Oman routinely signs BITs with other countries as part of its strategy for foreign investment and has 30+ agreements with countries such as the UK, Germany, and Japan.

Here are some key investors rights commonly found in BITs:

The Right to “Fair and Equitable” Treatment

To avoid any arbitrary or discriminatory actions that could harm the investors or their investments, the host government must maintain full transparency and uphold a minimum standard of treatment, that is established in the treaty, to be given to the investors and their investments. This right extends beyond simple “fairness”, it obliges the host government to act transparently, consistently, and in good faith towards foreign investors.

Examples of cases brought forward include claims of unfair treatment, abuse of power or bad faith, fundamental changes in the law that contradict expectations, and inconsistent application of legal procedures and regulations that violate the right to fair treatment.

The Right to Compensation for Expropriation

It is important to note that the host government is entitled to expropriate the property of the investors; however, it must be for legitimate public use, non-discriminatory, done in accordance with due process, and followed by an adequate market value compensation paid without delay and freely transferable. The right covers both direct (where the property is physically transferred to the government or it’s entities) and indirect expropriation (where the property isn’t physically transferred but the goverement deprives the investors of the property’s full economic use and enjoyment). For example, implementing excessive regulations and stripping control from the investors.

The Right to Allow Free Transfer of Funds

Another common right under BITs is related to cross-border fund transfer, which allows investors to make transfers in and out of the host country with ease and without delays. This obligation prohibits any hinderance from the host government that might trap profits within the host country. It ensures liquidity and financial stability, which are crucial for international business, as well as reinforcing investor confidence by guaranteeing free flow of funds and smoother economic operations. The guarantee of free transfer typically covers the following types of flows; profits, interest, dividends, proceeds from sales or liquidations (total or partial), capital funds, and loan payments, etc.

This right also prevents the implementation of currency controls by guaranteeing market exchange rates at the time of the transfer. However, the government may also exercise its right to delay or halt transfers, while still acting good faith, in the events of bankruptcy, enforcement of creditor rights, criminal investigations, financial regulatory requirements, or compliance with court orders and judgments.

The Right to Resolve Disputes with the Government

One of the most powerful rights given to investors under BITs is the right of the investor to resolve disputes the investor has with the host state using a variety of dispute resolution venues such as domestic courts and international arbitration. The actual venues that the investor has access to and the process for resolving disputes depends on the actual text of the treaty, however, most treaties require a cooling-off period for negotiations before resorting to a formal dispute resolution mechanism. If no settlement is reached, the investors may then bring a claim before the domestic court, ad hoc arbitration, or the ICSID, which Oman is a member of, insuring independency from domestic courts.

Conlcusion

In summary, Bilateral Investment Treaties, or BITs, are a fundamental tool that protects foreign investors by ensuring fair treatment, compensation for expropriation, and free fund transfers, while allowing direct dispute resolution against host governments. They create a stable legal framework that balances investor rights with legal government actions, developing confidence and promoting cross-border investment.

The Oman-Iran BIT is the most recent BIT that Oman entered into and was singed in Muscat on May 2025.

Written by:

Shiyam Al-Harrasi

Shiyam is a Legal Intern at Decree. She has previously interned in international and Omani law firms. She is interested in commercial and corporate law. She holds an LLB from the Leeds Beckett University.

Defining the Zones

It is worth noting from the start that the new law does not explicitly define special economic zones or free zones. However, it can be understood from the law that a special economic zone is a wider concept than a free zone as special economic zones can include within them free zones, while free zones cannot include within them special economic zones. Furthermore, special economic zones are direclty managed by OPAZ, while free zones are managed by an operating company that is designed through a concession agreement.

Both special economic zones and free zones offer incentives like tax exemptions, 100% foreign ownership, and simplified administrative processes, making them attractive for industrial, commercial, and recreational projects that contribute to long-term national growth.

