Oman

In 1999, Oman acceded to the New York Convention with no reservations, hence, awards issued in other Member States should be enforceable in Oman subject to the grounds for challenging an award set out in the New York Convention.
After the Rules of the Oman Commercial Arbitration Centre entered into force, further development of the Oman Arbitration Law took place. Arbitration as an alternative dispute resolution mechanism was first introduced in the Sultanate of Oman in 1997. The Oman Arbitration Law was issued by Sultani Decree 47/1997 on the Promulgation of the Law of Arbitration in Civil and Commercial Disputes (the Arbitration Law), as amended by Oman Sultani Decree 03/2007.
Further support for arbitration started with enactment of Sultani Decree No. 26/2018, establishing the Oman Commercial Arbitration Centre (OCAC), which operates under the auspices of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The Arbitration Law stipulates that the courts retain a degree of supervisory jurisdiction over arbitrations if the seat of arbitration is in Oman. The Oman Arbitration Law in many respects adheres to international norms, although certain regional nuances apply to the proceedings. The Arbitration Law provides that the arbitration agreement/clause should be evidenced in writing otherwise it shall be considered null and void.
Finally, it is noteworthy that it is not permissible to execute an arbitration agreement in relation to matters that may not be subject to reconciliation. It is to be noted that personal and criminal matters cannot be subject to arbitration
In Oman we can track a gradual progressive development of Arbitration legislation. There are several benefits for companies that arbitrate their disputes under the Rules of the OAC.  The parties can choose experts who can contribute to the resolution of the dispute. Furthermore, parties have the right to put together disputes or claims raised from more than one contract in a single arbitration request provided that certain conditions are met. Another benefit is a speedier resolution of the arbitration and each party is given a relatively short period of time to submit their claims and counter claims. For example, according to Article 5.1 of the Omani Arbitration Law, “within 21 days from the receipt of the Request for Arbitration from the Registrar, the Respondent shall submit a Response.” According to Article 5.7 of the same Law “the Claimant shall submit a reply to any counterclaim within 21 days from the date of receipt of the counterclaim from the Registrar.”
Regarding submission of a challenge of the arbitrator, Article 13.2 of the Omani Arbitration Law clarifies that “failure of a Party to disclose any circumstances that may give rise to justifiable doubts as to an arbitrator's impartiality or independence within 14 days after the Party becomes aware of such information constitutes a waiver of the right to challenge an arbitrator based on those circumstances.”
Article 6 of the Omani Arbitration Law provides that “disputes arising out of or in connection with more than one contract may be made in a single arbitration.” Multi-party and multi-contract disputes are, today, part and parcel of international dispute resolution. This is an inevitable consequence of the increasingly complex and cross-border nature of international commerce. To avoid a proliferation of parallel proceedings and inconsistent decisions, the Oman Arbitration Law offers arbitration under multiple contracts. Undoubtedly, it contributes to a success of international arbitration as a dispute resolution procedure in a country.
The OAC Rules provide for Joinder and Consolidation also as procedural tools thus saving time and costs and is connected to multi-party and/or multi-contract arbitration. Thus, the OAC Rules provide an entire system for the parties to settle their disputes outside courts.
According to Article 6 of the Law, multiple contracts disputes arising out of or in connection with more than one contract may be made in a single arbitration, provided that: “the Parties to the contracts consent to a single arbitration to be conducted in accordance with the Rules; or the contracts contain arbitration agreements referring such disputes to arbitration to be conducted in accordance with the Rules.” The arbitration agreements are compatible under a stipulation, that the disputes arise out of the same legal or economic relationship; or such contracts consist of a principal contract and its ancillary contracts; or the disputes arise out of the same transaction or series of related transactions.
According to Article 8 of the Law, prior and after the constitution of the arbitral tribunal a party may file an application with the Registrar to consolidate two or more arbitrations into a single arbitration. According to Article 8.1, “prior to the constitution of any Arbitral Tribunal, a Party may file an application with the Registrar to consolidate two or more arbitrations into a single arbitration, provided that any of the following criteria is satisfied: a. all Parties have agreed to the consolidation in writing; or b. all the claims in the arbitrations are made under the same arbitration agreement; or c. the arbitration agreements are compatible, and (i) the disputes arise out of the same legal or economic relationship; (ii) the disputes arise out of contracts consisting of a principal contract and its ancillary contracts; or (iii) the disputes arise out of the same transaction or series of transactions.”
