OMAN Law and Practice Contributed by: Mohammed Al Khalili, Jenna Al Bakry, Joud Lashko and Abdullah Al Raiisi, Al Khalili, Al Ghailani & Co LLP
Al Khalili, Al Ghailani & Co LLP Al Maaridh Street Qatar Airways Building
8th Floor Office 81 Ghala Muscat PO Box 191 OM 100 Oman
Tel: +968 24 494 816 Email: info@kco.om Web: www.kco.om
1. Policy Development of Collective Redress/Class Action Mechanisms 1.1 History and Policy Drivers of the Legislative Regime The development of collective redress mechanisms in Oman reflects the gradual institutionalisation of adjudicatory processes within a civil law framework informed by Islamic jurisprudential principles and modern administrative reform. Although Oman has not adopted a codified “class action” regime akin to common law jurisdictions, the underlying concept of collective harm and shared remedy has long existed within the Omani legal order ‒ manifesting historically through communal and conciliatory practices and, in modern times, through procedural and regulatory innovation. Pre-Codification and Customary Foundations Prior to the formal codification of civil procedure, the resolution of collective disputes in Oman was gov- erned predominantly by Sharia-derived principles and customary practice. Disputes implicating multiple parties arising from land, trade, or communal entitle- ment were traditionally heard by the judge or resolved through tribal conciliation councils ( Majalis al-ṣulḥ ). These forums recognised a form of communal repre- sentation, whereby harm affecting a defined collec- tive such as merchants or neighbourhoods could be advanced through an appointed elder or respected intermediary. The focus was not procedural formalism
but restorative justice, in line with the Sharia maxim al-ḍarar yuzal (“harm must be removed”). Such prac- tices embodied an early articulation of collective redress grounded in the moral and social imperative of preserving community equilibrium. This pre-codification period thus provided the nor- mative foundation for later procedural acceptance of representative action, anchored in the public policy objective of social harmony rather than adversarial adjudication. Codification and Institutionalisation Following the accession of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said in 1970, Oman underwent a comprehensive transformation of its legal system, transitioning from dispersed customary mechanisms to a unified judi- ciary grounded in codified law. The enactment of the Civil and Commercial Procedure Law (CCPL) by Royal Decree 29/2002 marked the first comprehen- sive codification of procedural rights and obligations within Oman. Although the statute did not introduce a class action framework, Articles 60, 61 and 121 of the CCPL for- mally codified the doctrines of joinder and procedural consolidation, enabling multiple claimants sharing a single legal cause to litigate collectively. This reform reflected a deliberate policy of administrative rationali- sation and judicial efficiency, consistent with broader legislative efforts during the period to centralise adju-
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