samira al-Halaiqa (45), a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) for the Hamas ...   More...

Abbas: Law to determine elections


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In a respons to remarks by Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal that the movement will not recognize Mahmoud Abbas as Palestinian president after 9 January, Abbas has stated that he will ...   More...

– President has constitutional right to determine elections


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In a meeting with the Arab League in Cairo, Palestinian ambassador to Egypt, Nabeel Amer, argued that the president has the constitutional right to decide when to hold the legislative ...   More...

New ICG report: Round two in Gaza


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A new report from the International Crisis Groups contains updated information of the activities of the PLC and status of recent regislation in relation to the Palestinian Basic Law. Download report ...   More...

Al Haq warns against military courts


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The human rights organization Al Haq calls on the Palestinian Ministries of Justice and of the Interior, and the Attorney General to end the use of military courts in trials ...   More...

Legal overhaul lacking transparency


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President Mahmoud Abbas and his government are pursuing a five-year legislative plan that could transform the Palestinian political and economic systems from top to bottom. Some constitutional experts and legislators ...   More...

PCHR condemns continued attacks on organizations in West Bank


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The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights in Gaza (PCHR) condemns the continued attacks on private and civil society organizations and arrests by Palestinian security forces in the West Bank. The policy ...   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.