Critical Review of the Proposed Palestinian Electronic Commerce and Signatures Laws [in Arabic]

Critical Review of the Proposed Palestinian Electronic Commerce and Signatures Laws [in Arabic]

This study critically reviews two draft laws prepared by the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), namely the Electronic Transactions (ECommerce) Law and the Electronic Authentications (E-Signatures) Law. It also provides recommendations to improve the draft laws and create a favorable legal environment to facilitate e-commerce in Palestine.

The paper first defines the various aspects of electronic commerce, highlighting its importance and advantages. It concludes that there are currently no true e-commerce activities in Palestine, despite the existence of several companies involved in the field. Reasons for this include the fact that the market is not apparently being developed to deal with such activities, that companies do not have the necessary international expertise and skilled staff, and that legal institutions in Palestine are undeveloped. In addition, the poor legal infrastructure, and current absence of any law that regulates e-commerce, discourages companies and customers from engaging in it.

The study explores and identifies the main reasons that induce countries like Palestine to create laws regulating e-commerce and electronic authentications. These include the protection of national security, the privacy of individuals, consumer protection, recognition of e-business transactions, and regulating Certification Authorities (CA) or Trusted Third Parties (TTP).

The study presents different methods of regulating electronic authentications and e-signatures, including government intervention, industry or self-regulation, and co-regulation. The author prefers the coregulation model, already adopted in certain countries, under which the government drafts its e-commerce laws in discussion with the private sector. This cooperation between the public and the private sector result in laws being drafted in accordance with the needs of the Certification Authorities, which will result in increased certification services and thus increased e-commerce activities.