Author: Saja Al-Hosni

Saja is a legal intern at Decree. She has previously interned in an Omani law firm and in the University of Liverpool Law Clinic. She is interested in commercial, corporate, and international investment law. She holds an LLB from the University of Liverpool.

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Three International Agreements Every Law Graduate Must Know

In an increasingly interconnected world, legal practice extends beyond national borders. For law graduates, understanding key international agreements and treaties is essential for navigating global legal systems, especially those that the Government of the Sultanate of Oman has signed with other countries. Whether specialising in international law or operating domestically, familiarity with these frameworks strengthens legal expertise and opens up broader career opportunities. This blog post highlights three types of international agreements that the Government of the Sultanate of Oman routinely signs with other countries and that every law graduate must know.

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Duties of the Council of Ministers

The Government of the Sultanate of Oman is built upon the principle of the separation of powers among the executive, legislative, and judiciary branches of government. The Council of Ministers represents the executive branch, Majlis Oman serves as the legislative body, and the Supreme Judicial Council oversees the judiciary. This blog post will explore the role of the key player in the executive branch of the government: The Council of Ministers.

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Law Updates

Extension of the Grace Period to Comply with Data Protection Regulation

The Ministry of Transport, Communications, and Information Technology (MTCIT) published Decision 6/2025 in this week’s issue of the Official Gazette extending the deadline for complying with the provisions of the Executive Regulation of the Personal Data Protection Law by one additional year.

Entities subject to this regulation were originally required to comply with its provisions by February 2025, and this new amendment changes this deadline to February 2026.

Even though this technically relates to the Executive Regulation and not the actual Personal Data Protection Law, which in theory entered into force in February 2023, the extension of the deadline for complying with the executive regulation effectively means that neither the law or the regulation will not be enforced in Oman until February 2026.

You can read the consolidated version of the Executive Regulation of the Personal Data Protection Law by clicking on the link below:

the Executive Regulation of the Personal Data Protection (CONSOLIDATED)
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Law Updates

New Amendment to the Penal Law

His Majesty Sultan Hitham issued yesterday Royal Decree 11/2025 amending article 71 of Omani Penal Law. The previous text of article 71 gave the courts the power to stay the execution of a punishment, i.e. choose not to implement it, if the circumstances of the convict justify this (such his age or the history of his behaviour).

The new amendment to article 71 of the Penal Law limits the ability of the court to choose not to implement a punishment by stipulating that this power of the court is only available in regard to punishments other than those relating to state security crimes, offenses that undermine the stature of the state, or terrorism and terrorism financing crimes.

This means that if someone is convicted in one of these newly listed crimes, the court has no choice but to implement the punishment imposed against them and the judge will not have the power to stay the execution of these punishments no matter the circumstances of the convict.

This new amendment will enter into force next week. You can read the full texts of Royal Decree 11/2025 in English on the link below:

Royal Decree 11/2025 Amending Some Provisions of the Omani Penal Law