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Student Article

Biotechnology: Ethical Dilemma and Financial Issues

This student article is written by Bassam Al-Balushi, Law Student at Sultan Qaboos University College of Law, under the supervision of Dr Saleh Al-Barashdi. This article is part of a series of student articles published on Decree in collaboration with Sultan Qaboos University College of Law to showcase the legal academic writing of Omani law students.

Biotechnology has been defined by many researchers in different ways, but the most common definition is applying technology to living organisms.[1] This field is a wide sea with lots of interesting caves, some of which we have already explored while others are yet to be discovered. Although biotechnology is filled with fertile soil for opportunities, it most of the time ends up in a two-case scenario: either a financial loss or an ethical dilemma.

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Announcements

Decree Signs MOU with the Omani Lawyers Association

Decree signed last week a memorandum of understanding with the Omani Lawyers Association (OLA) to cooperate in the fields of legal awareness and access to legislation. Under this MOU, Decree will collaborate with OLA in organising legal awareness events in Arabic and English, will provide special rates for subscribing to Decree to small Omani law firms not practising in association with a foreign law firm, and will provide members of OLA the opportunity to advertise on Qanoon.

The special Decree subscription rates offered to small Omani law firms under this MOU are available until the expiry of the MOU in August 2025.

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Law Updates

MEM Amends Executive Regulation of Mining Law to Include a Chapter on Social Contribution

The Ministry of Energy and Minerals (MEM) issued in this week’s Official Gazette Ministerial Decision 36/2023 Amending Some Provisions of the Executive Regulation of the Mining Law. These amendments include provisions on social contribution under a new chapter numbered Fivebis.

Mining licensees are now obligated to contribute 1% of their total annual production for local community development. This amount, calculated and collected by MEM, is passed to the Ministry of Finance within five working days and subsequently allocated every three months to the development budgets of the offices of the governors. It should be noted that in the event that the licence area includes more than one region, the social contribution is disbursed based on the assessment of the governor depending on the need of the region.

The amendments state that social contribution amounts are earmarked for sustainable and local community-based projects, which include supporting youth activities and environmental projects.

The amendments entered into force on 14 August 2023.

You can read the amendments in full in English on the link below:

Amendments to Some Provisions of the Executive Regulation of the Mining Law
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Announcements

Applications Open for the Middle East School on Internet Governance in Muscat

We are delighted to announce that Decree will be co-hosting, along with Sultan Qaboos University, the Middle East School on Internet Governance (MEAC-SIG). This event is organised by ICANN, the Internet Society, and RIPE NCC. It will take place in Muscat for the very first time in December 2023.

MEAC-SIG is a unique hybrid course on internet governance targeting lawyers, techies, and policymakers from various sectors including the government, private sector, academia, the technical community, and civil society. It covers a range of internet governance topics, encompassing both policy and technical aspects. In addition to providing an overview of how the internet functions, this year’s MEAC-SIG will also cover geopolitics and internet governance, internet public policy, internet fragmentation, human rights, cybersecurity and encryption, privacy and data protection, as well as content regulation.

MEAC-SIG this year will be conducted in a hybrid format where online sessions will be conducted in October and November 2023, followed by a 3-day in-person event in Muscat in December where participants who successfully complete the online course from across the Middle East and adjoining countries will come to Muscat.

MEAC-SIG will be conducted exclusively in English.

We are delighted to have contributed to bringing this exceptional course to Oman, and hope to see many of you register to participate in this event.

The participants of the programme will be selected on the basis of their background with a view to maximizing the diversity of the participants. Only individuals who successfully complete the online component of the course will receive invitations to attend the offline component taking place in December.

Applications for MEAC-SIG will close on 3 September 2023. For more information and the application link, please visit the MEAC-SIG website.

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Announcements

Launching Decree Intel

We are delighted to announce today the launch of Decree Intel—a database of original Omani legal research material developed in-house by Decree that provides explanatory notes, overview of government entities, and summaries of Supreme Court cases and MJLA Fatwas.

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Special Feature

New Omani Labour Law: 5 Employee Rights and 5 Employer Rights

The long-awaited Omani Labour Law that came out last month makes substantial changes to the relationship between employees and employers, and it will take everyone a period of time to fully appreciate the changes introduced by this critical piece of Omani legislation. In this blog post, we will shed light on 5 of the most significant benefits that both employees and employers have under this new Labour Law.

