State Council and Shura discuss six draft laws

Muscat, Jan 28

The State Council and Majlis Ash'shura held a first joint session on Tuesday to discuss under the chairmanship of Shaikh Abdulmalik bin Abdullah al Khalili, Chairman of the State Council.

The session was attended by Khalid bin Hilal al Maawali, Chairman of Majlis Ash’shura, members of the State Council and Majlis Ash’shura, the Secretary-Generals of the State Council and Majlis Ash’shura

The joint session comes in line with the provisions of Article (49) of the Council of Oman Law, which comes to disagreement in the draft laws referred by the government in preparation for submitting to His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik.

The meeting discussed six draft laws covering electronic transactions, public health, transplant of human organs and tissues, finance, individual income, special economic zones and free zones.

Shaikh Abdulmalik stated at the opening of the first joint session, that there were different opinions on a number of articles in the draft laws. These were discussed so that they could vote on them during the joint session.

Dr Salem bin Sultan al Raziqi, Deputy Chairman of the Technology Committee of the Majlis Ash’shura, stated that there is 100 per cent agreement between the two councils on the draft law on electronic transactions and agreement was reached on all articles that had some discrepancy in the joint committees. Talal bin Saeed al Maharbi, a Majlis Ash’shura member, said: “In the electronic transactions law, there are some articles that were subject to disagreement, which necessitates the formation of a joint committee. This report will be discussed, and then the draft law will be approved in its final form.”

Mohammed bin Saeed al Hajri, Chairman of the Social and Cultural Committee of the State Council, said: “The draft public health law represents the frame of reference for all parties concerned with health issues, whether those directly concerned with human health, or those concerned with environmental health, environmental safety, food safety, drug safety and work environment safety. This draft law also attaches great importance to the rules and procedures regulating dealing with emergency cases of pandemics and epidemics.”

Ohoud bint Saeed al Balushiyah, Vice Chairman of the Social and Cultural Committee of the State Council, stated that the draft law on the transfer and transplantation of human organs and tissues comes in 36 articles distributed over five chapters that regulate the work of the National Committee for the Transfer and Transplantation of Organs, in addition to controls for donation whether during life or after death, as well as controls for licensing health institutions working in this field, and also penalties associated with any errors or violations. However, during the work of the joint committee, an agreement was reached with the Majlis Ash’shura on all of these articles.