The Most Prominent Reformative and Developmental Legislation Implemented by the 19th Government in Its First Year

- The first phase of the national program for development and reform.

- Four main pillars for developing and reforming public finances, enhancing the government system, the rule of law, improving the legislative environment for investment, and upgrading the quality of basic services.

- Ten completed and issued reformative and developmental legislations during the year.

- Eleven draft laws and reformative regulations pending ratification and approval, and five other projects under study and preparation.

SadaNews - The Government Communication Center, in collaboration with the Executive Office for Development and Institutional Reform at the Prime Minister's Office, issued a report summarizing the results of monitoring the implementation of the executive plan to complete the most significant reformative and developmental legislations, which the Nineteenth Palestinian Government, headed by Dr. Mohammad Mustafa, worked on during its first year. These legislations are considered key priorities within the first phase of the national development and reform program, which includes seven initiatives and four reform pillars aimed at strengthening the legislative environment and bolstering the institutional framework of the state.

According to the report from the Government Communication Center, the government has sought to develop the legislative environment to ensure the success and effectiveness of the government initiatives aimed at improving the quality of government services, enhancing the institutional structure, and improving the performance of the government apparatus, raising its level of flexibility and its ability to adapt to new developments and rapid changes. The efforts concentrated on four main axes, as follows:

1. Developing financial policies and managing public finances: by enhancing local revenues and rationalizing public expenditure, ensuring the efficiency and sustainability of financial resources.

2. Strengthening the governance system and the rule of law: by supporting legal frameworks, enhancing the efficiency of the judicial system, establishing the principle of the rule of law, and promoting integrity, transparency, and rapid resolution of cases.

3. Improving the legislative and regulatory environment for investment and business: by digitizing business services and issuing and updating the laws regulating them, thereby facilitating economic activities and attracting investments.

4. Upgrading the level of essential services provided: This includes several sectors such as water, energy, health, communications, education, and social protection, ensuring the provision of more efficient, inclusive, and equitable services.

In light of the above, and to follow up on achieving the necessary legislations for implementing the national development and reform program in its first phase for the years 2025-2026, an executive plan has been prepared for the legislations required to be completed during this year 2025, and tracking their progress from preparation until issuance and publication, according to four classifications: 1. Completed, issued, and published legislations. 2. Completed legislations pending ratification by the President. 3. Legislations currently under consideration by the Council of Ministers in readings. 4. Legislations currently under public consultations with civil society and relevant authorities, in preparation for presentation to the Council of Ministers.

First: Completed and issued reformative legislations include:

1. Law No. (25) of 2024 amending the Enforcement Law No. (23) of 2005, which aims to ensure the acceleration of execution proceedings before the competent enforcement departments, including the execution of judicial rulings, which will contribute to enhancing the effectiveness of the judicial system, increasing trust in the justice system, and fostering civil peace.

2. Law No. (26) of 2024 concerning Value Added Tax, which is a necessary step to achieve tax justice, improve national revenues, and enhance the efficiency of the tax system.

3. Law No. (24) of 2024 amending the Civil and Commercial Procedural Law No. (2) of 2001 and its amendments, which aims to employ electronic means in litigation procedures to ensure the rapid resolution of cases, saving time and effort in accessing justice.

4. Law No. (11) of 2025 concerning competition, which aims to protect and promote competition in the market, prohibit practices that prevent or restrict competition or harm it, address any market anomalies resulting from practices that disrupt competition, and take necessary measures according to the provisions of the law. In addition, ensuring that product prices are determined based on supply and demand, encouraging competitive behavior among enterprises, ensuring freedom for investors to enter and exit the Palestinian market, and reducing exclusionary policies from the Palestinian market.
 
5. As part of the government's reform plan for governing public institutions in the state to streamline the institutional structure, enhance expenditure rationalization in the public sector while preserving public funds, and improve the performance of institutions in providing more equitable and transparent services to citizens, the Nineteenth Government undertook the following:
 
A- The cancellation of the (Risk Prevention and Agricultural Insurance Fund) under Law No. (11) of 2024.

B- The cancellation of the (Independence Bank for Investment and Development) under Law No. (14) of 2024.

6. Law No. (17) of 2024 concerning electronic transactions and trust services, which aims to regulate and develop the legal infrastructure for electronic transactions and trust services, enhance and protect e-commerce, and establish standards and procedures regarding the safety of transactions and electronic records. Additionally, providing legal validity to electronic transactions and trust services, protecting the rights of counterparts, and enhancing the use of electronic transactions in state and private sectors, along with reducing fraud and forgery crimes in electronic transactions.

7. Law No. (19) of 2024 amending Law No. (43) of 2021 concerning the management of state properties, which aims to organize mechanisms for managing state properties, ensuring their preservation and improving their utilization and investment, and developing resources better and more effectively.

8. The system of management, procedures, and fees for company registration and electronic registration No. (2) of 2025, which aims to reduce the administrative burden on new and existing companies, contributing to enhancing compliance with the law, regulating, activating electronic registration and electronic signatures on applications and documents submitted for company registration, through an automatic registration system that will assist in the registration process more quickly and transparently, also eliminating the need for paper transactions and personal visits to government offices.

9. The mandatory national product purchasing system in public procurement No. (3) of 2025, which aims to mandate the purchase of national products in government tenders to support the national economy, local industry, and create job opportunities, as the system obliges purchasing government entities to apply a 15% price preference for national products in all procurement operations they undertake.
 
