Riyadh Al-Balushi
CEO

The law that I found most interesting in the year 2024 was the National Records Law, a brand new law for Oman intended to facilitate the work of ROP’s National Record Centre. If this project succeeds, Oman should have a single data point for retrieving key Omani datasets in a manner that facilitates the creation of more reliable digital services in Oman. MTCIT’s Executive Regulation of the Personal Data Protection Law was also extremely important to finally enable everyone to attempt to comply with the Personal Data Protection Law (even though there is no evidence that the law is being implemented). A third legislative development, which hasn’t actually taken place yet, is the upcoming National Artificial Intelligence Policy that the MTCIT floated for public consultation this year, which will not be a legally binding document, but is an interesting attempt by Oman to regulate the use of AI.

The piece of legislation that I found most interesting in 2024 is Royal Decree 28/2024, which established the Omani Waqf Establishment. This is the first time a waqf establishment was created by royal decree, which I consider to be an indication of the formal realisation by the government that waqf can be used as a legitimate medium for both economic and philanthropic development in the country. While we always had a Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs, the role of MARA in the area of waqf has appeared mostly to oversee the operation of waqf by other people. This new Omani Waqf Establishment has the mandate of actually investing awqaf and establishing companies with the aim of investing awqaf, which will hopefully professionalise the sector and take it to the next level.

Mohamed Al-Tai
COO

Mohammed Al-Farsi
Legal Associate

At the start of this year, I predicted that the Ministry of Labour would issue and update some of the labour regulations and decisions relating to the law, and even though we did not see new regulations relating to temporary work, part-time work, or remote work, the Ministry of Labour did issue 10 decisions and regulations covering a variety of labour issues such as the Procedures and Controls for Dealing with Private Sector Establishments that Violate the Provisions of the Labour Law and the Decisions Implementing It, the Rules for Settlement and Abandonment of Lawsuits for Crimes Punishable under the Labour Law, and the System of Complaints and Grievances. Some of these were revamps that were required to be aligned with the new Labour Law, but some were also new regulations for areas previously not governed under the old Labour Law such as Decision 730/2024 Regulating the Temporary Transfer of Non-Omani Manpower Between Private Sector Establishments. You can read all these interesting, and important, decisions by the Ministry of Labour on this link.

In my opinion, one of the most significant laws that were issued this year is the Media Law. The law completely redefined the framework for governing the media industry in Oman, reaffirmed media freedoms such as the freedom of opinion and expression, and removed the majority of restrictions that previously existed. To me, the developments brought by this new law are a positive step towards the realisation of the rights recognised by the Basic Statute of the State and the aspirations for the creation of a real media industry as suggested by article 6 of the law that encourages the media to convey its message with objectivity and honesty. The law was issued towards the end of the year, and the executive regulation of the law has not been issued yet. It would be extremely interesting to see how the executive regulation of this law would contribute to achieving the grand objectives of this new law.

Aram Al-Bahri
Legal Associate

The year 2025 is expected to have even bigger legal developments. To stay up to date with new laws as they come out, make sure that you follow Decree on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Bluesky. You can also subscribe to our free newsletter.

Royal Decrees

Seven royal decrees were issued last month with the most significant being the one ratifying the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer. The remaining royal decrees relating to the ratification of air service agreements with Tunisia, Tanzania, and Georgia, the appointment of ambassadors, and a change to the mandates of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economy.

Ministerial Decisions

23 ministerial decisions were published in the Official Gazette during this month, with the most significant being MOCIIP’s Decision on the List of Activities That Are Prohibited to Be Practised by Foreign Investment, MOL’s Decision Governing the Practice of Some Professions, TRA’s Dispute Resolution Regulation and the Regulation Governing Cloud Computing and Date Centre Services, and CAA’s Regulation on the Protection of Passenger Rights.

Decree Intel

Decree Intel was updated with an overview of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority and an overview of Alternative Dispute Resolution, along with Case Summary: Supreme Court (Criminal Circuit): Contestation 210/2017 (Reliability of Translation Used in Trial) and Case Summary: Supreme Court (Labour Circuit) Contestation: 210/2017 (Consequences of Delaying Employee Disciplinary Measure).

