OMAN LAW AND PRACTICE Contributed by: Said Al-Shahry, Thamer Al-Shahry, Jeremy Pooley, Maria Mariam Rabeaa Petrou, Shadha Al Kharusi and Salim Al Harthi, Said Al Shahry & Partners (SASLO )
Said Al Shahry and Partners (SASLO) SASLO Building No 597/1 Way No 262 Airport Heights, Ghala PO Box 1288, PC 112 Ruwi Muscat
Sultanate of Oman Tel: +968 2463 6999 Fax: +968 2463 6900 Email: mail@saslo.com Web: www.saslo.com
1. Legal System 1.1 Legal System and Judicial Order Oman is a civil law jurisdiction. Legislation is the primary source of its laws, not judicial precedent. Royal Decrees form the bedrock of Oman’s leg - islative framework and are often supplemented by secondary/delegated legislation in the form of Ministerial Decisions. Royal Decrees are identi - fied in this chapter of the guide with the initiali - sation “RD”. Oman’s Civil Transactions Law RD 29/2013 (the “Civil Code”) regulates all matters not addressed by other specific laws. Under the Civil Code, commercial arrangements between parties are governed by the contract between them unless the law imposes a contrary requirement. The principles of Islamic jurisprudence, the princi - ples of sharia and customary practices may also be relevant when interpreting a contract (in that order of descending authority). The courts take a purposive approach to the construction of contracts and will seek to iden -
tify the parties’ intention to a contract. Broadly speaking, a party exercising rights under a con - tract will be expected to act reasonably and in good faith. The Basic Law of the State RD 6/21 (the “Basic Law”) essentially serves as Oman’s constitution. Under the Basic Law, judicial power is independ - ent and vested in the courts, which operate in accordance with the rule of law. The judiciary consists of the Primary Courts (the Courts of First Instance), the Appeal Courts and the Supreme Court (Oman’s highest court). 2. Restrictions on Foreign Investments 2.1 Approval of Foreign Investments General Principles Non-Omanis may only conduct business in Oman through a locally registered entity. In prac - tice, this means that non-Omanis must either establish a presence in Oman or conduct their
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