Category: Article

We’ve designed the latest update to the Lex AI to match the pace of your professional life. Your legal research shouldn’t stop when you step away from your desk, so we’ve introduced several features that make managing complex queries on your phone more organised and responsive.

Organise Your Workflow with Pinned Conversations

Managing multiple research threads is now easier than ever. Your conversation list is now divided into Pinned and Recent sections, so your high-priority projects stay front and center.

• Conversations Controls: We’ve added a simple “hold and press” gesture. Just long-press any conversation to pull up a menu of options to Rename, Delete, or Pin/Unpin your chats.
• Search Within Chats: No more endless scrolling. You can now use the search bar within your conversation history to instantly find specific topics or past advice.

Smart Notifications for Deep Research

Because our new agentic search performs deep synthesis of Omani legislation, complex answers can take a moment to generate. You no longer need to wait inside the app. Simply submit your query and switch to other tasks and Lex AI will send a push notification to your phone and allows you to receive notifications on the desktop as soon as your response is ready.

These updates are live for all users on both iOS and Android as well as the web version of Lex AI. Update your app on the App Store or Google Play Store to get started.

The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement Between the Government of the Sultanate of Oman and the Government of the Republic of India was ratified on February 15th of 2026. The main goal of it is to strengthen the bilateral trade agreement, this means to enhance investment ties between the two countries by reducing trade barriers like custom duties on imported goods.

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.