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Competences of the Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs

  • Preparing and reviewing draft royal decrees and undertaking the procedures for their issuance.
  • Reviewing draft laws, regulations, and decisions of a legislative character prepared by units of the administrative apparatus of the state and other public legal persons prior to their issuance and publication in the Official Gazette.
  • Reviewing draft standard model contracts prepared by units of the administrative apparatus of the state and other public legal persons in the cases stipulated by law.
  • Reviewing draft contracts whose value exceeds 5,000,000 (five million) Rial Omani, and variation orders relating to them regardless of their value, before signing them and executing them by any unit of the administrative apparatus of the state and other public legal persons. Reviewing contracts other than standard model contracts includes the procedures prior to contracting.
  • Issuing fatwas by rendering official legal opinions on incidents presented before it relating to the implementation of royal decrees, laws, regulations, and decisions on the basis of a request of one of the units of the administrative apparatus of the state and other public legal persons.
  • Rendering advisory legal opinions on incidents presented before it relating to the implementation of international agreements or contracts concluded by the units of the administrative apparatus of the state and other public legal persons.
  • Adjudicating by an official decision disputes arising between units of the administrative apparatus of the state and other public legal persons or between them and companies wholly owned by the government.
  • Reviewing draft international agreements and memorandums of understanding that the Sultanate or one of the units of the administrative apparatus of the state and other public legal persons intend to sign, and rendering legal opinions on requests to accede to existing international agreements.
  • Issuing the Official Gazette in accordance with the law.
  • Regulating expert undertakings before the courts in accordance with the law.
  • Supervising the affairs of lawyers.
  • Enhancing and developing cooperation in competences relating to justice and legal affairs with the concerned bodies in other states and specialised regional and international organisations and institutions.
  • Representing the Sultanate in regional and international conferences, events, and meetings relating to justice and legal affairs.
  • Participating in the preparation of periodic reports that must be submitted to regional and international organisations.
  • Proposing draft laws and royal decrees and issuing regulations and decisions relating to the ministry's competences.
  • Matters referred to the ministry by His Majesty the Sultan or the Council of Ministers.