Key Functions and Exemptions

Special economic zones and free zones in Oman serve as dynamic investment hubs designed to simplify business operations and increase economic growth. Through a one-stop-shop system, investors benefit from simplified administrative procedures, fast-track permits for non-Omani workers, and an exemption from the minimum capital requirement set under the Commercial Companies Law, etc. Moreover, investors enjoy full protection from nationalisation, seizures, or asset freezing, and have the freedom to transfer profits and capital abroad. Special Economic Zones and Free Zone companies are also exempt from the Commercial Agencies Law, meaning they can engage in trade without requiring a local agent. However, some sectors such as, banks and financial institutions, insurance and reinsurance companies, and telecom service providers, and the like are excluded from income exemptions.

Effects of Legal Shifts

Prior to the issuing of this law, Oman’s special economic zones and free zones operated under separate decrees, and this new law created a unified legal framework that consolidates the regulation of Oman’s special economic zones and free zones.

Overall, this reform transforms Oman’s zoning landscape from a fragmented system into a coordinated national framework. It creates a more predictable environment for investors, improves administrative efficiency, and ensures that both special economic zones and free zones contribute cohesively to Oman’s long-term diversification goals under Oman Vision 2040.

Written by:

Shiyam Al-Harrasi

Shiyam is a Legal Intern at Decree. She has previously interned in international and Omani law firms. She is interested in commercial and corporate law. She holds an LLB from the Leeds Beckett University.

One of the most signed treaties by the Sultanate of Oman is a DTT, also known as a Double Taxation Agreement (DTA). It is a bilateral agreement between two countries that aims to prevent the same income from being taxed by both jurisdictions, thus facilitating the flow of foreign investment. A DTT clearly outlines which country has the primary taxing rights, this clear structure and the elimination of the burden of double taxation are great advantages to foreign investors.

It is very rare for DTTs to have identical provisions, as the process of signing one involves starting with a model agreement and involves a cycle of negotiations between the governments regarding priority over taxing rights and the exact anti-abuse policies they want to implement. For example, a principal purpose test is a provision that can deny the benefits of the treaty if the true purpose was only to exploit those benefits. Model agreements are published by large organisations like the UN and the OECD, and many countries follow the models with small tweaks to better suit their interests. A provision mandating tax withholding by parties in the Sultanate is not uncommon in treaties it signs.

The Sultanate has signed at least 40 DTTs with countries across the globe, the most recent one being signed with Bahrain earlier this year and recently ratified by Royal Decree 62/2025. While it might seem unusual that Oman has signed DTTs with only two countries in the GCC, one of its closest groups of allies, but this is due to the relatively new implementation of tax systems in GCC countries, and it is very likely that we will see such treaties emerge with the complete implementation of tax systems in GCC countries.

In a practical example of the application of a DTT, if a consultant based in Spain was hired for a project by a company based in Oman, under article 52 of the Omani Income Tax Law, the Omani company should withhold tax in connection with any payment made to the Spanish consultant. However, to avoid double taxing the same revenue twice, the DTT between Oman and Spain stipulates in article 14 that income derived by such a consultant can only be taxed in the country of residence and not the other countries, which eliminates the requirement of withholding tax in Oman, and therefore reduces the tax liability of this consultant when doing work in Oman.

Double Taxation Treaties are essential tools in international tax law. They provide clear guidelines for investors and governments on their rights and responsibilities—clarity that is crucial when dealing with multiple tax jurisdictions.

You can use Decree search to locate DTTs signed by the Omani government, and you can view the most recent one signed between Oman and Bahrain on the link below:

Written by:

Al-Julanda Al-Rashdi

Al-Julanda is a Legal Intern at Decree. He has previously interned in international and Omani law firms in addition to interning in an in-house legal team in the banking sector. He is interested in commercial law and banking law. He holds an LLB from the University of South Wales.

Legal Status

Law firms must be established as either advocacy firms or as consultancy firms, and the two cannot be combined and they must be owned by advocates or legal consultants and they cannot be partners in more than one firm.

This segregation of the two specialisations assumes that their work is sufficient as a stand alone service, however the truth of the matter is that they are complimentary services, a system like the UK’s LLP structure allows both to work together. This will have ramifications to firms with foreign investment as they will not be able to register as advocates, and those having two teams of corporate and litigation will most likely have to split. Another consequence will occur to clients who had their work previously done by one firm, as now they will have to go to two distinct firms to manage their disputes and contracts.

