Category: Article

The Electronic Transactions Law sets the ground rules for how electronic signatures, trust services, and digital authentication work. Whether you’re signing a contract online, running a business, or simply curious about your digital rights, understanding this law matters. This blog post will highlight four key provisions found in the law.

1. Electronic Signatures Carry Full Legal Weight 

Under the Electronic Transactions Law, electronic signatures and documents are legally equivalent to their paper-based counterparts. Article 8 of the Electronic Transactions Law explicitly states that an electronic document is deemed a written document and produces its legal effects if it meets the technical conditions. Furthermore, article 20 confirms that electronic contracts have the same validity, enforceability, and evidentiary power as traditional contracts.

2. Three Levels on Signatures

The law categorises electronic signatures into three types, each with different levels of security and evidentiary reliability:

1. Simple Electronic Signature

This is the most basic form which includes letters, numbers, codes, symbols, or any other mark placed on an electronic document or transaction. A simple electronic signature is reliable evidence if it meets the provisions stipulated in article 11 of this law, and any concerned party may prove by any means that this signature is reliable.

2. Advanced Electronic Signature

A step up in both security and legal standing, this signature must be unique to the signatory and capable of identifying and distinguishing them from others. For it to qualify as reliable evidence, three conditions must be met. The creation tool must be linked solely to the signatory and under their control at the time of signing. Any alteration to the signature after signing must be detectable. And where the signature’s purpose is to confirm data integrity, any changes to the associated electronic information must also be detectable. As with simple signatures, reliability can still be proven through other means.

3. Qualified Electronic Signature

Sitting at the top of the hierarchy, this is an advanced electronic signature that meets the same conditions as the advanced signature but is additionally linked to an electronic authentication certificate. That extra layer of verification gives it the highest degree of trust and legal reliability under the law.

3. Trust Services Require Official Licensing

Article 24 of the law identifies a range of trust services that form the foundation of secure electronic transactions. These include the issuance of electronic authentication certificates, qualified electronic signatures, electronic seals, verification of electronic identity, electronic delivery services, and any other services the ministry may specify.

According to article 25 no entity may provide these services without obtaining a licence from the ministry, subject to the conditions and procedures set out in the regulation. The only exception is for closed internal systems, where an entity processes electronic information or data entirely within its own structure without interacting with third parties or handling external transactions.

Furthermore, article 26 confirms that these licences cannot be partially or wholly assigned, and a provider cannot suspend its services or merge with another provider without the ministry’s prior approval.

4. Misuse Carries Heavy Penalties

The law sets out a clear scale of punishments under articles 31 through 37. Penalties range from fines of 100 Rial Omani and one month’s imprisonment for obstructing authorised officers, up to fines of 50,000 Rial Omani and five years’ imprisonment for operating trust services without a licence. Legal persons face double the maximum fine, and courts may confiscate all devices, tools, and funds connected to the offence. Furthermore, the ministry can also impose administrative fines of up to 2,000 Rial Omani for violating the law or the regulation.

Conclusion

This blog post provided some of the key provisions of the Electronic Transactions Law. We highly recommend that those working in e-commerce and digital business familiarise themselves with this law.

You can read the full text of the Electronic Transactions Law in English on Decree on the link below:

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In the digital age, the data is a high-stakes asset. Recognising this, Oman’s Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL), issued by Royal Decree 6/2022, sets some serious obligations for data controllers and processors to protect and respect the personal data of users. If these data controllers and processors fail to fulfil their obligations, the law imposes serious penalties for non-compliance. This blog post will provide an overview of the penalties imposed under the PDPL.

Bereavement leave, or compassionate leave, recognises that employees may need time away from work due to the death of a close relative. It is a form of paid leave designed to support employees during difficult and vulnerable periods. This blog post will outline the types of bereavement leave available under the Labour Law of 2023.

Under article 70 of the Labour Law, workers are entitled to a daily one-hour rest and eating break, which is excluded from actual working hours. This blog post explains the legal framework governing working hours, mandatory lunch breaks, and employee rights within the 40-hour work week.