Blog Updates

Our blog featured a post by Riyadh Al-Balushi titled “Global AI Regulation: The New European AI Convention“.

New Content

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.

Royal Decrees

No royal decrees were issued last month.

Ministerial Decisions

Seven ministerial decisions were published in the Official Gazette during this month, with the most significant being MOL’s Decision on the Procedures and Controls for Dealing with Private Sector Establishments That Violate the Provisions of the Labour Law and the Decisions Implementing It, Decision on the Rules for Settlement and Abandonment of Lawsuits for Crimes Punishable under the Labour Law, and Decision on Suspension of the Issuance of Trading Permits for the Temporary Employment of Non-Omani Workers in Certain Professions, as well as the EA’s Decision Amending Some Provisions of the Regulation Governing Environmental Permits.

Decree Intel

Decree Intel was updated with overviews of the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning, and National Centre for Statistics and Information, along with Case Summary: Supreme Court (Commercial Circuit) Contestation 380/2016 (Invalidation of Trade Mark Registration).

Blog Updates

Our blog featured a post by Riyadh Al-Balushi titled “Oman’s National Artificial Intelligence Policy”.

New Content

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.

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Royal Decrees

Six royal decrees were issued in the month of June, with the most significant being Royal Decree 28/2024 Establishing the Omani Waqf Establishment and Royal Decree 31/2024 Approving the Nomination of a Percentage of the Rights and Obligations in the Petroleum Agreement for Block 65.

Ministerial Decisions

Seven ministerial decisions were published in the Official Gazette during this month, with the most significant being MOF’s Final Account of the State for Fiscal Year 2023, MOCIIP’s Regulation Governing the Practice of Filling and Selling Liquefied Petroleum Gas Cylinders, ROP’s Controls for Providing Vehicle Technical Inspection Service, and SPF’s Decision Determining the Categories of Non-Omani Workers Subject to the Branch of Maternity Leave Insurance.

Intel

Decree Intel was updated with overviews of the Ministry of Social Development and the Consumer Protection Authority, and with the summary of Supreme Court (Labour Circuit) Contestation 427/2017 (Equal Treatment of Employees) and MJLA Fatwa 212743438 (Contract Succession between Government Entities).

Blog Updates

Our blog featured a post by Riyadh Al-Balushi titled “New EU AI Act: Implications for Oman“, and short law updates on the New Waqf Establishment, ROP’s Vehicle Inspection Controls, and SPF’s Decision on the Categories of Non-Omani Workers Subject to Maternity Leave Insurance Branch.

New Content

Case Summary: Supreme Court (Labour Circuit) Contestation 427/2017 (Equal Treatment of Employees): An employee sued his employer for failing to pay him a cost-of-living allowance that his colleagues receive. The Supreme Court confirmed that it has the power to re-adjust the salary of an employee to match the salaries of other employees in the same organisation in accordance with article 11 of the Labour Law if the employees are working in the same circumstances, have the same qualifications, and agree to the same work conditions. However, the Supreme Court decided that the employee was unable to establish that the facts of his employment met the requirements of article 11 of the Labour Law, and therefore rejected his claims.

MJLA Fatwa 212743438 (Contract Succession between Government Entities): The Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs (MJLA) deemed that the allocation of a government building to a government entity does not automatically make that government entity a party to a construction contract relating to that building when another government entity has been explicitly assigned the obligations relating to this contract by royal decree.

Ministry of Social Development: The Ministry of Social Development (وزارة التنمية الاجتماعية) is responsible for regulating social work, protecting vulnerable groups in society, such as children and the disabled, and regulating the establishment and operation of civil associations (NGOs) in Oman.

Consumer Protection Authority: Consumer Protection Authority (هيئة حماية المستهلك) is the entity responsible for safeguarding and raising awareness of consumer rights, as well as monitoring the pricing of goods and services in the market and ensuring their continuous availability. 

Royal Decrees

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.

Ministerial Decisions

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.

Intel

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).

Blog Updates

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.