Author: Riyadh Al-Balushi

Decree Monthly Digest is a summary of the most significant royal decrees and laws issued in the previous month.

Two royal decrees were issued in July as summarised below:

Royal Decree 56/2022 Promulgating the System of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry

OCCI’s new system replaces OCCI’s system of 2017 and introduces a number of changes including a new structure for the OCCI board of directors in which a number of seats is now reserved for elected representatives of companies listed on the Muscat Stock Exchange and one seat is reserved for an elected foreign investor resident in Oman.

Royal Decree 57/2022 Reorganising the Oman Human Rights Commission

This royal decree issued the first comprehensive system for governing the work of the Oman Human Rights Commission, which was established in 2008. The system sets the general framework of how the commission operates and explicitly states that its decisions are made by the majority vote of the representatives of civil society on the commission.

Decree Monthly Digest is a summary of the most significant royal decrees and laws issued in the previous month.

The month of June was the busiest month this year so far in terms of royal decrees with 24 royal decrees issued in a single month covering a change in the membership of the Council of Ministers, a restructuring of the judiciary, the promulgation of two new laws, the amendment of three laws, and more. The highlights of these royal decrees are as follows:

Decree Monthly Digest is a summary of the most significant royal decrees and laws issued in the previous month.

Six royal decrees were issued in May and none of them related to the promulgation of any new laws. These royal decrees can be summarised as follows:

Royal Decree 24/2022 Ratifying the Agreement between the Government of the Sultanate of Oman and the Government of the United States of America concerning Employment of Spouses of Official Employees

This decree ratified a new agreement between Oman and the US that grants spouses of embassy staff of one country the right to work in the other country without the need to obtain a work visa or the need to have a sponsor. This is a unique treaty that Oman has not signed with any other country before, but it affects a very small number of people (spouses of embassy staff).

Royal Decree 25/2022 Reinstating Omani Nationality

This royal decree reinstated Omani nationality to a number of individuals in accordance with the provisions of the Omani Nationality Law.

Royal Decree 26/2022 Making Military Promotions and Appointments in the Royal Office and Royal Decree 28/2022 Making Military Promotions and Appointments in the Ministry of Defence

These two royal decrees made a variety of appointments in the Royal Office and the Ministry of Defence, including appointing the president of the newly established Strategic and Defence Studies Academy.

Royal Decree 27/2022 Establishing the Strategic and Defence Studies Academy and Promulgating Its System

This royal decree established a new government entity, and moved the National Defence College, the Joint Command and Staff College, and the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre from the Ministry of Defence to be under it. This new academy is still subordinate to the Ministry of Defence and has a board of trustees chaired by the Minister of Defence.

Royal Decree 29/2022 Ratifying the Cooperation Agreement in the Field of Maritime Transport between the Government of the Sultanate of Oman and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran

This royal decree ratified an agreement between Oman and Iran on maritime transport and it grants shipping companies of either party the rights to national treatment and freedom of transfer of earnings, along with other rights.

Decree Monthly Digest is a summary of the most significant royal decrees and laws issued in the previous month.

Ten royal decrees were issued in April and one of them related to the amendment of a law (the Law of the Administrative Court). These royal decrees can be summarised as follows:

Royal Decree 14/2022 Amending Some Provisions of the System of the Administrative Apparatus of the State

The System of the Administrative Apparatus of the State governs at a high level how government entities are created and managed. This royal decree modified this system by introducing provisions that grant the Council of Ministers the power to exempt certain public authorities and establishments from having a board of directors, and also created a mechanism for appointing an accounts auditor for public authorities and establishments.

Royal Decree 15/2022 Amending Some Provisions of Royal Decree 31/2012 Establishing the National Centre for Statistics and Information

This royal decree removed NCSI from being under the supervision of the Ministry of Economy and instead made it directly subordinate to the Council of Ministers.

Royal Decree 16/2022 Granting Omani Nationality

This royal decree granted Omani nationality to a number of individuals in accordance with the provisions of the Omani Nationality Law.

Royal Decree 17/2022 Ratifying the Agreement between the Government of the Sultanate of Oman and the Government of the Republic of Chile on the Mutual Visa Exemption for Holders of Diplomatic, Special, Service, and Official Passports and Royal Decree 21/2022 Ratifying the Agreement between the Government of the Sultanate of Oman and the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh on the Mutual Visa Exemption for Holders of Diplomatic, Special, Service, and Official Passports

These two decrees ratified a visa exemption agreement between Oman and Chile and another one between Oman and Bangladesh. This is a routine agreement that Oman signs with countries from around the world to facilitate the travel of certain classes of diplomats and government officials (i.e. holders of diplomatic, special, and service (mission) passports). Since none of these passports is usually held by ordinary Omani citizens, such agreements do not have a significant impact on the travel of Omani people at large. Read the Law of the Omani Passport to learn more about the different kinds of passports issued by the Omani government.

Royal Decree 18/2022 Amending Royal Decree 95/2020 Determining the Competences of the Ministry of Information and Adopting Its Organisational Structure

This royal decree modified the organisational structure of the Ministry of Information. The actual details of the new structure are not yet available as the attachment of the royal decree will only be made public when the Official Gazette is published after the Eid holiday.

