Decree Blog

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

October was a relatively busy month on Decree as ten royal decrees were issued on a variety of topics ranging from the amendment of laws and ratification of treaties, to government restructuring and the approval of petroleum agreements.

The most significant royal decrees issued last month are arguably Royal Decree 68/2022 Amending Some Provisions of the Penal Law, which includes, among other things, the criminalisation of the act of insulting the wife and children of the Sultan, and Royal Decree 69/2022 Amending Some Provisions of the Criminal Procedure Law, which introduces a new procedure for obtaining the approval of the Council of Ministers as a pre-requisite for prosecuting ministers for criminal misconduct. Royal Decree 60/2022 was also a significant royal decree as it transferred the climate affairs competences of the Civil Aviation Authority to the Environment Authority. Other significant royal decrees include Royal Decree 61/2022 on Oman’s accession to the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism, Royal Decree 66/2022 issuing a licence to Oman Technology Infrastructure Company to build and operate passive infrastructure for telecommunications towers, and Royal Decree 67/2022 approving the petroleum agreement between the Government of the Sultanate of Oman and Shell Integrated Gas Oman BV, Alizz Gas Development LLC, and Totalenergies EP Oman Block 11 SAS for Block 11.

This month also had several important ministerial decisions including Decision 456/2022 of the Tax Authority amending the Executive Regulation of the VAT Law, and Decision 164/202 of the Supreme Judicial Council determining the geographical jurisdiction of the administrative circuits in Muscat, Salalah and Sohar.

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

Two royal decrees were issued in September as summarised below:

Royal Decree 58/2022 Issuing Class I Licence to Oman Tower Company to Build and Operate Passive Infrastructure for Telecommunication Towers

Licences in the telecom sector are granted by royal decree in accordance with the provisions of the Telecommunications Law. This royal decree granted Oman Towers a licence to build and operate the passive infrastructure of telecommunication towers—which is the first and only licence of its kind granted in Oman.

Royal Decree 59/2022 Amending Some Provisions of Royal Decree 5/81 Governing the Usufruct of the Lands of the Sultanate and Its Executive Regulation

This royal decree introduced a number of amendments to the Executive Regulations of Royal Decree 5/81 Governing Governing the Usufruct of the Lands of the Sultanate of Oman, the most important of which is increasing the term of the right of usufruct of government land from 50 years to 99 years.

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In addition to the royal decrees mentioned above, several ministerial decisions were issued last month, with the following decisions being some of the most significant:

Telecommunication Regulatory Authority: Decision 1152/2/3/2022/1 Issuing the Regulation Governing the Provision of Voice or Video Telecommunications Service Over Internet Protocol

This decision creates a new framework for obtaining permits to provide VoIP and video calling services in Oman, and it imposes a set of new conditions on the providers of such services including a requirement to retain all equipment and data centres physically in Oman.

Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning: Ministerial Decision 192/2022 regarding the Usufruct of Land Designated for the Construction of Private School Establishments

This decision creates a new framework for granting usufruct right for the construction of private schools that sets maximum areas for the usufruct depending on the school type and the specific periods of usufruct for such uses.

Decree Monthly Digest is a summary of the most significant royal decrees and laws issued in the previous month.

Two royal decrees were issued in July as summarised below:

Royal Decree 56/2022 Promulgating the System of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry

OCCI’s new system replaces OCCI’s system of 2017 and introduces a number of changes including a new structure for the OCCI board of directors in which a number of seats is now reserved for elected representatives of companies listed on the Muscat Stock Exchange and one seat is reserved for an elected foreign investor resident in Oman.

Royal Decree 57/2022 Reorganising the Oman Human Rights Commission

This royal decree issued the first comprehensive system for governing the work of the Oman Human Rights Commission, which was established in 2008. The system sets the general framework of how the commission operates and explicitly states that its decisions are made by the majority vote of the representatives of civil society on the commission.

Decree Monthly Digest is a summary of the most significant royal decrees and laws issued in the previous month.

The month of June was the busiest month this year so far in terms of royal decrees with 24 royal decrees issued in a single month covering a change in the membership of the Council of Ministers, a restructuring of the judiciary, the promulgation of two new laws, the amendment of three laws, and more. The highlights of these royal decrees are as follows:

Decree Monthly Digest is a summary of the most significant royal decrees and laws issued in the previous month.

Six royal decrees were issued in May and none of them related to the promulgation of any new laws. These royal decrees can be summarised as follows:

Royal Decree 24/2022 Ratifying the Agreement between the Government of the Sultanate of Oman and the Government of the United States of America concerning Employment of Spouses of Official Employees

This decree ratified a new agreement between Oman and the US that grants spouses of embassy staff of one country the right to work in the other country without the need to obtain a work visa or the need to have a sponsor. This is a unique treaty that Oman has not signed with any other country before, but it affects a very small number of people (spouses of embassy staff).

Royal Decree 25/2022 Reinstating Omani Nationality

This royal decree reinstated Omani nationality to a number of individuals in accordance with the provisions of the Omani Nationality Law.

Royal Decree 26/2022 Making Military Promotions and Appointments in the Royal Office and Royal Decree 28/2022 Making Military Promotions and Appointments in the Ministry of Defence

These two royal decrees made a variety of appointments in the Royal Office and the Ministry of Defence, including appointing the president of the newly established Strategic and Defence Studies Academy.

Royal Decree 27/2022 Establishing the Strategic and Defence Studies Academy and Promulgating Its System

This royal decree established a new government entity, and moved the National Defence College, the Joint Command and Staff College, and the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre from the Ministry of Defence to be under it. This new academy is still subordinate to the Ministry of Defence and has a board of trustees chaired by the Minister of Defence.

Royal Decree 29/2022 Ratifying the Cooperation Agreement in the Field of Maritime Transport between the Government of the Sultanate of Oman and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran

This royal decree ratified an agreement between Oman and Iran on maritime transport and it grants shipping companies of either party the rights to national treatment and freedom of transfer of earnings, along with other rights.