Second: Completed legislations pending ratification (referred by the Council of Ministers to the President for issuance)

1. Law concerning the amendment of the Public Debt Law 2025, which aims to provide appropriate economic indicators for financial and monetary policy makers to service public debt, consistent with the nature and capacities of the Palestinian economy to protect it and prevent it from exposure to risks exacerbating the public debt crisis.

2. Law concerning the establishment of a Cybersecurity Agency, which aims to build an effective cybersecurity system to protect the state from cyber threats and address them efficiently and effectively to protect individuals, property, and information.

3. Law concerning e-commerce, which aims to regulate e-commerce in the absence of the legal and legislative environment governing it, thereby contributing to enhancing consumer confidence, regulating the electronic sale of products and services, encouraging investment in the digital economy, and supporting startups.

4. The cancellation and merging of some state institutions to reduce financial expenditures: through a draft law concerning the governance of several non-ministerial governmental institutions, including the Cooperative Labor Authority, the Land and Water Settlement Authority, the National Authority for Vocational and Technical Education and Training, the Palestinian National Institute of Public Health, and the Radiological and Nuclear Regulation Authority.
 
Third: Legislations currently being developed presented to the Council of Ministers in readings, as follows:
1. Laws:

A- Draft law concerning the protection of personal data, which aims to protect individuals' privacy and regulate the ways of collecting, processing, and using their personal data. It also aims to achieve a balance between the rights of individuals in data protection and the legitimate needs of agencies dealing with these data, whether governmental or private, ensuring the protection of the rights of data owners from unlawful exploitation, supporting digital transformation, enhancing the digital economy, mitigating legal risks that may hinder it, and boosting confidence in the digital environment. (A new draft was presented for the first reading to the Council of Ministers, and work continues on completing its presentation in the three readings until it is approved according to the rules. The Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy is working on incorporating comments into the draft law for its complete presentation to the Council of Ministers).

B- Draft law concerning the encouragement of investment, a regulatory legislation for the Investment Promotion Authority, which defines the necessary mechanisms to provide guarantees for investors, specifies the incentives provided to them, and establishes mechanisms to create a suitable climate for encouraging investment to generate investment projects and provide new job opportunities to improve the economic level in the state. (It has been presented to the Council of Ministers for the first and second readings, and the Investment Promotion Authority is working on incorporating comments into the draft law for its complete presentation to the Council of Ministers).

T- Draft law concerning the election of local bodies, which aims to amend the electoral system for local bodies by addressing the legal, procedural, and social issues that have accompanied the current law. (It has been presented to the Council of Ministers for the first reading, and the Ministry of Local Government is working on incorporating comments into the draft law for its complete presentation to the Council of Ministers).

Th- Amendment to Law No. (10) of 2018 concerning electronic crimes and its amendments, which is the legislation that defines and criminalizes illegal acts committed using technology and modern communication tools, and establishes the legal framework for addressing these crimes, aiming to address the legal issues in the current legislation, the most important of which is not restricting freedom of opinion and expression or violating it, and finding the necessary legal guarantees for that. (It has been presented with comments to the Council of Ministers for the first reading, and a national committee has been formed to amend the draft law, and the formed committee is working on incorporating comments into the draft law for its complete presentation to the Council of Ministers).

J- Amended draft law for the Civil Service Law No. (4) of 1998, which aims to regulate appointments in public service to achieve fairness, transparency, and equal opportunities for all citizens, and amend the salary scale to align with public interest and the interests of public employees as well. (It has been presented for the first reading to the Council of Ministers).

2. Regulations and systems:

1. Amendment of the Non-Profit Companies System No. (20) of 2022, which aims to facilitate and simplify the procedures for registering non-profit companies and obtaining the necessary financing to enable them to achieve their established goals, within the controls and oversight of the relevant ministry. (It has been presented to the Council of Ministers for the first reading, and the remaining presentations for approval are being completed, and the Ministry of National Economy is working to incorporate comments for its complete presentation to the Council of Ministers).

2. The electronic judicial notifications system, which aims to integrate electronic means in judicial work to expedite the resolution of lawsuits. (It has been presented to the Council of Ministers for the first reading, and the remaining readings for approval are being completed).
 
Fourth: Legislations under study and preparation and about to be presented to the Council of Ministers, stated as follows: 

1. Draft law concerning partnership between the public and private sectors, (consultations are being held with the private sector through extensive discussion workshops in preparation for its presentation to the Council of Ministers). The draft law aims to enhance the private sector's participation in developmental and service projects undertaken by the government sector, alongside exchanging financial, administrative, organizational, technical, and technological expertise aimed at enhancing government services and involving the private sector in providing services to citizens, which would help alleviate the burden on the treasury and increase state revenues.

2. Draft law concerning the right to access information, which guarantees citizens' right to access the information held by governmental institutions and public bodies, aims to enhance transparency and accountability in government work and public institutions, empower citizens to participate actively in public life, and enhance citizens' ability to search for and obtain information present within state institutions, organizing and activating the free flow of information within rules set by the law.

3. Amendment to Law No. (8) of 2011 regarding income tax, aiming to strengthen the fight against evasion and fraud and protect public funds, improve compliance, and enhance transparency and integrity in tax collection, achieve social justice, and increase citizens' trust in the state.

4. Amendment to Law No. (42) of 2021 regarding companies, aiming to address the legal loopholes that have arisen during the application of the current law, including the digitization of the companies' register and online registration.