Decree BlogJust before the end of business last Thursday, the Sultanate issued its first ever royal decree pertaining to the rapidly-developing field of hydrogen. Royal Decree 10/2023 Allocating Some Lands for the Purposes of Renewable Energy and Clean Hydrogen Projects is the first of its kind, earmarking sizable parcels of land purely for these projects.
The Civil Aviation Authority has issued a new Executive Regulation of the Civil Aviation Law. This regulation is issued pursuant to the new Civil Aviation Law of 2019 and replaces the executive regulation of 2007.
The regulation addresses all stakeholders in the aviation sector including airports, manufacturers, carriers, and passengers. The regulation covers a variety of topics ranging from the requirement for forming a national airspace planning committee, the approval process for establishing airports, the regulation of aerodrome obstacles, the requirements relating to the operation and airworthiness of aircraft, the duties and authorities of the captain of the aircraft, licensing of carriers, exemption from civil aviation fees, and procedures for investigating aviation accidents in line with the Chicago Convention.
The regulation also covers wider topics relating to aviation such as meteorology and the CAA’s obligation to publish a regulation on passenger rights.
You can read the regulation in full in English on the link below:
The Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Investment Promotion issued earlier this month a regulation to govern the licensing of the national product brand that requires obtaining a licence before using the brand.
According to article 3, the brand can only be used in regard to products that achieve a minimum percentage of 20% local content. Article 8 also specifies the formula for calculating the percentage of local content by taking into account the ex-works price of the product and the value of the non-originating materials.
The licence is issued for a renewable period of 3 years. The penalties for violating the regulation include imposing a fine not exceeding 500 Rial Omani, suspending the licence for a period not exceeding 1 year, and revoking it.
You can read the regulation in full in English on the link below:
The National Centre for Statistics and Information recently issued a new Executive Regulation of the Statistics and Information Law. The Statistics and Information Law was issued in 2019 replacing the Statistics Law of 2001, and this new regulation replaces the old Statistics Law Regulation of 2004.
The Ministry of Labour recently issued a new System for Job Performance Measurement that applies to civil servants. This system requires all civil servants to set objectives and key results to be achieved during a specific period of time that are tied to the strategic goals of the entity and as agreed with their respective line managers. The system identifies five grades for the evaluation of civil servants, and stipulates that the names of those achieving the highest scores are published within the government entity in question.
The Ministry of Labour has been trialling this system under a programme named “Ejada” since the beginning of 2022. The issuance of this system marks its graduation from being a trial and its official adoption as a requirement on all civil government units.
Decree Monthly Digest is a summary of the most significant legislation issued in the previous month.
January was a relatively slow month for royal decrees as only seven royal decrees were issued and none of them related to the promulgation or amendment of laws. The first royal decree of the year was the usual royal decree ratifying the General Budget of the State for the year 2023, this was followed by two royal decrees declaring public benefit status to construct dams in Wadi Adnoub and Wadi Annar in Dhofar, and four royal decrees ratifying the following treaties:
The Ministry of Interior published in this week’s issue of the Official Gazette Ministerial Decision 16/2023 Issuing the Financial System for the Expenses, Disbursements, and Tenders of the Elections of the Members of Majlis Al-Shura and the Municipal Councils. This new system provides an alternative procurement process to that stipulated by the Tender Law and gives the Ministry of Interior new powers including the power to directly award contracts relating to works, services, and supplies for the elections up to the value of 245,000 Rial Omani without going through a tender.
The Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Investment Promotion (MOCIIP) recently issued a regulation to determine the “beneficial owner” of companies operating in Oman. This regulation is applicable to all types of companies except for public joint stock companies, which are instead regulated by the Capital Market Authority. The companies in question have until the end of this month to satisfy the provisions of this regulation. So what does this regulation mean for your business?
This guest blog post is contributed by Dr Saud Al-Farsi – Director of Legal Opinions and Senior Advisor at the Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs.
The energy sector is one of the most critical industries in any country and is considered by many as the bloodline of new economies. This sector is not concerned only with the introduction of energy, but covers a variety of issues such as the exploration and extraction of fossil fuel, the transport, storage, and distribution of energy to both industrial and household consumers through pipelines or LNG ships, transport through transmission and distribution networks, and access by power generators and end-users. As the Sultanate of Oman, through the Ministry of Energy and Minerals and other stakeholders, plan for the energy transition and the future of the energy sector, it is important to reflect on what energy law means and the guiding principles that Oman should recognise when developing its energy policies and laws.
Just over a year ago, we launched the beta version of Decree to create a definitive English language resource for Omani royal decrees, laws, ministerial decisions, regulations, and treaties. This month, Decree has turned one, and to celebrate this occasion, I thought it would be appropriate to share a progress report that showcases the considerable amount of content we have made available during the course of 2022, as well as mentioning our ambitions for 2023.