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Guest Post

Protection of the Rights of the Disabled Under Omani Law

This guest blog post is contributed by Duniya Al-Nabhani – Law Master’s Student and SQE Candidate.

The recently issued Social Protection Law confirmed the importance that Oman gives to persons with disabilities by providing several rights and benefits to this vulnerable social group. These rights and benefits include providing a monthly guaranteed financial subsidy to every person with a disability and also allowing persons with disabilities to retire 10 years earlier than persons without disabilities. These fundamental rights granted by this new groundbreaking law are not the first or the only rights granted by Omani law to persons with disabilities as the Omani legal system has long recognised the need to provide them with special protections to address the inequality they face due to their disability. This post will highlight some of the other Omani laws that recognise the rights of the disabled.

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Commentary

Banned Barbie: Censorship Law in Oman

The world of artistic expression and censorship are often found at crossroads in various parts of the world, owing to differing cultural, religious, and societal norms. One recent subject of these crossroads is the 2023 live-action movie ‘Barbie’, based on the globally recognised Barbie dolls by Mattel. While this film has gained significant popularity worldwide, it has also been banned in several countries, including countries in the GCC. Oman has yet to clarify its stance on ‘Barbie’, but anticipation is growing about potential prohibitions, given the precedent established by neighbouring GCC countries. This blog post will provide an overview of Omani law in the area of movie censorship, the government entity responsible for censorship, and the legal mechanisms for challenging censorship decisions.

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Law Updates

MOCIIP Issues Decision on the Combatting of Concealed Trading

The Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Investment Promotion issued a new decision in this week’s issue of the Official Gazette on the combatting of concealed trading.

The decision defines the term “concealed trading” as enabling a person to engage in an activity that the laws of the Sultanate of Oman do not allow him to engage in, whether for his own account or in association with others. Accordingly, the decision identifies the parties involved in concealed trading: The concealer who is the person that enables concealment, and the concealed trader who is the person that benefits from the concealment.

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Monthly Digest

Decree Monthly Digest – July 2023

Decree Monthly Digest is a summary of the most significant legislation issued in the previous month.

ROYAL DECREES

Twelve royal decrees were published in July, with the most significant being Royal Decree 52/2023 Promulgating the Social Protection Law, and Royal Decree 53/2023 Promulgating the Labour Law. The systems of the entities that will administer the Social Protection Law were also published through Royal Decree 50/2023 Promulgating the System of the Social Protection Fund and Royal Decree 51/2023 Promulgating the System of the Military and Security Services Pension Fund. Other noteworthy royal decrees include Royal Decree 54/2023 Promulgating the Members of Majlis Al-Shura Elections Law, Royal Decree 44/2023 Establishing the Khazaen Economic City and Promulgating Its System, and royal decrees approving exploration and mining concession agreements numbered 46/2023, 47/2023, 48/2023, and 55/2023, and Royal Decree 49/2023 Ratifying the Agreement between the Government of the Sultanate of Oman and the Government of the Republic of Poland on the Mutual Visa Exemption for Holders of Diplomatic, Special, and Service Passports.

MINISTERIAL DECISIONS

Ten ministerial decisions were published in the Official Gazette during this month, with the most significant ones being MOCIIP’s decision on the combatting of concealed trading, MAFW’s decision amending some provisions of the regulation governing wells and aflaj, and OAAAQA’s decision determining the fees for institutional accreditation of higher education establishments with branches.

BLOG UPDATES

Our blog featured a commentary article by Yousuf Al-Busaidi titled “Regulating the Waterworks—the New Water and Wastewater Sector Law”, four posts by Mohammed Al-Farsi titled “Oman Joins the GCC Railway Project: An Overview”, “MOL Issues Decision on the Wage Protection System”, “MHUP Amends Decision on the Controls for Allocating Government Land for Public Majlises”, and “The New Joint Dialogue Committee under the Omani Labour Law”, and one post by Dr Riyadh Al-Balushi titled “New Grounds for Terminating Employment Under Omani Labour Law”.

To stay up to date with the latest laws and regulations coming out, make sure that you subscribe to the free Decree Newsletter.