Muscat : Details of this decree was published in the Official Gazette No. 1590, marking the beginning of a specialised legal framework to handle commercial and investment disputes efficiently.
Affiliated with the Supreme Judicial Council and headquartered in Muscat Governorate, the new court, set to take effect on October 1, 2025, aims to provide swift, professional, and effective adjudication of investment and commercial disputes.
Here are the key points of the Investment and Trade Court:
The court will be led by a president, who must hold a rank not lower than a Supreme Court judge. It will include both appellate and first-instance chambers. Judges will be drawn from the Supreme Court, the Courts of Appeal, and the Courts of First Instance.
The court will handle 11 types of disputes, including issues related to e-commerce transactions, public-private partnerships, competition law, intellectual property rights such as patents and trademarks, and bankruptcy matters.
Cases exceeding RO 100,000 in value, or those with an undetermined value, will be heard by a panel of three judges. Cases valued at RO 100,000 or less will be adjudicated by a single judge.
In urgent cases where deadlines are at risk, one or more judges can make temporary rulings without prejudice to the final judgment. The appeal period is set at 15 days, with a shorter 7-day appeal period for judgments issued in urgent matters.
The court will implement an electronic system to handle lawsuits and notifications. Notices can be sent to individuals inside or outside the Sultanate of Oman, including to their residence or place of work, using appropriate means deemed fit by the court.
A designated judge will oversee the enforcement of court decisions, resolving disputes related to the execution of judgments in both substantive and temporal matters.
The fees for lawsuits and the value of guarantees will be determined by a decision of the Supreme Judicial Council, with approval from the Ministry of Finance.