Pursuant to Article 8.6 of the Law “after the constitution of any Arbitral Tribunal in the arbitrations sought to be consolidated, a Party may apply to the Arbitral Tribunal to consolidate two or more arbitrations pending under these Rules into a single arbitration, provided that any of the following criteria is satisfied in respect of the arbitrations to be consolidated: a. all Parties have agreed to the consolidation; or b. all the claims in the arbitrations are made under the same arbitration agreement, and the same Arbitral Tribunal has been constituted in each of the arbitrations or no Arbitral Tribunal has been constituted in the other arbitration(s); or c. the arbitration agreements are compatible, the same Arbitral Tribunal has been constituted in each of the arbitrations or no Arbitral Tribunal has been constituted in the other arbitrations, and (i) the disputes arise out of the same legal or economical relationship; (ii) the disputes arise out of contracts consisting of a principal contract and its ancillary contracts; or (iii) the disputes arise out of the same transaction or series of transactions.
Article 7 of the Rules sets a two-pronged mechanism for a Joinder of a party to already ongoing proceedings. The jurisdiction of arbitral tribunals is based on party autonomy, the threshold for joining third parties into an arbitration is usually high. Agreement of all parties of arbitration proceedings is required (including the third party), provided that the third party is also bound by an arbitration agreement. This mechanism contributes to saving on time and costs related to a dispute among more than two parties. Article 7.1 of the Law provides that “prior to the constitution of the Arbitral Tribunal, a Party to the arbitration may file an application with the Registrar for one or more additional parties to be joined, as a Claimant or a Respondent, in an arbitration pending under these Rules, provided that any of the following criteria is satisfied: a. the additional party to be joined is bound by the arbitration agreement; or b. all Parties, including the additional party to be joined, have consented in writing to the joinder of the additional party.
It is very common in the commercial world that several parties decide together to contribute to financing a project or to share the risks. This is the situation where several entities have entered into various interrelated contracts. In such a scenario, there is a high probability of having different arbitrations between different parties, all bearing on the same or similar issues and resulting in inconsistent decisions that would present problems of enforcement. Joinder and consolidation mechanisms have become increasingly prevalent in leading institutional arbitration rules because of the benefits that they offer in the resolution of multi-party and multi-contract disputes. In this case the Omani Arbitral Law is not an exception.
In the future, one can expect arbitration as an alternate dispute resolution to grow in the Sultanate of Oman. Regarding the engagement of experts, there are no express provisions in the Arbitration Law which provide for the parties to appoint their own experts to produce evidence in relation to the matters in dispute. However, the Arbitration Law recognizes that the parties may appoint their own experts to render an opinion on the tribunal’s expert’s report, as set out in Article 32.5.
In terms of experts being appointed by the tribunal, the Omani Arbitration Law clarifies that the parties shall be required to cooperate with the appointed expert, including providing the expert with the information relating to the dispute and need to do what is necessary in order to enable the expert to inspect and check any of the documents, goods and other property relating to the dispute.
Article 38 of the Law presupposes the conduct of the Expedited Procedure. Article 38.1 stipulates that “prior to the constitution of the Arbitral Tribunal, a Party may file an application with the Registrar for the arbitral proceedings to be conducted in accordance with the Expedited Procedure under these Rules, provided that any of the following criteria is satisfied: a. the amount in dispute does not exceed the equivalent amount of OMR 500,000 representing the aggregate of the claim, counterclaim and any defense of set-off; b. the Parties so agree; or c. in urgent cases as determined by the Executive Committee.”
 The tribunal shall be required to issue the final award in accordance with the timetable agreed by the parties. Where no agreement exists, the award shall be issued within 6 months of the commencement of the arbitration.
It should be noted that under the Arbitration Law, the Omani courts retain a supervisory role in relation to arbitrations.
The Arbitration Law prescribes that an award may not be enforced before the following has been ascertained:
that the award is not in conflict with a decision made earlier by the Omani courts in respect of the subject matter of the dispute;
that the award does not contain any terms contrary to public order in the Sultanate of Oman; and
that the award was duly served on the unsuccessful party.
Oman Sultani Decree No. 29/2002 Promulgating the Law on Civil and Commercial Procedures (CCPL) specifies that arbitration awards issued in foreign countries may be enforced in the Sultanate of Oman and an order for enforcement may only be issued after the following have been verified:
that the award is rendered by a competent tribunal, that it has become final and that it was not issued by fraudulent means;
that the parties to the action were notified in the arbitration and were properly represented;
that the award does not violate the laws in force in Oman;
that the award does not contradict a judgment previously rendered by an Omani court and does not violate public policy or morality; and
that the country in which the award was rendered would enforce in its territory an arbitral award issued in Oman.
 
Summing up the arbitration legislatioon in Oman, it may be concluded that it is still a developing arbitration jurisdiction.