Business
Divergent company law by territory, and a 2021 secured transactions reform
Companies in the West Bank are registered under the Jordanian Companies Law of 1964 as amended; Gaza applies the Mandate Companies Ordinance of 1929. A unified draft companies law has not been enacted.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Separate registries and separate governing statutes in the West Bank and Gaza.
Governing law
- Jordanian Companies Law No. 12 of 1964West Bank
- Companies Ordinance of 1929Gaza
- Decree-Law No. 8 of 2021 on secured transactions
- Investment Promotion Law No. 1 of 1998, as amended
In practice
The persistence of a 1929 British ordinance in Gaza and a 1964 Jordanian statute in the West Bank means basic questions — minimum capital, director duties, single-member companies — have different answers depending on where the company is registered. A unified companies law has been drafted repeatedly without enactment. The 2021 secured transactions decree-law and the associated movable collateral registry were a real improvement, allowing security over movable assets and receivables in a way the older statutes did not. Investment incentives under the 1998 law are administered by PIPA and include income tax reductions by sector and location.