The Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards in the Sultanate of Oman

Abstract

Oman enacted the Law of Arbitration in Civil & Commercial Disputes in 1997. It is along the lines of the UNCITRAL Model Law as then adopted in Egypt. The res judicata status of arbitral awards is formally recognised in this law. It sets out the conditions and procedure for the issue by the courts of an order for the enforcement of awards. As regards foreign awards, the Civil & Commercial Procedure Law provides for them to be assimilated to domestic awards for enforcement purposes, so long as certain conditions are satisfied, including a condition as to reciprocal treatment. This however is without prejudice to Oman's obligation to allow enforcement under international agreements. The main multilateral agreements to which Oman is party are: the New York Convention, the Arab Gulf Cooperation Council Convention, the Riyadh Convention, and the ICSID Convention; and there are also a number of bilateral agreements.