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6 things you should know about the Omani Arbitration Law!


1. The arbitration law of the Sultanate of Oman is contained in the Omani Arbitration Law, (Royal Decree 47/97 as amended (the law); that is broadly in line with the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNICITRAL) Model.

2. Oman has no domestic arbitration body; principally the Gulf Cooperation Council’s Commercial Arbitration Centre (GCCCAC) is the body recognized in the Sultanate.

3. Under the Omani law parties are free to choose the arbitration dispute resolution process. An agreement between the parties must have the provisions of arbitration in wiring (initially or even at later stage) if they wish to resolve their matter via arbitration in case of any dispute.


4. In the Sultanate, arbitration is an efficient method to dispute resolution, a dispute via arbitration in Oman can be resolved as soon as within 12 months in contrast to court proceedings, which may stretch any matter for a longer period of time.

5. Factually, the Omani arbitration award has never been nullified by any of the Omani Courts to date. However, under the law, any arbitration award can be challenged as nullified under section 54 of the law. Whereas, the gourds to nullify an arbitration award are contained under section 53 of the law.

6. In global context, in 1995, the Sultanate ratified the Convention of International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes of 1965 (ICSID); later in 1999, it also ratified the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Award of 1958 (the New York Convention). 

  

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