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Palestinian Legislative Council

Law of Charitable Associations
and Community Organizations

Law No. 1, Year 2000

Chapter One
Article (1)
Palestinian citizens have the right to practice social, cultural, professional and scientific
activity in all freedom, including the right to establish and run Associations and
Community Organizations.

Article (2)
Definitions
The following terms and expressions that are used in this Law have the following
meanings, unless otherwise indicated.

The Ministry: The Ministry of Interior.
The Competent Ministry: The Ministry under the competence of which the activities of
the Association would fall.
The Minister: The Minister of Interior.
The Competent Department: The Department set up as part of the Ministry under the
competence of which the activities of the Association would fall.
The Association or Organization: Any charitable Association or Community
Organization with an independe nt judicial personality, established upon an agreement
concluded among no less than seven persons to achieve legitimate objectives of public
concern, without aiming at attaining financial profits to be shared among the members or
achieving any personal benefits.
The Foreign Association or Organization: Any foreign charitable Association or
Community Organization which has its main he adquarters or center of activities outside
the Palestinian territories, or the majo rity of whose members are foreigners.
The General Assembly: The general body made up of all the members of the
Association; it is the highest authority in the Association or Organization.
The Board of Directors: The Board of Directors of th e Association or Organization.
Merger: Unification of two or more Associat ions or Organizations into a single
Association or Organization with a new judicial personality.
Union: Unification of two or more Associations or Organizati ons whereby a single
representative body is established, but each Association or Organization maintains its
independent judicial personality.
Community Activity: Any social, economic, cultural, community, developmental or
other service or activity, unde rtaken voluntarily, that would lead to the improvement of
the social, health, professional, material, spir itual, artistic, sports, cultural or educational
conditions in society.

Chapter Two
Registration of Associations and Organizations

Article (3)
The Ministry will set up a Competent Department for the registration of the Associations
and Organizations in coordination with the Competent Ministry, and for purposes of
implementation of this Law the Competent Department will keep the following registries:
1) A registry recording all registration requests, using cons ecutive numbers in accordance
with the dates of request.
2) A general registry of all Associations and Organizations th at have been registered, in
which the names, fields of activity, objectives and any other facts that the Competent
Department considers necessary for the in formation of all competent bodies, are
recorded.
3) A registry in which the names of the A ssociations and Organizations whose requests
for registration were refused are included, indicating their objectives and the reasons
for the refusal, and any other additional information that the Competent Department
considers necessary for the record.

Article (4)
Registration Procedures
1- The founders of an Association or Orga nization submit a written application to the
Competent Department for registration in compliance with all relevant conditions,
signed by no less than three of the founding members authorized to register and sign
on behalf of the Association or Orga nization. The application needs to be
accompanied by three copies of the By-Law s signed by the members of the Founding
Committee.
2- The Minister of the Interi or has to issue his decision re garding the compliance of the
application with the conditions of regist ration within a period not exceeding two
months from the date of submission of th e application. In case of submission of
additional data or missing documents needed for the registration, the two-month
period starts from the date of submission of the missing documents.
3- If the two-month period following the subm ission of the application for registration
expires without a decision being taken, the Association or Organization is considered
registered by law.
4- In the event a decision is issued by the Minister rejecting the application for
registration, the decision should specify the reasons for the rejection. The applicants
have the right to contest the decision befo re the competent courts within a period not
exceeding thirty days from the date they are notified of the rejection of their
application for registration.

Article (5)
Taking into consideration the Provisions of the Law, the By-Laws should include the
following information:

1- The name of the Association or Organization, its address, its purpose and its main headquarters.
2- The financial resources of the Associati on or Organization, the manner in which they
are to be used or dispensed with.
3- The conditions for membership, kinds of membership, reasons for termination of
membership and membership fees.
4- The organizational structur e of the Association or Organization, rules governing the
amendment of its By-Laws, its merger or unification [with other Associations or
Organizations].
5- Procedures for convening the General Assembly.
6- Methods of financial supervision.
7- Rules governing the dissolution of the A ssociation or Organization, and methods of
dispensing with its finances and holdings upon dissolution.

Article (6)
The Ministry will be responsible for monito ring the work of the Associations and the
Organizations in accordance with the Provisions of this Law. The Ministry may scrutinise
the activity of any Associati on or Organization upon a substa ntiated written order issued
in each instance by the Minister to ascertain that its funds have been spent for the
purposes for which they were allocated in acco rdance with the Provisions of this Law and
the By-Laws of the Association or Organiza tion. The Association or Organization should
enable the Ministry to implement this order to ascertain that it is conducting its affairs in
accordance with the Provisions of this Law and the By-Laws of the Association or
Organization.

