Linna Al Kendi is a recent addition to Curtis’ Muscat office. Ms. Al Kendi is an associate in the Corporate International department and advises clients on general corporate and commercial matters.   Before joining Curtis, Ms. Al Kendi worked in private legal practice and most recently was Board Secretary and Legal Counsel at an Omani publicly listed company. She has extensive experience in commercial company law, corporate governance and Omani legal procedure. Ms. Al Kendi also has experience in commercial litigation, having advised clients in commercial, civil and labor matters ..read more

Social Protection Law 52/2023 (the “SPL”) is heralded as a groundbreaking new law which will reshape the social protection framework within the Sultanate of Oman.  One of the notable provisions of the law is the establishment of a unified social protection system that integrates various existing programs and services under one umbrella, ensuring better coordination and efficiency. It introduces a comprehensive framework for social protection, covering areas such as income security, healthcare, workplace injury and disability, education, and housing. Importantly, it includes many protecti ..read more

On 24 July 2023, Oman issued Royal Decree 53/2023 The Labour Law (the “New Labour Law”) introducing a raft of changes intended to modernize the existing law, encourage productivity and enhance and balance rights and duties in the work environment.  The New Labour Law replaces the existing law that has been in place since 2003 and includes significant changes for business operating in Oman.  The new law came into effect following publication in the Gazette on 30 July 2023, and regulations pursuant to the new law are expected to be issued in the coming months.  Importantly, emplo ..read more

In a first of its kind, Oman has recently issued a royal decree (RD 10/2023: Allocating Some Lands for the Purposes of Renewable Energy and Clean Hydrogen Projects) in response to the fast-growing hydrogen power sector and the nation’s desire to become a global hydrogen export powerhouse.  The Royal Decree follows from the establishment of the state-backed hydrogen energy company in early 2022, Hydrogen Oman Company (Hydrom), and the directives from His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik, which called for effective institutional and regulatory foundations to be laid to support the growth of ..read more

 As Oman’s financial market regulator, the Capital Market Authority (CMA) plays an important role in ensuring the stability of the country’s financial system. With the rise in popularity of virtual assets such as cryptocurrencies, the CMA has indicated its intention to establish a regulatory framework to address the unique risks and challenges presented by these new types of assets.  Establishing a regulatory framework for the virtual asset industry in Oman will likely provide greater clarity and certainty for investors and businesses operating in this space, and help prevent any fra ..read more

The eagerly anticipated replacement for the current Labour Law, RD 35/2003 (enacted in 2003), is progressing closer to enactment. In early March 2023, the Majlis A’Shura completed its review of the law and submitted proposed amendments and additions to some articles of the draft law. The draft Labour Law is now with the State Council to be further considered and progressed. Curtis will keep its clients updated and provide a full summary and analysis of the new law once it comes into force ..read more

When agreeing to the terms of a contract at the outset of a relationship, parties sometimes include explicit contractual provisions setting out steps that must be complied with should a dispute arise.  Parties may choose to adopt a staged approach such as including service of a notice of dispute, an initial meeting of the parties or directors of those entities to engage in negotiations, formal mediation between the parties, and a period that should be allowed before a dispute can be referred to either the court or arbitration.  Contractual provisions of that nature are known as dispu ..read more

On 16 August 2022, the U.S. Department of Commerce issued its final determination in its countervailing duty (“CVD”) investigation of steel nails from the Sultanate of Oman. A Curtis team led by partner Matt McCullough helped secure a favourable final result for the Government of the Sultanate of Oman (“GSO”), including a first-ever finding by the Commerce Department in an Oman CVD case that the provision of electricity conferred no subsidy benefit on the company respondent. Relying on a team drawn from Washington, D.C., Paris and Geneva, and on the ground in its Muscat office, Curtis delivere ..read more

 Across the EU, almost every aspect of enforcement of sanctions varies from member state to member state. The EU publishes regulations, but then it is up to each member state to implement those into domestic law. The EU’s regulations do not deal with most aspects of enforcement; penalties, limitation periods, defences, ancillary offences, even the necessary mental element for the offence are all left to the domestic law of each member state. Indeed, in some member states the breaching of sanctions is not even a criminal offence, while in others the prosecution can choose between criminal ..read more

On 12 April 2022, the Curtis Sanctions and Export Controls Committee hosted a webinar titled “US, EU, and UK Sanctions and Export Controls Imposed Against Russia: What Every Business Should Know Right Now.” Curtis’ sanctions experts presented a comprehensive outline of the recent and escalating sanctions and export controls imposed on Russia by the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union, starting in mid-February 2022. The presentation details how these measures affect the operations of any business that intersects with Russian entities, Russian economic sectors, and designat ..read more