Basic Statute of the State
The Basic Statute of the State, promulgated by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos in 1996 is Oman's constitution, and provides the legal framework for the development and implementation of all legislation and government policy. In November 1996, Sultan Qaboos presented his people with the "Basic Statute of the State," Oman's first written "constitution." It guarantees various rights within the framework of Shari'a and customary law. It partially resuscitated long dormant conflict-of-interest measures by banning cabinet ministers from being officers of public shareholding firms. Perhaps most importantly, the Basic Statute provides rules for the royal succession. Since its promulgation the Basic Statute has been the basis for all legal decisions in the Sultanate of Oman and is the ultimate point of reference for judicial authority.
The Basic Statute determines the form of government of the Sultanate of Oman, and the framework within which legislative and other political institutions will develop. It establishes the Majlis Oman, comprising the directly elected Majis ash-Shura and the appointed Majlis a-Dowla, as well as an independent judiciary. It determines the basic structural organisation of political administration in the Sultanate.
The first three chapters of the Basic Law laid down the infrastructure for the political, social, economic, and security aspects of the Renaissance. They also specify the parameters for the leadership structure of the state, and the executive, which is chosen by the leadership, according to the custom observed by Oman since the beginning and which has evolved into binding legal articles in the Basic law. In addition to the importance place on shura by the establishment of the Council of Oman, a bicameral institution encompassing the Shura Council and the Council of State, the status of the judiciary was codified, and the Basic Law was closed by general provisions.
Chapter Four, entitled 'The head of state', clarifies that 'the Sultan is the head of state and the supreme commander of the armed forces'. Article 41 provides for what has now been established in the Omani society: the sanctity of the Sultan's being, and obedience and respect due to him as a symbol of national unity and its guardian for the sake of the public interest'. Public opinion in Oman has observed this conviction, in theory and in practice, for 250 years.
The Basic Statute also defines the rights and responsibilities of Omani citizens. These include the freedom from discrimination of any kind, the rights of speech and assembly, the right to participate in the political decisions of the country, the rights to private property and personal privacy, freedom of religion and gender equality.
All these rights are derived from Islamic and Omani legal and social values and traditions, and the Basic Statute represents a modern codification of longstanding Omani custom and practice, as well as providing a famework for future development of legislation, institutions and political participation.
Oman's judicial system traditionally has been based on the Shari'a--the Quranic laws and the oral teachings of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. Traditionally, Shari'a courts fell under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice, Awqaf, and Islamic Affairs (since divided into the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs). Oman's first criminal code was not enacted until 1974.
In 1999, royal decrees placed the entire court system under the financial supervision of the Ministry of Justice, though the 1996 Basic Statute ensures the independence of the judiciary. An independent Office of the Public Prosecutor also has been created (formerly a part of the Royal Oman Police), as has a supreme court. Regional court complexes are envisioned to house the various courts, including the courts of first instance for criminal cases and Shari'a cases (family law and inheritance).
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