National Defence Act (Arab Union)

The National Defence Act (Arabic: قانون الدفاع الوطنية qānūn ad-difā‘ waṭanīyah) is an act passed by the Arab Congress on 15 January 1999; it functions as the enabling legislation for the constitution and funding of the Arab Union Armed Forces and the Arab National Guard.

The Act reorganised the military establishment in a number of respects, including, but not limited to, the formation of three separate services (the Arab Union Army, Navy and Air Force) out of the formerly unified Pan-Arab Army, the constitution of a national militia service directly answerable to the President of Palestine in the form of the Arab National Guard, and the organisation of a complex civilian administrative and logistical hierarchy responsible for the direct support of the armed forces. The Act also set out the process by which the defence budget is drafted and implemented.