Article (7)
The Associations and Organizations are independent judicial persons, enjoying an
independent financial status, upon registration in accordance with the Provisions of this
Law. They may not practice any of their activities before completing registration
procedures.

Article (8)
The decision to register an Association or Organization is published in the Official
Gazette.

Chapter Three
Rights and Duties of Associations and Organizations

Article (9)
In accordance with the Provisions of the Law:
1- an Association or Organization may hold transferable or non-transferable funds for the
attainment of its objectives;
2- a foreign Association or Organization may hold non-transferable funds, on condition it
obtains permission to that effect from the Minister ial Council upon the
recommendation of the competent Minister;

3- no foreign Association or Organization may dispense with non-transferable funds
without the agreement of the Ministerial Council.

Article (10)
The relations of the Associations and Organizations with the Competent Ministries are
established on the basis of coordination, cooperation and complementariness for the
public good.

Article (11)
Records of the Association or Organization
The Association or Organization keeps at its main headquarters its official financial and
administrative records that include the follo wing financial transactions, administrative
decisions and data:
1- Incoming and outgoing correspondence, in special files and organized records.
2- By-Laws [of the Association or Organization], names of the members of the Board of
Directors in each electoral term and the date of their election.
3- Names of all members of the Associat ion, Organization or Institution, along with
identification, age and date indicating when membership commenced.
4- Minutes of the Board of Director s meetings, in chronological order.
5- Minutes of the meetings of the General Assembly.
6- Record of revenues and expenditure, detailed according to financial rules.

Article (12)
Every Association or Organization will de posit with the Competent Department a
statement regarding any amendment or change regarding the location of its headquarters,
By-Laws, objectives, or purposes, or any complete or partial change in its Board of
Directors, within a period not exceeding one month from the date the amendment or
change took place.

Article (13)
The Association or Organization will present to the Competent Ministry, at a date no later
than four months after the end of the fina ncial year, two reports approved by the General
Assembly:
1- an administrative report containing a full description of the activities of the
Association or Organizati on during the last year;
2- a financial report signed by a legal aud itor, and containing a detailed revenue and
expenditure account of the Association or Organization finances in accordance with
the accepted principles of accounting.

Article (14)
Associations and Organizations are exempt ed from taxes and customs duties on the
transferable and non-transferable funds necessary for the implementation of its objectives,
provided they are not disposed of within a period of less than five years for purposes
incompatible with the purposes [of the Asso ciation or Organization] unless the due taxes
and customs duties are paid.

Article (15)
1- Associations and Organizations are enti tled to organize activities and establish
income-generating projects provided the reve nues are used to cover its activities for
the public good;
2- Associations and Organizations are enti tled to set up branches inside Palestine.

Chapter Four
The Board of Directors

Article (16)
1- Every Association or Orga nization should have a Board of Directors made up of at
least seven and no more than thirteen memb ers; the By-Laws of the Association or
Organization determine the procedures fo r setting up this Board, for choosing its
members and for terminating their membership.
2- The Board of Directors may not include more than two members bound by family relations of the firs t or second degree.

Article (17)
1- The Board of Directors of any Associati on or Community Organization is responsible
for all its operations and activities.
2- The Chairman of the Association or Or ganization represents the Association or
Community Organization before other partie s, and signs all correspondence, contracts
and agreements concluded between it and other parties on its behalf.

Article (18)
Rights of the Board of Directors

The Board of Directors is entitled to:
1- Administer the affairs of the Associati on or Organization, and establish the necessary
rules, regulations and instructions.
2- Appoint the staff necessary for the Associat ion or Organization, to define their job or
to terminate their services in accord ance with the Provisions of the Law.
3- Set up committees it deems necessary for th e improvement of operations, and to define
the competence of each committee.
4- Draw up the final statement of accounts for the past financial year and the draft budget
for the following year.
5- Present the annual admini strative and financial reports, and any future plans and
projects before the General Assembly.
6- Call the General Assembly to an ordinary or extraordinary meeting session, and implement its resolutions in accordance with the Provisions of the Law.
7- Follow up any observations presented by the Competent Department , Ministry or other
official bodies regarding the activities of the Association or Organization, and respond
to them.

Article (19)

The rights of the Chairman, the Vice-Chairman, the Secretary, the Treasurer and the rest
of the Board of Directors of any Associat ion or Organization are defined in accordance
with its By-Laws and regulations in a manner not contravening the Provisions of this Law.

Article (20)
It is not permissible to combine membership of the Board of Directors with paid work for
the Association or Organization in question.