Limited liability

Article 51 of the Executive Regulation of the Advocacy and Legal Consultancy Law stipulates that a “partner in the firm is personally liable towards the firm and the rest of the partners for his professional mistakes, and the firm is liable for the mistakes of the partners before third parties”. This can be contrasted to the shareholders of an LLC, who are liable up to the extent of their contribution to the capital, and their personal assets are protected. This demonstrates that the partners of a law firm do not have limited liability provided by LLCs and one-person companies.

It can be argued that these distinctions illustrate that law makers hold law firms to a higher standard as their value is derived from their professionalism and not the unique name, thus requiring them to offer more value than a mere alluring marketing scheme.

Naming

According to article 40 of the Advocacy and Legal Consultancy Law, the “name of the firm must be derived from the name of its owner or one or more partners in it”. In the case of a death of one of the partners, their name should be amended unless the partners obtain the written consent of the heirs to keep the deceased name, as stipulated by article 59 of the executive regulation.

This limitation does not exist for LLCs and one-person companies as their name does not have to be tied to the identity of the shareholders, which provides LLCs and one-person companies with more freedom to be unique and distinctive.

Succession

A major difference between law firms and traditional LLCs and one-person companies is the mechanism by which the ownership of the law firm is transferred to the heirs of the owner. For a law firm owned by a single person, the law firm ceases to exist after his death, unless the shares are collected by heirs who are advocates or legal consultants. If the law firm is a partnership, the law firm does not cease to exist, but the shares do not transfer to the heirs unless they are advocates or legal consultants, if they are not, they must transfer the shares to a registered advocate or legal consultant within 90 days of the death of the partner as stipulated in article 58 of the executive regulation.

This is not the same as a traditional LLC or a one-person company where there is no pre-requisite for the successors to meet certain professional qualifications before they inherit the shares.

Conclusion

This post provided a few examples of the differences between law firms and traditional companies types such as LLCs and one-person companies. To learn you more about the process for establishing a law firm, you can read the Advocacy and Legal Consultancy Law and its executive regulation in English in full on the link below:

Written by:

Abdullah Al-Azri

Abdullah is a Legal Intern at Decree. He has previously interned in an international and in an Omani law firm. He is interested in corporate law and holds an LLB from the University of Sheffield.

Confidentiality

Arbitration has the key advantage of confidentiality in its proceedings, where no unrelated party has access to hearings or any related documents. Contrary to that, in traditional courts, all court hearings are public unless an application is submitted under specific circumstances, regulated by the Civil and Commercial Procedures Law, which most commercial cases do not fall under. This can jeopardise sensitive information included in the contract or the dealings in dispute.

Choice of Language

Traditional courts are bound to deal only in the Arabic language, if the dealings and paperwork are in any other language a certified translation of the document must be submitted instead. Arbitration on the other hand is versatile when it comes to the choice of language, the parties have the choice to select the language in which the arbitration can be conducted. This can, for example, allow the parties to conduct the arbitration in English if they wish to.

Governing Law

Similar to the choice of language, in arbitration, the law gives the parties the power to choose the governing law that is used to decide on the matter of the dispute. It is very common to see arbitrations all around the world that are governed by English law. In traditional courts, you are bound by the governing law of the Sultanate and the parties to do not have the power to change this law.

Selection of Judges and Arbitrators

The selection of Judges is outside the control of the party litigating in traditional courts. On the other hand, arbitration allows the parties choose the number, criteria, and the actual arbitrators that will decide on the matter in dispute. This may be more efficient if the case has many technicalities, in this case the arbitrator can be an expert in the same field instead of traditional courts employing an expert themselves. 

Conclusion

Arbitration provides many advantages through its flexibility and customisability to suit business needs. I highly recommend anyone interested in business disputes to familiarise themselves with the Law of Arbitration in Civil and Commercial Disputes.You can read it in full in English on the link below:

Written by:

Al-Julanda Al-Rashdi

Al-Julanda is a Legal Intern at Decree. He has previously interned in international and Omani law firms in addition to interning in an in-house legal team in the banking sector. He is interested in commercial law and banking law. He holds an LLB from the University of South Wales.