Foreign arbitral awards are decisions issued by arbitration tribunals seated outside the Sultanate of Oman, usually in disputes with an international or cross-border element. The enforcement of such awards is crucial because it determines the extent to which international commercial resolutions can be recognised and executed within Oman’s jurisdiction. The primary legal framework governing this process is the Civil and Commercial Procedures Law, promulgated by Royal Decree 29/2002, alongside the 1958 New York Convention, which Oman ratified via Royal Decree 36/98. This blog post provides an overview of the legal basis and key requirements for enforcing foreign arbitral awards in Oman.

The Single Person Company (SPC), or alternatively known as the One-Person Company, represents a distinctive business legal structure blending the autonomy of a sole proprietorship with the protective veil of limited liability enjoyed by Limited Liability Companies (LLCs). Enacted under articles 291 to 297 of the Commercial Companies Law of 2019, the SPC caters to individual entrepreneurs and corporate entities seeking to isolate particular business activities within a single-owner framework. This blog post will provide details on the formation, liability, and limitations of SPCs under Omani law.

Annual leave is a statutory right under Omani Labour Law. Although this right is well established, many employers and employees remain uncertain about its practical management, particularly when work requirements necessitate postponement or in cases of leave accumulation. This blog post provides practical insights on managing annual leave, explaining the statutory entitlements, the conditions governing postponement and carry-over of leave, and the circumstances under which compensation is required by law.

As money laundering and terrorist financing methods become more sophisticated, criminals are increasingly using multi-layered corporate structures to hide the individuals behind the business. This lack of transparency makes it difficult for authorities to trace illicit funds. In response, governments across the Middle East are shifting toward stricter transparency measures to align with international standards that require companies to disclose the identity of the ultimate beneficial owners, or UBOs, and maintain a register for the government to inspect at any time. This blog post will highlight the Omani legal framework in this regard and the key UBO obligations in Oman.

The Labour Law provides a strict legal framework for governing overtime work in Oman, such as the maximum number of permitted overtime working hours, employee consent requirements, and the mechanism for calculating the pay. This blog post will highlight three key provisions relating to overtime in Oman that all employees and employers need to be aware of.

Maximum Overtime Working Hours

Under articles 70 and 71 of the Labour Law, the maximum regular working hours are capped at 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week. The law also caps the number of regular hours plus overtime to 12 hours.

It is important to note that these hours are “actual” working hours hence, they do not include the mandatory daily rest and lunch break. The law stipulates that a continuous working period must not exceed 6 hours without a break, which is generally one hour.

This distinction that rest periods are not working hours has been reinforced by the Omani judiciary. A notable principle from Supreme Court Contestation 766/2017 confirms that rest time is excluded from overtime calculations, ensuring that compensation is based strictly on time spent working.

Consent is Required for Overtime Work

A primary requirement is that employers must obtain the worker’s written consent before assigning overtime, ensuring the employee agrees to the extra work.

Despite the general requirement for consent, there are specific exceptions under article 72 of the Labour Law. For example, article 72(1) permits the employer to require the employee to work overtime in cases such as annual inventory work, budget preparation, liquidation, and the closing of accounts. Article 72(2) also permits the employer to require the employee to work overtime if it is required to prevent the occurrence of an accident or other similar emergencies. However, in this case the employer is required to inform the Ministry of Labour of this.

Calculating Overtime Compensation

When employees agree to overtime, they are entitled to their basic wage plus a surcharge that scales based on when the work is performed. For instance, daytime overtime commands a minimum 25% increase, while night work which is defined as 9pm to 5am that requires at least a 50% surcharge. Work on weekends and official holidays is compensated with a 100% surcharge or a compensatory rest day. However, in mandatory emergency situations where consent is waived, these rates are 50% for daytime hours, 75% for night hours, and 200% for work performed on rest days or holidays.

Conclusion

We highly recommend that both employers and employees make themselves familiar with the legal provisions relating to overtime by reading the full text of the Labour Law on the link below:

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The probation period is an essential stage of the employment relationship as it enables both the employer and the employee to assess whether the working arrangement is suitable. The Labour Law sets a number of detailed rules governing the duration of the probation period, the rights of employees during this stage, and the obligations employers must observe.

This blog post will highlight the key provisions relating to probation periods under the Labour Law.