OMAN Law and Practice Contributed by: Sultan Al Ghafri, Nasser Al Riyami, Abdullah Al Aufi and Joud Lashko, Al Khalili, Al Ghailani & Co. LLP (K&Co.)
2. Governing Legislation 2.1 Governing Law
their text has not been published, with the result that their scope and content are not yet known. Practi - tioners should therefore monitor the Official Gazette for their issuance, as well as whether the judicial and institutional developments described above prompt a more comprehensive statutory update in due.
International arbitration in Oman is governed princi - pally by the Arbitration Law. Oman’s first arbitration statute was itself drafted on the model of the 1985 UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration: from its original enactment in 1997, and not merely as a result of the later amendments, the Arbitration Law has been closely modelled on the Model Law, and it adopts its core structure, covering the arbitration agreement, constitution of the tribu - nal, conduct of proceedings, interim measures, and recognition, enforcement and annulment of awards. While the overall framework mirrors the Model Law, Omani legislation diverges in certain respects, includ - ing a requirement that proceedings be conducted in Arabic unless the parties agree otherwise, a more prescriptive approach to the form and content of the award, and the involvement of the Omani courts at the enforcement or annulment stage in a manner shaped by the general Law of Civil and Commercial Proce - dure, which applies in areas the Arbitration Law does not expressly address. 2.2 Changes to National Law There has been no amendment to the text of the Arbitration Law itself in the past year; the last sub - stantive legislative amendment remains Royal Decree No. 3/2007. However, the institutional framework sur - rounding arbitration in Oman has continued to devel - op. In June 2026, the Oman Commercial Arbitration Centre introduced an amended set of Arbitration Rules for 2026 under a decision of its Board of Directors, alongside a rebranding of the Centre, reflecting an effort to modernise institutional procedure and bring it further into line with international best practice. In par - allel, the Supreme Court has continued to develop and refine Omani case law on the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards, including notable decisions clarifying that foreign awards should generally be enforced in the same manner as domestic awards. A legislative amendment to the Arbitration Law is, however, now in prospect. Both chambers of the Council of Oman, namely the State Council and the Shura Council, have approved a set of amendments to the Arbitration Law, which have been referred to His Majesty the Sultan. The amendments have not yet been promulgated and
3. The Arbitration Agreement 3.1 Enforceability
Under Article 10 of the Arbitration Law, an arbitra - tion agreement must be in writing, failing which it will be treated as invalid. Writing is broadly construed: the requirement is satisfied where the agreement is contained in a document signed by both parties, or is evidenced by an exchange of correspondence, telegrams or other means of written communication between the parties, including by reference in a con - tract to a separate document containing an arbitra - tion clause, provided the reference is clear enough to make that clause part of the contract. The parties must also have legal capacity to agree to arbitration, and the core subject matter of the dispute must itself be arbitrable under Omani law, so that an agreement to arbitrate a matter which the law reserves to the courts, or which is not susceptible of compromise, will not be enforced. Nor may the arbitration agree - ment, or the subject matter it covers, contravene pub - lic order and public policy in Oman. These two limits correspond to the grounds on which recognition and enforcement may be refused under Article V(2) of the New York Convention, with the result that an arbitra - tion agreement which satisfies them is enforceable not only before the Omani courts but, on the same footing, in the other Contracting States. Beyond these formal and capacity requirements, Omani courts have gener - ally shown a supportive approach towards enforcing properly concluded arbitration agreements and refer - ring parties to arbitration where a valid clause exists. 3.2 Arbitrability Omani law does not contain an exhaustive statutory list of non-arbitrable matters, but certain categories of dispute are generally accepted as falling outside the scope of arbitration because they concern matters of public order or exclusive state jurisdiction. These include criminal matters, personal status and family
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