1. Utility Models

Utility models provide protection to novel inventions that have a sufficient inventive step and are capable of industrial application. This form of protection is very similar to patent protection, but the required degree of inventiveness is lower. The protection of utility models lasts up to 10 years.

Utility models are not very famous because the inventions they protect are of a lower degree of inventiveness. There are many example of inventions that are protected by utility models, such as the “Nissin Cup Noodle” which offers an inventive way of making cup noodles but falls below the required level for patent protection.

2. Industrial Design

Industrial design right protects the 3D design of a product, whether with or without colours if the designs offers a unique and special appearance that can be recognised distinctively. It is important to note that design right does not protect the technical functionally of the product and only covers its aesthetic and design. The design right can be protected for periods of 5 years that can be renewed up to 15 years.

For example, Christian Dior registered the design of the bag seen in the image below in Official Gazette 1613.

3. Layout Designs of Integrated Circuits (Semi-conductors)

The right of a layout design of an integrated circuit protects the topographical design of a silicon chip for layout designs that are original. The protection lasts for up to 10 years.

The legal framework has provided for this protection since 2008, however we have not been able to locate the registration of a layout design in Oman.

4. Geographical Indications

Geographical indications protect the names or indication that identify goods as originating from a specific location. Geographical indications are similar to trademarks and their protection can last indefinitely. For example, in theory, geographical indications can be used to protect the name “Omani Halwa” so that it is used to refer to halwa made specifically in Oman and to prohibit others from calling halwa made elsewhere Omani.

Conclusion

These were only some of the example of industrial rights protected by Omani law. It is highly recommended that you familiarise yourself with the full text of the Omani Industrial Property Law. You can read it in English in full in the link below:

Written by:

Abdullah Al-Azri

Abdullah is a Legal Intern at Decree. He has previously interned in an international and in an Omani law firm. He is interested in corporate law and holds an LLB from the University of Sheffield.

This regulation allows closed joint stock companies (SAOCs), referred to as rising companies in the regulation, to be listed on the Rising Companies Market. The regulation provides that rising companies can be listed in the market either through direct listing or indirect listing if the rising company meets the requirements for the method it wishes to be listed through.

This new regulation paves the way for SAOCs to increase their capital and opportunities of investments from serious and qualified investors, and it can be seen as a way of encouraging LLCs to become SAOCs and be listed on the Rising Companies Market.

This decision comes into force as of tomorrow. To learn more about the Regulation Governing the Rising Companies Market, you can read it in full in English on the link below:

Scope of Application

The biggest difference between the two instruments is their scope. The policy applies to personal data held by the government while the law applies to everyone else. This is peculiar because government entities are amongst the largest retrievers of personal data (the government collects data for public services such as healthcare and education) and they should be held accountable under the law, which as will be shown below has more obligations and restrictions.

Legal Effect

Although policies in Oman are expected to be followed, they are not legally binding, and merely serve as guidelines. Accordingly, while the Personal Data Protection Law is legally binding, the Personal Data Protection Policy is not. This means that the provisions of the policy serve as recommendations rather than being required to be followed.

Nature of Rights

The personal data protection legislation is usually comprehensive, as it covers the rights of the data subjects, obligations of data controllers, and the means by which data is received and transferred. These areas all covered in the Omani Personal Data Protection Law in great detail, but only vaguely outlined in the Personal Data Protection Policy, which serves to offer practical guidelines for the procedures of implementing the concepts of data protection.

Data Protection Officer

Under the Personal Data Protection Law, it is mandatory to appoint a data protection officer (DPO) as an expert who upholds the integrity of data processing and keeps their respective entity in check. Lacking a DPO is illegal, and could potentially invite heavy fines. No such mandate is found in the Personal Data Protection Policy, which is problematic since government entities are exempt from the law. This weakens accountability, proficiency, and leads to inconsistent data processing methods.

