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

“PLC bombing ‘carried out unlawfully and wantonly'”


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The December 2008 bombing of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) is the topic of part five of Maan News'  series recounting the findings of South African jurist Richard Goldstone's UN Fact Finding ...   More...

Dweik speaks of unity in first interview


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After his release from Israeli prison, speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Aziz Dweik, speaks of unity in an exclusive interview with Maan News. Read: Maan News, "Hamas' Dweik has "message ...   More...

PLC speaker released from prison


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Aziz Dweik, speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) has been released from custody after more three years in prison. PLC member Jamal Hweil was also released. While was arrested ...   More...

Qalqiliya clashes top PLC agenda


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The Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC)  has held its first session since the Israeli war on Gaza in December.  The members discussed the latest Hamas-Fatah clashes in Qalqiliya and demanded the ...   More...

Hamas lawmakers reject new cabinet


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The Hamas-affiliated Change and Reform Bloc of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) held a special session on Wednesday attended by Deputy PLC Speaker Ahmad Bahar and de facto Prime Minister ...   More...

Barghuti becomes honorary citizen


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The French city of Satan has granted honorary citizenship to senior Fatah leader and member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) Marwan Al-Barghuthi. Read: Maan News, "French city grants honorary citizenship ...   More...

PLC member receives 30 year sentence


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Ahmad Sa'adat, member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) and Secretary-General of Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) has been sentenced to 30 years imprisonment by an Israeli ...   More...

Hamas: New penal codes not ratified


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According to recent media reports, Hamas lawmakers have allegedly ratified part of a new legal code based on Islamic teacings. These reports have now been rejected by head of the legal ...   More...

Fatah lawmaker calls for release of PLC speaker


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Azam al-Ahmad, leader of the Fatah bloc in the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) demands the release of PLC speaker Aziz Dweik. Dweik has been sentenced by an Israeli court to ...   More...

Abbas: Elections to be held “very soon”


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Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has stated his intention to schedule Palestinian elections "very soon" in the absence of reconciliation with the de facto Hamas government in the Gaza Strip. Abbas has said to ...   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.