Article (21)
1- The Board of Directors holds an ordinary meeting at least once every three months
upon the invitation of the Chairman or the Vice-Chairman.
2- The Board of Directors holds an extr aordinary meeting when necessary upon the
invitation of the Chairman or the Vice-Chairm an, or at the request of one third of its
members.
3- The meeting of the Board of Directors ha s a quorum when two-thirds of its members
are in attendance.
4- Decisions of the Board of Directors have to be taken by an absolute majority to be
valid.

Article (22)
1- When it is not possible to convene a meeti ng of the Board of Directors as a result of
resignation or death, the remaining member s of the Board of Directors (in their
capacity as a transitional committee) take over the tasks of the Board of Directors for a
period of time not exceeding one month, and they call the General Assembly within
the above period of time to elec t a new Board of Directors.
2- In the event of collective resignation, or in the event of the transitional committee
failing to carry out its tasks as set out in the first paragraph of this Article, the Minister
will appoint a transitional committee from among the members of the General
Assembly to carry out the tasks of the Bo ard of Directors for a period of time not
exceeding one month, and to convene the General Assembly within the same period of
time to elect a new Board of Directors.

Chapter Five
The General Assembly

Article (23)
Formation and Rights
1- The By-Laws of the Association or Orga nization define the manner, in accordance
with the Provisions of this Law, according to which the General Assembly of the
Association or Organization is to be established. It is to be made up of all the members
who have fulfilled their commitments as outlined in the By-Laws. The General
Assembly convenes at least once every ye ar to review and approve the report
submitted by the Board of Directors on the activities of the Association or
Organization, as well as the re port of the financial auditor on its financial position, and

to appoint the financial auditor, and any other matters the Board of Directors may
include as part of its agenda.
2- The General Assembly is entitled to dr aw up general policies and guidelines for the
Association or Organization and to elect the members of the Board of Directors; its
decisions are reached by a simple majority of the members present, unless otherwise
stipulated in the By-L aws of the Association.
3- Decisions are taken by the absolute major ity of the members of the General Assembly
as regards amending the By-Laws, and by a ma jority of two-thirds of the members of
the General Assembly as regards the dissolu tion of the Association or Organization, or
the introduction of an amendment to its By-Laws related to the purpose of the
Association, the dismissal of members of the Board of Directors, or its unification or
merger, unless the By-Laws stipulate a greater majority in those cases.

Article (24)
The Extraordinary Meeting
One-third of the members of the General A ssembly of any Association or Organization
may call for an extraordinary meeting.

Article (25)
The General Assembly of the Association or Organization has a quorum if an absolute
majority of the members attend. If the absolute majority is not in attendance, the General
Assembly will be postponed and reconvened within a period not exceeding fifteen days
of the date of the first meeting. The rec onvened General Assembly will have a quorum,
provided the number of member s present is no less than one third of all the members of
the Association or Organization.

Chapter Six
Merger and Unification

Article (26)
1- Two or more Associations or Organizati ons may merge or unite, without prejudice to
the rights of other parties towards each of these Associations or Organizations
obtained before the merger.
2- The representatives of the Associations or Organizations joining a merger should turn
over all their funds and special records to the new Association resulting from the
merger.
3- The new Association or Organization is not liable for the commitments of the
Associations or Organizations it merged w ith, except within the limits of the funds
handed over to it by those Associations or Organizations, and rights accruing to it as
per the date of the merger.

Article (27)

Three or more Associations or Community Organizations may form a single Union, and
these Unions in turn may form a General Un ion provided joining the General Union is a
voluntary undertaking.

Article (28)
Any Association or Organization may join or be affiliated with any Arab or regional or
international Organization or Un ion outside the Palestinian territories, as long as it keeps
the competent party informed.

Article (29)
All procedures and provisions stipulated in this Law with regard to registration, basic
regulations and related statements, will also apply to each union concluded among a
group of Associations or Orga nizations or any unified Associations or Organizations
established according to its Provisions.

Chapter Seven
Financial Affairs of the Asso ciations or Organizations

Article (30)
Every Association or Organization should have an annual budget supervised by a legal
accountant, unless its expenditure is less than 1000 Jordanian Dinar or its equivalent in
another currency legally in circulation. The auditor subm its a report on the financial
position of the Association or Organization fo r the past financial year to the General
Assembly for its approval at its annual meeting.

Article (31)
The Association or Organization should deposit its cash funds under its own name with
an accredited bank, and inform the Competent Ministry of the details of the above. The
Association or Organization may not keep cash funds exceeding its expenditure for one
month.

