---
guosmmDocumentId: GUOSMM-A-2026-004
title: "SHOSJJ Commercial Registry — Legal Forms and Recognition Framework"
language: en
publishedAt: 2026-07-01T16:00:00Z
effectiveAt: 2026-07-02T00:00:00Z
signingAuthority: Sovereign Military Order of Malta
---

# GAZZETTA UFFICIALE DELL'ORDINE SOVRANO MILITARE DI MALTA
# OFFICIAL GAZETTE OF THE SOVEREIGN MILITARY ORDER OF MALTA (GUOSMM)

| Field | Value |
|-------|-------|
| Document ID | `GUOSMM-A-2026-004` |
| Series | A |
| Document type | Commercial Registry Act |
| Published | 2026-07-01T16:00:00Z |
| Effective | 2026-07-02T00:00:00Z |
| Parent acts | `GUOSMM-A-2026-002`, `GUOSMM-A-2026-003` |

---

# SHOSJJ Commercial Registry — Legal Forms and Recognition Framework

**Document Version:** 1.0  
**Authority:** Sovereign Hospitallers Order of St. John of Jerusalem (SHOSJJ)  
**Purpose:** Establish the canonical legal-form enumeration for the international commercial registry, separate from license classes.

Legal effectiveness originates from publication in the Gazzetta Ufficiale dell'Ordine Sovrano Militare di Malta (GUOSMM). This Act adopts the two-axis model (`legalFormCode` + `licenseClass`) under the Licensing Authority established by `GUOSMM-A-2026-002` and institutional routing under `GUOSMM-A-2026-003`.

---

## Article 1 — Two-axis model

1.1 The commercial registry records **what an entity is** (`legalFormCode`). The licensing framework records **what SHOSJJ authorizes** (`licenseClass`). These axes are **never conflated**.

1.2 Each registry record shall include, at minimum:

| Field | Purpose |
|-------|---------|
| `legalFormCode` | Canonical form from this Act |
| `licenseClass` | One or more SHOSJJ license classes (if licensed) |
| `jurisdictionOfFormation` | State or territory of incorporation/registration |
| `registrationAuthority` | Foreign registry or SHOSJJ charter authority |
| `recognitionStatus` | `foreign_registered` · `shosjj_chartered` · `both` |

1.3 A foreign-incorporated entity may hold SHOSJJ licenses without SHOSJJ charter. A SHOSJJ-chartered entity may also maintain foreign registration where recognized.

---

## Article 2 — International legal forms

2.1 The Licensing Authority adopts the **international commercial registry taxonomy** in the machine-readable catalog — covering sole proprietorship, limited liability (including **Series LLC** and **Series PLLC**), corporations, public and private company variants, partnerships, holdings, investment vehicles, trusts, non-profits, cooperatives, financial institutions, insurance, digital assets, professional firms, government, international, religious, educational, and healthcare forms.

2.2 **Series LLC** and **Series PLLC** registrations require:

* State or territory of formation  
* Series identifier  
* Operating agreement or equivalent evidence  

2.3 **Professional** forms (PLLC, PC, professional partnerships and firms) route to enhanced counsel review and professional license evidence.

---

## Article 3 — Series Organization hierarchy

3.1 The Order recognizes the following **series organization types**:

| Code | Name |
|------|------|
| `SO` | Series Organization — umbrella with segregated series |
| `SSO-EQ` | Series Stock Organization — equity/stock series (not bare `SSO`) |
| `SMO` | Series Membership Organization — membership-interest series |
| `SSO-SOV` | Series Sovereign Organization — SHOSJJ-chartered compartmentalized structure |

3.2 **Statutory series LLC** (national law) and **SHOSJJ chartered series** (Order law) are distinguished by `formationRegime`: `national` | `shosjj_charter`.

---

## Article 4 — SHOSJJ chartered forms

4.1 The Order may register entities under **SHOSJJ bespoke legal forms**, including:

* Sovereign Chartered Company (**SCC**) and Corporation (**SCCorp**)  
* Sovereign Commercial Trust (**SCT**) and Foundation (**SF**)  
* Sovereign Banking Institution (**SBI**) and Financial Institution (**SFI**)  
* Sovereign Holding Organization (**SHO**)  
* Series Sovereign Organization (**SSO-SOV**)  
* Diplomatic Commercial Mission (**DCM**)  
* International Commercial Organization (**INTL-CO**) — not "ICO" (avoids Initial Coin Offering and ICCC collision)

4.2 SHOSJJ-chartered forms require GUOSMM publication and `recognitionStatus: shosjj_charter`.

---

## Article 5 — Ecosystem-native forms

5.1 The registry also recognizes ecosystem forms in active institutional use:

* **LPBC** — Limited Partnership Banking Company  
* **LPBCA** — LPBC Associate variant  
* **Public utility / non-equity institution** — DBIS non-equity institutional framing  

---

## Article 6 — Financial and digital asset counsel gates

6.1 **EMI, PI, MSB, broker-dealer, exchange, clearing house, custodian, VASP, and central bank** forms require:

* Jurisdiction compliance matrix linkage  
* Enhanced or sovereign counsel tier  
* Mandatory license class mapping per catalog rules  

6.2 **DAO** registrations record `legalPersonalityClaim` (`none` | `contractual` | `statutory` | `shosjj_charter`) without asserting universal legal personality.

6.3 Digital asset forms (`digital.*`) follow **phased** counsel tier until production counsel sign-off.

---

## Article 7 — Delegation and routing

7.1 Legal forms **feed** existing licensing delegates — they do not replace license classes:

| Domain | Primary delegate |
|--------|------------------|
| Financial, investment, holdings, SPV, REIT | `pack-dbis` |
| VASP, protocol foundation, technology provider | `pack-omnl` / `pack-dbis` |
| Commercial enterprise, defense contractor | `pack-iccc` |
| NGO, diplomatic, religious, government | `pack-order-xom` |
| Hospital, clinic, medical practice | `pack-order-xom` |

7.2 `legalFormCode` → required license class rules: [`shosjj-ministerial-routing.v1.json`](../../config/governance/shosjj-ministerial-routing.v1.json) § `legalFormRules`.

---

## Article 8 — Public register

8.1 The **Public Register** shall expose `legalFormCode`, formation jurisdiction, recognition status, and linked license verification URLs.

8.2 Public verification index: `https://xom.d-bis.org/legal/commercial-register`

---

## Article 9 — Implementation phases

| Phase | Deliverable |
|-------|-------------|
| 1 | Legal-form JSON + license class mapping (this catalog) |
| 2 | GUOSMM Commercial Registry Act (`GUOSMM-A-2026-004`) |
| 3 | `cc-credential-registry` commercial vertical schema ([ADR-0022](../../adr/0022-commercial-registry-legal-form-axis.md)) |
| 4 | Portal Public Register sitemap and verify API |

---

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*Signing authority: Sovereign Military Order of Malta*