Case Summary: Supreme Court (Civil Circuit) 293/2016 (Characteristics of Adhesion Contracts): In a dispute between a bank and a corporate client, the Supreme Court held that the standard terms and conditions of the contract signed between a bank and this corporate client do not fulfil the characteristics of an adhesion contract, and therefore these terms and conditions cannot be set aside on this ground.

Case Summary: Supreme Court (Civil Circuit) 64/2016 (Objection to Court Jurisdiction Over Dispute Subject to Arbitration Clause): In a contractual dispute over rent payments, the Supreme Court held that the Court of Appeal in Sohar cannot, at its own initiative, set aside the judgment of the Primary Court in Suwaiq on the basis that the court has no jurisdiction due to the existence of an arbitration clause in the contract if none of the parties to the dispute raised this as a defence.

The Ministry of Information: This is the entity responsible for disseminating information about the Sultanate of Oman and regulating media in the country.

The Ministry of Economy: This is the entity responsible for formulating the macro-economic policy of the state, approving the annual development budget of the government, and approving projects for the five-year plans of the government.

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Fatwa Summary: MJLA Fatwa 222768811 (Continuation of Process for Allocating Land After the Legal Entitlement Basis Is Repealed): The Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs (MJLA) held that individuals who have reached the lottery stage of the land allocation process are entitled to obtain a land even after the legislation that establishes the right for the entitlement to this land was repealed.

Fatwa Summary: MJLA Fatwa 222770524 (Application of VAT Prior to Entry into Force of VAT Law or VAT Registration): In a contract that was signed before the entry into force of the Value Added Tax Law, the Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs (MJLA) held that a contractor was required to pay VAT out of the contract value agreed with the Ministry of Health and that contractor had no basis for adding it as additional charge that the ministry owes to the contractor.

Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones: The Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones (OPAZ) (الهيئة العامة للمناطق الاقتصادية الخاصة والمناطق الحرة) supervises, regulates, and facilitates the development of special economic zones and free zones to attract foreign investment and promote economic diversification.

Ministry of Labour: The Ministry of Labour (وزارة العمل) is the entity responsible for regulating employment in the public and private sectors in Oman.

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Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority: The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (الهيئة العامة لتنمية المؤسسات الصغيرة والمتوسطة) is the entity responsible for promoting and supporting the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises as well as craft industries.

Overview of Alternative Dispute Resolution: This document provides an overview of the key legislation relating to alternative dispute resolution in Oman. 

Case Summary: Supreme Court (Criminal Circuit): Contestation 210/2017 (Reliability of Translation Used in Trial): The Supreme Court held that the issue of the reliability of a translation accepted by the Court of Appeal in the procedures of the trial is a substantive matter that cannot be contested before the Supreme Court.

Case Summary: Supreme Court (Labour Circuit) Contestation: 210/2017 (Consequences of Delaying Employee Disciplinary Measure): The Supreme Court held that the failure of the employer to impose a disciplinary punishment against an employee after the expiry of the deadlines stipulated by the Labour Law rendered the action taken by the employer against the violating employee illegal.

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Ministry of Defence: The Ministry of Defence (وزارة الدفاع) is responsible for ensuring security, safety, stability, and peace in the Sultanate.

Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning: The Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning (وزارة الإسكان والتخطيط العمراني) is responsible for proposing public policy for housing and urban planning as well as the policy for allocating government lands. 

National Centre for Statistics and Information: The National Centre for Statistics and Information (المركز الوطني للإحصاء والمعلومات) is the official statistics office of the country and the body responsible for conducting the census.

Case Summary: Supreme Court (Commercial Circuit) Contestation 380/2016 (Invalidation of Trade Mark Registration): The Supreme Court confirmed the invalidation of a new trade mark registration due to its similarity to an existing registration. In deciding if the trade marks are similar, the Supreme Court held that one must look at the collective elements of the mark and not individual elements.

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Royal Academy of Management: The Royal Academy of Management (الأكاديمية السلطانية للإدارة) is a government entity responsible for developing leadership in the public and private sectors in Oman and developing the capabilities of public administration.

The National Museum: The National Museum (المتحف الوطني) is a government entity responsible for developing and implementing the national strategy for museums in Oman.

University of Technology and Applied Sciences: The University of Technology and Applied Sciences (جامعة التقنية والعلوم التطبيقية) is the second public university to be established in Oman and the largest in terms of the number of students.

Case Summary: Supreme Court (Criminal Circuit) 19/2017 (Criminal Liability for Failure to Compensate for Official Holidays): The Public Prosecution sued an employer as a criminal action for failing to compensate employees on a 2-week on 2-week off rotation work system for working on official holidays and rest days. The court held that criminal convictions require a high standard for establishing an offence, and depriving employees of national holidays and rest days can be justified in the overall package offered through the 2-week on 2-week off rotational system if it is more advantageous to employees.

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Case Summary: Supreme Court (Labour Circuit) Contestation 427/2017 (Equal Treatment of Employees): An employee sued his employer for failing to pay him a cost-of-living allowance that his colleagues receive. The Supreme Court confirmed that it has the power to re-adjust the salary of an employee to match the salaries of other employees in the same organisation in accordance with article 11 of the Labour Law if the employees are working in the same circumstances, have the same qualifications, and agree to the same work conditions. However, the Supreme Court decided that the employee was unable to establish that the facts of his employment met the requirements of article 11 of the Labour Law, and therefore rejected his claims.