Article (32)
In a manner not contravening the Provisions of this Law, Associations or Organizations
may receive unconditional assistan ce to carry out their work.

Article (33)
Associations or Organizations may collect c ontributions from the public for the social
purposes for which they were established by, among other things, organizing parties,
charity bazaars, and sports competitions, after informing the Competent Ministry.

Chapter Eight
Charitable Associations and Foreign Organizations

Article (34)
In accordance with the Provisions of the Law:
1- Any foreign Association or Organi zation may submit an application to the Minister
to open one or more branches of th e Association or Organization in the
Palestinian territories to carry out any soci al services provided these services are
compatible with the developmental priori ties of Palestinian society, and provided
the request includes the name of the fore ign Association or Organization, its main
headquarters, address, names of founders and members of its Board of Directors,
its main purposes, and the names of the pe rsons in charge of the proposed branch
and their nationalities, and the manner in which the funds of the branch will be
disposed of upon the dissolution of the branch or the liquidation of its operations
or its withdrawal, and this will not exceed a period of two months from the date of
the submission of the application.

2- The Competent Ministry must take into consideration the opinion of the Ministry
of Planning and International Co-operation regarding the regi stration request of
foreign Associations and Organizations.

Article (35)
The persons responsible for any of the br anches of the foreign Association or
Organization should inform the Ministry of any changes involving the information
specific to the branch they are managing w ithin a period not exceeding one month of the
date of the change.

Article (36)
Every branch of the foreign Association or Organization presents to the Ministry a
periodic report covering all its activities, including the funds spent to achieve its
objectives.

Chapter Nine
Dissolution of the Association or Organization

Article (37)
The Association or Organization is dissolved in the following cases:
1- If the decision to dissolve the Associat ion has been taken by the General Assembly,
which immediately needs to be brought to the attention of the Ministry.
2- If it [the Association or Organization] does not commence its actual operations within
the first year of its date of registration or of obtaining its license, unless the inactivity
is the result of circumstances beyond the control of the Association or Organization.
3- If proven that it [the Association or Organization] has committed a substantive
violation of its By-Laws, and not rectified the above conditi ons within three months of
the date of notification to that eff ect by the Minister or the Department.

Article (38)
1- In the event a decision is issued by the Minister to repeal the registration of any
Association or Organization, it [the decision] should state the causes in writing. The
Association or Organization ha s the right to contest the decision before the competent
court.
2- If a decision to dissolve an Association or Organization is contested before the
competent court, the Association or Or ganization may continue its work until a
temporary or final judicial de cision is issued to halt its activities or to dissolve it.

Article (39)
1- In the event an Association or Organizati on is dissolved, a paid liquidator is appointed
who prepares an inventory of its funds and assets so that they may be dispensed with
in accordance with the procedures specified by its By-Laws and the Provisions of this
Law. In the event, the By-Laws make no re ference to the manner in which the funds
[of the Association or Organization] are to be dispensed, the Ministry will transfer the
funds of the dissolved Association or Orga nization to Associations and Organizations
of a similar purpose, taking into account the pensions, allowances and entitlements of
the employees of the dissolved Association, which would be exempt from the transfer.
2- In the event an Association or Organization is dissolved, all its monetary and in-kind
funds and assets will be tr ansferred to a Palestinian Association similar in its
objectives, to be named by the disso lved Association or Organization.
3- Under all circumstances, the funds and assets of the dissolved Association or
Organization should be spent in accordance with its purposes within the borders of the
Palestinian territories.

Chapter Ten
General and Transitional Concluding Provisions

Article (40)
While adhering to the Provisions of this Law, it is the duty of Associations and
Community Organizations that provide specialized professional services to implement
the professional registration instructions specified by the Competent Ministries.

Article (41)
It is not permissible to take possession of the finances of any Association or Organization,
or to close or conduct a search of its headqua rters or any of its premises or branches
without an order issued by a competent judicial body.

Article (42)
Every Association or Organization that was lice nsed before this Law came into effect is
considered to be officially registered, provi ded it adjusts to the Provisions of this Law
within a period of nine months of the law’ s coming into effect. Otherwise it will be
considered in contravention of the Provisions of the Law.

Article (43)
The Ottoman Law of Charitable Organiza tions issued on 29 Rajab 1327 A.H. and the
Law of Charitable Organizations number 33 for the year 1966 effective in Palestine, and
any provisions contravening the Provisions of this Law, are hereby repealed.

Article (44)
The Minister will issue the forms necessary for the implementation of the Provisions of
this Law.

Article (45)
All parties, each in its field of competence, should implement the Provisions of this Law,
and comply with them immediately after th eir publication in the Official Gazette.