Expert Insight

Law with economy and development in Sultanate of Oman Omani Lawyer . Kauthar Al Busaidia

The law is a result of the society’s need and its mirror speaking in legislation, and there is no doubt that the law and legislation are closely linked to the development aspects of any country, especially those developing countries with economies that attract foreign investment in those countries. As for legislation in the Sultanate of Oman, the Omani legislator has tried to keep pace with developing and improving economy of the Sultanate, day after day, and it was undoubtedly necessary to issue new laws and amendments to some old laws. In this article, I will review the most important laws related to the economy and the wheel of development and the most prominent changes that have occurred:

1- Foreign Capital Investment Law:


This is one of the most important laws that underlie national trade in order to attract foreign capital, in the Sultanate of Oman, this law originated in the early nineties of the last century, but it was amended by the last decree in 2019 with a set of other laws, but the new law came in general terms and left the details to the executive regulations that the Ministry of Trade and Industry is preparing, and the goal of this matter is to create an area of ​​freedom for the government to amend the controls of foreign investment due to the market situation and other conditions and this in fact is a negative matter that creates a kind of instability in the market and shook the investor's confidence, fearing of the rapid change in government regulations and systems that could harm the investor because of the absence of real and actual guarantees to the investor in the new law.

2- Privatization Law:


It is a beautiful and good law and aims to protect privatization in Omani law, and it is the transformation of the institution from a government institution into a company with a specific legal form. What is beautiful in this law is that it laid down guarantees for everyone, for the government, for the citizen, as well as for the worker in the privatized sector, as well as it makes a basis of the principle of governance in this area.

3- Public-Private Partnership Law:


It is a very important law that organized the process of entering the government in partnerships with the private sector and foreign and local investors with less than 40%, such as the government's contribution with land in a project that another investor is providing money to build, and other projects that bring profit to individuals and the government; this law came to create a kind of transparency in competition for these opportunities provided by the government and so that the government can create transparent opportunities for all investors equally and with guarantees equal to investors as well as the government.

4- Bankruptcy Law:


Prior to the issuance of the current law, there was a set of legal articles in commercial law that regulated commercial bankruptcy, and they were marginal laws that were not used; and they were not used in light of the existence of the so-called liquidation. Therefore, the law came independently after the many financial troubles that companies are exposed to due to the recurrent financial crises. This law came to protect the creditors from these measures that are often harmful to them and are unfair to them and disrupting the market situation.

In conclusion, I think from my legal opinion when looking for real development, the rule of law must be the first criteria for evaluating the economic renaissance, and the legislator must be aware of the extent of the economic change taking place at the current stage and take into account the extent of the impact of this situation on the drafting of legislations or its amendments

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