Conclusion

These were four important differences between the Personal Data Protection Law and the Personal Data Protection Policy. It must be noted that entities are expected to comply with both legal instruments by 2026.

It is highly recommended that you review these two important legal instruments down below. You can read these two documents in full in English at the link below:

Ownership Structure

LLCs are formed by multiple shareholders, with a minimum of two and a maximum of fifty shareholders. The share capital is divided among these shareholders. Whereas, SPCs are owned entirely and exclusively by one individual or entity. Thats why many people understand SPCs to be essentially LLCs, but with a single shareholder.

Number of Companies a Person Can Establish

LLCs have no specific limitation on the number of companies a person can establish, on the other hand, in regard to SPCs, a natural person may not establish more than one SPC, and a SPC cannot establish another SPC.

Management and Continuity upon Owner’s Death

In terms of management and continuity, LLCs are managed by one or more managers appointed by the shareholders, and the company continues to exist regardless of changes in shareholders. Whilst SPCs are managed by the sole owner, who may also appoint managers, and a SPC ceases to exist upon the death of the owner unless the shares of the heirs are held by one person or the heirs decide to change the SPC to a different legal form.

Operational Formalities

A LLC is required to have a shareholders meeting at least once a year, and it must appoint an external auditor if certain conditions are met (such as having more than seven shareholders or having a capital exceeding fifty thousand Rial Omani). These formalities are not required for SPCs at all.

Conclusion

LLCs and SPCs are very similar, but there are some key differences between them. It is highly recommended for any lawyer working in corporate matters to familiarise themselves with all the provisions of the Commercial Companies Law. You can read the Commercial Companies Law in English in full at the link below:

Written by:

Malaak Al-Lawati

Malaak is a legal intern at Decree. She has previously interned in private practice. She is interested in corporate law and commercial law. She is about to start the final year of her LLB degree at Cardiff University.

1. Annual Leave

The annual leave is the most common type of leave, it entitles an employee to a minimum of 30 days of paid leave, granted they complete six months of employment. It can be taken in parts and can be carried over to the next year, provided that the total balance does not exceed 30 days, unless the leave was not taken due to work requirements.

2. Maternity Leave

Female employees are entitled to 98 days of paid maternity leave. This could be started at most 14 days before the expected date of birth. Something interesting most people don’t know is that this special treatment extends to when she comes back to work, as she is entitled to a one hour paid break per day for childcare for one year.

3. Paternity Leave

New fathers can get 7 days of paid paternity leave within 98 days of the child’s birth. If the mother passes away during childbirth or while on maternity leave, the father is entitled to the remainder of the maternity leave.

4. Sick Leave

If an employee provides a medical certificate from a recognised medical authority, the employee is granted a maximum of 182 days of sick leave per year. The employee is entitled to the full salary for the first 21 days. Should the employee’s illness continue, the pay is gradually reduced: the employee receives 75% of the salary for days 22-35, 50% for days 36-70, and 35% for the remaining time up to the 182-day annual limit.

5. Bereavement Leave

When losing a loved one, the Omani Labour Law grants employees paid leave to grieve. The employee is entitled to 10 days for the death of a spouse or child, 3 days for a parent, grandparent, or sibling, and 2 days for an aunt or uncle.

6. Iddah Leave

Iddah in Sharia law is the period a Muslim woman must observe in her home after the death of her husband. In that case, she is allowed 130 days, as opposed to 14 days for non-Muslim women.

7. Hajj Leave

Hajj is the annual pilgrimage Muslims perform in Mecca. The Labour Law grants Muslim employees 15 days of paid leave once during their service to perform the Hajj.

Conclusion

These were some of the leaves granted to employees under the Labour Law. It is important to note that there are other types of leaves that were not covered, such as marriage, study, and patient accompaniment leave. We highly recommend that all employers and employees make themselves familiar with all the provisions of the Labour Law.

You can read the Labour Law in full in English at the link below:

Written by:

Khalid Al-Ghafry

Khalid is legal intern at Decree. He has previously interned in both Omani and international law firms. He is about to start his final year in Law School at the University of Manchester.