Royal Decree 19/2022 Appointing an Undersecretary for the Ministry of Information

This royal decree appointed Mohammed bin Said bin Mohammed Al-Balushi as the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Information. His Excellency Mohammed Al-Balushi was previously the undersecretary of the same ministry for radio and television, and he has now become the only undersecretary in the ministry for all of its functions. We assume that the new structure of the ministry only has one undersecretary and not two.

Royal Decree 20/2022 Extending the Membership of the Members of the Oman Human Rights Commission

The Oman Human Rights Commission is a government entity established in 2007 for monitoring the protection of human rights in the country. The members of the commission are appointed by royal decree from among the members of Majlis Al-Shura, Majlis Oman, OCCI, along with civil societies and members of the public at large for a period of three years for each term. This royal decree extended the membership of the existing members until the end of next year.

Royal Decree 22/2022 Approving the Accession of the Sultanate of Oman to the Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material

This royal decree ratified an amendment to the IAEA Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material. This amendment extends the scope of the original convention to cover the physical protection of nuclear facilities and nuclear material used for peaceful purposes in domestic use, storage, and transport.

Royal Decree 23/2022 Amending Some Provisions of the Law of the Administrative Court

This royal decree made some changes to the Law of the Administrative Court, i.e. the court that has the jurisdiction to hear cases against government administrative decisions and in regard to the implementation of administrative government contracts. The details of the amendments are not yet available as the attachment will only be made public when the Official Gazette is published after the Eid holiday.

Decree Monthly Digest is a summary of the most significant royal decrees and laws issued in the previous month.

Three royal decrees were issued in March and none of them related to the promulgation of any new laws. These royal decrees can be summarised as follows:

Royal Decree 10/2022 Establishing Free Zones in Muscat International Airport and Sohar and Salalah Airports

This decree established three new free zones in the airports of Muscat, Sohar, and Salalah. The operators of such free zones and companies working in them will, in accordance with the Law of Free Zones, be granted special incentives, advantages, and facilities that may include exemptions from income tax and minimum capital requirements. The royal decree stipulates that the operators of these free zones will be companies subordinate to the OIA as specified by the Council of Ministers.

Royal Decree 11/2022 Ratifying the Agreement between the Government of the Sultanate of Oman and the Government of Hungary for the Reciprocal Promotion and Protection of Investments

This decree ratified a bilateral investment treaty (BIT) between Oman and Hungary. This extremely powerful agreement grants rights to Omani and Hungarian investors to have their investment protected against actions by the other state, and allows them to commence international arbitration against these states in the case of the violation of the provisions of the BIT. Oman has signed more than 30 BITs with different countries over the years, but this is the first one it ratifies in the last five years.

Royal Decree 12/2022 Approving the Petroleum Agreement between the Government of the Sultanate of Oman and Almajd Gas Development LLC, Shell Integrated Gas Oman BV, Marsa Liquefied Natural Gas LLC, and Shell Development Oman LLC for Block 10

This royal decree ratified a new oil concession agreement for Block 10 in pursuance of article 9 of the Oil and Gas Law stipulating that a concession agreement shall not be effective until a royal decree is issued approving it.

Decree Monthly Digest is a summary of the most significant royal decrees and laws issued in the previous month.

Five royal decrees were issued in February, including a royal decree promulgating a new law. These royal decrees can be summarised as follows:

Royal Decree 5/2022 Reinstating Omani Nationality and Authorising the Duality of Omani Nationality and British Nationality

A royal decree was issued reinstating Omani nationality and authorising those named in the royal decree to dually hold Omani nationality and another nationality. This royal decree came as a surprise to a lot of people due to the common misconception that dual nationality is not permitted in Oman, when, in fact, article 5 of the Omani Nationality Law makes it clear that this is permitted by royal decree. This is also not the first royal decree of its kind as a quick search on Decree can demonstrate, but it is certainly rare.

Royal Decree 6/2022 Promulgating the Personal Data Protection Law

The Personal Data Protection Law is the first new law to be issued in 2022 and is the first comprehensive legal framework for data protection in Oman. This law formalises the rights of data subjects, sets the duties of data controllers and processors, and introduces new criminal penalties for violating the law. Learn more about this by reading our blog post on the new Omani Personal Data Protection Law.

Royal Decree 7/2022 Ratifying the Agreement between the Government of the Sultanate of Oman and the Government of the Republic of Colombia on the Mutual Visa Exemption for Holders of Diplomatic, Special, Service, and Official Passports

This decree ratified a visa exemption agreement between Oman and Colombia. This is a routine agreement that Oman signs with countries from around the world to facilitate the travel of certain classes of diplomats and government officials (i.e. holders of diplomatic, special, and service (mission) passports). Since none of these passports is usually held by ordinary Omani citizens, such agreements do not have a significant impact on the travel of Omani people at large. Read the Law of the Omani Passport to learn more about the different kinds of passports issued by the Omani government.

Royal Decree 8/2022 Transferring an Employee to the Foreign Ministry and Royal Decree 9/2022 Appointing to Some Positions

The last two royal decrees for this month appointed a new Undersecretary of the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism for Tourism, a new Secretary General of the Tender Board, and a new Chairman of Muscat Municipality. With the exception of the former Undersecretary for Tourism who was transferred to the Foreign Ministry, the previous Secretary General of the Tender Board and the previous Chairman of Muscat Municipality were retired.