The British Mandatory Companies Law (Law No.18 / 1929), as amended by British Mandatory laws subsequently issued, is the valid legal authority for registering a company to do business in the GS. The registration process in the GS is administered by the Ministry of Justice. In the WB, Jordanian Companies Law (Law No. 12 / 1964 ) applies. Unlike in the GS, however, in the WB the registration process is administered by the Controller of Companies with-in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. However, a company which is registered in the WB can operate in the GS and visa versa. This anomalous situation exists because the PLC has not yet enacted a new law unifying the pre-existing companies’ laws under one ministry.

Despite the differing laws and supervising agencies, the legal framework applicable to company registration is generally the same in the WB and the GS. A foreign company must adhere to essentially the exact same registration requirements as local companies in order to undertake business operations in the Palestinian Territories by filing a “Certificate of Incorporation”; a “Memorandum of Association”; and an “Articles of Association (or by-laws)”. All documents must be translated into Arabic and authenticated by a local notary public.

The process of registering a local or a foreign company in the Palestinian Territories is very smooth and local lawyers can register companies in the Palestinian Territories in few days.