According to Art. 61 of the Patents Act, every applicant for a patent whose ordinary residence or principal place of business is outside Belize shall be represented by an attorney-at-law (as an agent) who is resident in Belize and practicing in Belize in accordance with the relevant law.

Belize is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

Belize is not a signatory of the 1996 World Trade Organization (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA) nor the 2015 expansion (ITA II).

According to Art. 21 of the Finance and Audit (Reform) Act 2011, a limited tender procedure may be established due to national security or for reasons of national emergency. According to Art. 2, a limited tender procedure means a procurement in which the Government does not call for any tender or in which the Government individually invites suppliers to submit a bid for a contract.

It is reported that Belize present some challenges in participating and competing in public procurement and in dispute settlement processes, in particular relating to State Owned Enterprises (SOEs). Moreover, the reports point out a lack of transparency, land insecurity, bureaucracy, delays, and corruption in the tender process. In addition, throughout much of 2022, key transparency and oversight bodies, including the Integrity Commission, the Ombudsman’s Office, the Auditor General’s Office, and the labour Commissioner’s position remained vacant. In practice, it is reported these offices are understaffed and under-resourced to effectively undertake their respective mandates.

Belize is not a party to the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA).

According to Belize Companies Act, there are no maximum foreign equity share.

Art. L.1211-6 of the Commercial Code provides that any legal entity whose head office is located abroad and which undertakes a commercial activity in the Republic of Djibouti must, within one month from the start of this activity, require the registration of a branch in the Republic of Djibouti. This request is to be filed with the registry responsible for maintaining the Register of Commerce and Companies. The Code defines commercial activity as including e-commerce.

Art. 9 of Act No. 118/An/15/7Th prohibits anyone from offering payment services (which includes electronic payments) or managing a system unless duly authorised to do so by the Central Bank. The Central Bank also has the power to suspend or revoke the licence under certain circumstances. Art. 81 stipulates additional requirements for e-payment applicants.

Djibouti does not implement any de minimis threshold, which is the minimum value of goods below which customs do not charge duties. However, it is reported that there is an informal arrangement of a de minimis of USD 100.

Law No. 28/AN/08/6th L on Protection, Suppression of Fraud and Consumer Protection provides a comprehensive framework for consumer protection that also applies to online transactions. Art. 2 provides the scope of the Law to apply to all production, distribution and service activities. This law was incorporated into the legal corpus of the Djibouti Commercial Code of 2012.

Djibouti has not signed the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts.

Djibouti has not adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Commerce.