MJLA Fatwa 212743438 (Contract Succession between Government Entities): The Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs (MJLA) deemed that the allocation of a government building to a government entity does not automatically make that government entity a party to a construction contract relating to that building when another government entity has been explicitly assigned the obligations relating to this contract by royal decree.

Ministry of Social Development: The Ministry of Social Development (وزارة التنمية الاجتماعية) is responsible for regulating social work, protecting vulnerable groups in society, such as children and the disabled, and regulating the establishment and operation of civil associations (NGOs) in Oman.

Consumer Protection Authority: Consumer Protection Authority (هيئة حماية المستهلك) is the entity responsible for safeguarding and raising awareness of consumer rights, as well as monitoring the pricing of goods and services in the market and ensuring their continuous availability. 

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Fatwa Summary: MJLA Fatwa 212746193 (Applying Civil Transactions Law to Contractual Rights): The Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs (MJLA) confirmed the right of the employer under the Standard Contract for the Construction of Buildings and Civil Works to replace a contractor with another if the first contractor goes bankrupt in accordance with article 63-1 of the Standard Contract. The MJLA noted that the exercise of this right can be restricted by the provisions of article 59 of the Civil Transactions Law, but determined that none of the cases of article 59 applied in this case.

Fatwa Summary: MJLA Fatwa 212743851 (Contract Value Revision): The Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs (MJLA) adopted a literal interpretation of article 52-3 of the Standard Contract for the Construction of Buildings and Civil Works, Fourth Edition 1999 stipulating that the contractor is entitled to a revision of the contract value if the cumulative value of the variation orders exceeds 10% of the original contract value.

The Ministry of Education: The Ministry of Education (وزارة التربية التعليم) is the body responsible for managing education at all pre-university stages; developing education policies, curriculums, and schoolbooks; and overseeing and providing technical and administrative support for teaching and administrative personnel in schools.

Environment Authority: The Environment Authority (هيئة البيئة)is a government entity responsible for regulating the environmental sector in Oman, protecting wildlife and natural resources, supporting sustainable development of the environment, and implementing international agreements relating to the environment that the Sultanate is a party to, as well as climate affairs. 

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Financial Services Authority: The Financial Services Authority (هيئة الخدمات المالية) is the government entity responsible for regulating the capital markets; insurance companies; the commodities, energy, and derivatives market; credit rating agencies; and the accounting and auditing profession.

The Ministry of Energy and Minerals: The Ministry of Energy and Minerals (وزارة الطاقة والمعادن) is the entity responsible for formulating the strategies and policies of the energy and minerals sectors, as well as developing, supervising, and regulating them.

Case Summary: Supreme Court (Labour Circuit: Contestation) 548/2017 (Failure to Terminate a Definite Period Contract): The Supreme Court held that the failure of the employer to terminate a definite period employment contract before its expiry transformed the contract into a new indefinite period contract.

Fatwa Summary: MJLA Fatwa 212744737 (Oman Housing Bank VAT Exemption): The Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs (MJLA) held that the Oman Housing Bank, a government-owned enterprise under the Oman Investment Authority, is exempt from value added tax (VAT).

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Case Summary: Supreme Court (Labour Circuit) 766/2017 (Calculation of Rest in Overtime Work): An employee sued his employer for compensation for unpaid overtime working hours on the basis of two extra hours plus a one-hour break. The Supreme Court held that break time is not calculated as part of unpaid overtime.

The Ministry of Interior: The Ministry of Interior (وزارة الداخلية) is the entity responsible for developing the policies relating to governorates and local affairs, maintaining public order, undertaking matters relating to the international borders of the Sultanate of Oman, governing Omani nationality, governing tribal affairs, managing all kinds of elections, overseeing municipal councils, and governing mediation and conciliation committees.

Case Summary: Supreme Court (Commercial Circuit) Contestation 137/2017 (Grounds for Setting Aside Arbitral Award): The Supreme Court refused to set aside an arbitral award on the grounds that it had defects outside the grounds identified by the Law of Arbitration in Civil and Commercial Disputes, even though these defects would have been grounds to set aside an ordinary court judgment.

Sultan Qaboos University: Sultan Qaboos University (جامعة السلطان قابوس) is the first public and largest university in Oman.

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Fatwa Summary: MJLA Fatwa 192721181 (SAI Confidential Emails): The Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs (MJLA) deemed that the State Audit Institute (SAI) has a duty to release the confidential emails of a third-party held in its possession to support the defence of the government against the claims made by that third-party in an arbitration case.

Case Summary: Supreme Court (Labour Circuit) Contestation 717/2016 (Verbal Insult to Employer): An Omani employee was terminated from his job for insulting a manager in the presence of other employees. He sued his employer for unfair dismissal and demanded compensation. The Supreme Court ruled that the termination of employment was valid, emphasising that any form of assault affecting a person’s dignity is deemed grievous under article 40(8) of the Labour Law of 2003.

The Secretariat General for National Celebrations: The Secretariat General for National Celebrations (الأمانة العامة للاحتفالات الوطنية) is the entity responsible for organising national celebrations in the country.

The Ministry of Health: The Ministry of Health (وزارة الصحة) is the body responsible for developing healthcare policies as well as managing and directing the delivery of health services in the country.