Decree Blog – Page 19

Smart Homes and Privacy Risks

Post author By Guest
Post date August 27, 2023

This student article is written by Adeeb Al-Mazroui, 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.

When the term “Smart” is used, this usually means that a device is capable of making the life of its user easier. In the context of “smart homes”, this simply refers to a home equipped with connected appliances with software controls.[i] These connected devices may allow the user to control them through a mobile device while being away from the home by communicating with the devices and the servers that are linked to them.

These connected devices can put the privacy of their users in danger, as it might be possible to access the data of the user by third parties, especially in cases where the technical protection applied to the connection is not sufficiently strong. Given that privacy is recognised as a fundamental human right of great significance—as recognised by various domestic, regional, and international documents,[ii] there is a great incentive for scientists and specialists to improve the technologies used to protect this fundamental right.

This article aims to illustrate and analyse some key risks to the use of smart homes and attempts to identify reasonable solutions to mitigate such risks.

Law Updates

EA Overhauls Environmental Permits Framework

Post author By Mohamed Al-Tai
Post date August 21, 2023

The Environment Authority (EA) published in this week’s issue of the Official Gazette Decision 107/2023 Issuing the Regulation Governing Environmental Permits that provides a new simplified framework for obtaining environmental permits for all commercial activities.

Student Article

Biotechnology: Ethical Dilemma and Financial Issues

Post author By Guest
Post date August 20, 2023

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.

Announcements

Decree Signs MOU with the Omani Lawyers Association

Post author By Decree
Post date August 16, 2023

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.

Law Updates

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

Post author By Mohamed Al-Tai
Post date August 15, 2023

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

Announcements

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

Post author By Riyadh Al-Balushi
Post date August 14, 2023

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.

Announcements

Launching Decree Intel

Post author By Riyadh Al-Balushi
Post date August 13, 2023

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.

Special Feature

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

Post author By Mohammed Al-Farsi
Post date August 12, 2023

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.

Guest Post

Protection of the Rights of the Disabled Under Omani Law

Post author By Guest
Post date August 5, 2023

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.

Commentary

Banned Barbie: Censorship Law in Oman

Post author By Mohammed Al-Farsi
Post date August 4, 2023

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.