Decree Blog
69 royal decrees were issued in the year 2024 that had a transformational impact on the economy and the Omani legal system at large, from the promulgation of a new Advocacy and Legal Consultancy Law and a new System for Signing Government Contracts, to the creation of a new Financial Services Authority and the appointment of a new Chairman for the Tax Authority. This blog post reviews the most significant royal decrees that came out this year.
As we wrap up the month of December, we thought it would be fun to ask members of the Decree team to tell us about the legal developments that they personally found to be most interesting in the year 2024. To allow for some diversity in the answers, nobody was allowed to mention the new Advocacy and Legal Consultancy Law in their answers, since this was the biggest legislative development for the legal profession in Oman in a very long time.
Decree Monthly Digest is a summary of the most significant updates on Decree in the previous month.
Decree Intel is a database of original Omani legal research material that provides explanatory notes, overviews of government entities, and summaries of Supreme Court cases and MJLA Fatwas.
Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority: The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (الهيئة العامة لتنمية المؤسسات الصغيرة والمتوسطة) is the entity responsible for promoting and supporting the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises as well as craft industries.
Overview of Alternative Dispute Resolution: This document provides an overview of the key legislation relating to alternative dispute resolution in Oman.
Case Summary: Supreme Court (Criminal Circuit): Contestation 210/2017 (Reliability of Translation Used in Trial): The Supreme Court held that the issue of the reliability of a translation accepted by the Court of Appeal in the procedures of the trial is a substantive matter that cannot be contested before the Supreme Court.
Case Summary: Supreme Court (Labour Circuit) Contestation: 210/2017 (Consequences of Delaying Employee Disciplinary Measure): The Supreme Court held that the failure of the employer to impose a disciplinary punishment against an employee after the expiry of the deadlines stipulated by the Labour Law rendered the action taken by the employer against the violating employee illegal.
Decree Monthly Digest is a summary of the most significant updates on Decree in the previous month.
Decree Intel is a database of original Omani legal research material that provides explanatory notes, overviews of government entities, and summaries of Supreme Court cases and MJLA Fatwas.
Ministry of Defence: The Ministry of Defence (وزارة الدفاع) is responsible for ensuring security, safety, stability, and peace in the Sultanate.
Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning: The Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning (وزارة الإسكان والتخطيط العمراني) is responsible for proposing public policy for housing and urban planning as well as the policy for allocating government lands.
National Centre for Statistics and Information: The National Centre for Statistics and Information (المركز الوطني للإحصاء والمعلومات) is the official statistics office of the country and the body responsible for conducting the census.
Case Summary: Supreme Court (Commercial Circuit) Contestation 380/2016 (Invalidation of Trade Mark Registration): The Supreme Court confirmed the invalidation of a new trade mark registration due to its similarity to an existing registration. In deciding if the trade marks are similar, the Supreme Court held that one must look at the collective elements of the mark and not individual elements.
We are delighted to announce that Decree now offers translation attestation services for Decree content through Fal Translate. Fal Translate is a boutique legal translation office registered in the Sultanate of Oman with a wealth of experience in legal translation.
Decree Monthly Digest is a summary of the most significant updates on Decree in the previous month.
Decree Intel is a database of original Omani legal research material that provides explanatory notes, overviews of government entities, and summaries of Supreme Court cases and MJLA Fatwas.
Decree Monthly Digest is a summary of the most significant updates on Decree in the previous month.
The month of May was a slow month for royal decrees as only two royal decrees were issued. The first related to the grant of Omani nationality, and the other related to the Oman Centre for Traditional Music transfer from the Diwan of Royal Court to the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Youth.
Seven ministerial decisions were published in the Official Gazette during this month, with the most significant being the Ministry of Interior Regulation Governing Cemeteries, Tax Authority’s decision forming the Tax Grievance Committee, and the MOH’s decisions on the Social Protection Law Medical Committee and Medical Grievance Committee. It is worth noting that the Ministry of Labour also issued Ministerial Decision 320/2024 Forming the Committee for Arbitration of Collective Labour Disputes, which was not published in the Official Gazette.
Decree Intel was updated with overviews of the Ministry of Education and the Environment Authority, and with MJLA Fatwa 212746193 (Applying Civil Transactions Law to Contractual Rights) and MJLA Fatwa 212743851 (Contract Value Revision).
Our blog featured a guest post by Wadhah Al-Hinai titled “Safeguarding Trust and Privacy: The Crucial Role of Confidentiality Clauses in Contracts” along with short updates on the cemeteries regulation and MOH’s decisions on the SPL medical committees.