Bylaws of the OMA
In the name of Allah
Ministerial decision
NO. (88/2002)
Proclamation of the Oman Medical Association
Based on the civil association law issued in the Royal Decree 14\2000 and its amendments.
And the ministerial Qarar No 149\2000 of adding a new domain to the domains in which the civil associations work.
And the ministerial Qarar No 150\2000 producing the establishment bylaws of the civil associations.
And in accordance with the public interests
It has been decided
Article (1):
The proclamation of a professional association for the Omani doctors with the name ((Oman Medical Association)) and its bylaws are recorded in the register prepared for this purpose in the ministry.
Article (2):
The decision is to be published in the official gazette and effective from the date of its publication.
Part one
Article (1):
Definition: The association named “Oman Medial Association” consists of physicians, dentists and all the medical personnel only if they have a professional certificate not less than four years after secondary school.
The “Oman Medical Association” has its own legal personality
Article (2):
The Association’s official language is Arabic and it is allowed to use other languages in different activities and events.
Article (3):
The Association’s geographical scope is Sultanate of Oman. The administration center is the governorate of Muscat. But it is allowed to have different branches across the Sultanate, and to establish a scientific bonds with the goals as followed:
3-1 Raise and develop the standards of practicing of the medical profession and the allied sciences.
3-2 Maintain the professional ethics among members of the association.
3-3 Raise the health awareness in the society and work on developing the medial services.
3-4 Offer the specialized authorities suggestions that can improve the medical services in the Sultanate of Oman to.
3-5 Work on promoting the doctor’s scientific level with all means.
3-6 Cooperate with other scientific organizations in other countries which work in the field of medical services and its development.
3-7 Support and defend members when needed with the judiciary and disciplinary councils
3-8 Assist members to find suitable jobs in the Sultanate of Oman.
3-9 Cooperate and coordinate with universities and educational institutes outside the Sultanate for providing postgraduate studies for members who require the service.
Article (4):
The Association is not allowed to engage in any political activities, to establish any political parties or to interfere in religious matters and tribal blocs as stipulated in the civil association law. And not to engaged in particular in the following:
a- Participate in any activities not listed in the Association’s scope of work.
b- Organize participate or join any association or social club or any organization located abroad unless a permit is granted from the ministry.
c- Hold public concerts, festivals or lectures unless a permit is granted from the ministry.
d- Send delegations abroad or host any delegations, unless a permit is granted by the ministry.
e- Allow gambling or alcohol inside the association’s headquarters.
Part two (Membership)
Chapter one: Membership terms and conditions
Article(5):
Membership is granted to anyone who fits the following conditions:
a- Active members
b- Associated members
c- Honorary members
Active members
1. Must be Omani citizen.
2. Must have an academic qualification in medical science recognized by specialized authorities in Oman.
3. Must be a good conduct.
4. To undertake in writing to respect the Omani laws and the Association’s bylaws and the professional ethics.
Associated members: for those who are non-Omani but hold an academic medical qualification approved by authorities in the Sultanate. Those members will have all the duties and rights as active members except the right to vote, elect or to be nominated.
Honorary members : the board of director have the right to grant the honorary members to any person who provide a great service to the nation, the medical service, or the Association.
The ministry should be notified before granting the membership and the member will be exempted from the membership regular procedures and the fees.
Article(6):
The person who wishes to join the Association must apply to the secretary general of the board of directors , must fill the specified application form, the application should be registered in a serial numbering, then it should be presented to the board of directors, the applicant will be informed with the board decision .
part two
Chapter two: Member’s duties, rights and loss of membership
Article (7):
All members must respect the civil associations law provisions which was issued by the Royal decree No 14\2000 , and to consider joining the Association as a voluntary work with the goal of assisting and helping the citizens and to try their best to achieve the Association’s goals.
The member must:
a- Participate in all the Association’s activities as much as he/she can.
b- Represent the association as a good conduct.
c- Encourage and support the association’s activities.
d- Not abuse the association in any way.
e- Adhere to and abide by the decisions made by the board of directors and approved by the general assembly.
f- Pay any fees determined by the board of directors and approved by the general assembly.
g- Abide by the professional ethics, code of honors and laws.
Article (8):
An active member has the right to attend all the ordinary and the extra ordinary General Assembly meetings. Also has the right to nominate himself\herself to join the board of directors after completing two years at least of joining the Association. The member must meet all the conditions needed to be a board member.
Article (9):
Members will lose their membership under these situations:
a- Withdrawal.
b- Death
c- Loss of any of the membership conditions.
d- Annual fee is overdue for three months (the member should be notified by an official letter).
The loss of membership decision is issued by the board of directors and the member should be notified within 15 days from the date the decision was made. The member can appeal to the general assembly in their first meeting after the dismissal decision date. In that case the general assembly decision is the certified one.
Article (10):
Dismissed members who lost their membership due to delay of annual cost payment can re-join the association by paying all the over dues.
Article(11):
Neither the members who lost their membership nor their heirs are eligible for reimbursement of their previous membership fees or donations. They have no right in the Association’s money.
Article (12):
It is allowed for members who lost their membership due to withdrawal or the loss of one of the membership conditions to re-join the Association only after completing one year at least, a written pledge should be provided undertaking not to repeat same action that led to the loss of the membership, the decision should be taken by the board of members.
Part three
Chapter one: General Assembly
Article (13):
Definition : The General Assembly consists of the active members who completed at least 6 months since the joining of the association before the date of the General Assembly meeting and only after paying all the fees.
The General Assembly is considered as the main reference in creating the policies and in monitoring the implementation of its internal system. The general assembly decision is applied to all members.
Article (14):
The General Assembly is held upon the request of the board of directors or a request issued by an third of the active members or a request from the ministry.
Article (15):
The General Assembly meeting invitation must have a copy of the agenda, and it is not allowed to discuss any mattes other than the ones mentioned in the agenda except after achieving third of the active members approval.
Article (16):
An annual ordinary General Assembly meeting must be called for during the last three months of the fiscal year to discuss the following:
1. Board of director’s annual report, and New Year plan.
2. Balance sheet and final accounts for the finished year, the New Year budget.
3. Auditing report.
4. The electing of new board members or to fill vacancies.
5. Hiring auditor and to determine the fees for his consultation.
6. Any matter boards of directors like to discuss.
Article (17):
It is allowed to call for an extraordinary meeting to discuss amending the Association’s bylaws, or dismissing the membership of part or all the members of the directors or any other important and urgent matters the ministry believes it should be discussed, or in the case of committing a major violation of the civil association law, rules or regulations, or for the abrogation of a board of directors’ decision.
Article (18):
Any member of the general assembly can delegate in writing any other member to represent him/her in attending ordinary and extraordinary meetings, one member cannot represent more than one general assembly member.
Article (19):
General Assembly’s meetings should be held in the association headquarter unless the invitation mentions other location. Members must be invited with an official invitation at least 15 days in advance, the invitation should consist the agenda, a balance sheet copy, final account copy and the budget plan.
Article (20):
The ministry should be informed at least 15 days in advance with any General Assembly meeting, a copy of the invitation, agenda and all related documents to the meeting. The ministry has the right to delegate a representative to attend the meeting.
Article (21):
The General Assembly meeting is not considered valid unless the absolute majority of the active members attend the meeting. If not, the meeting should be postponed 15 days from the date of the previous meeting. The second meeting will not be considered valid unless 10% of the active members attended. If not achieved, the ministry can allow the board of directors to continue the Association duties.
Article(22):
The head of the General Assembly will be the chairman of the board. In case of his/her absence the vice chairman of the board should lead the meeting. If the vice chairman is absent the eldest member of the board of directors will lead the meeting.
Article (23):
The General Assembly decision should be made by absolute majority votes of the active members attended. For the extraordinary decisions, votes from majority of two thirds of the attended active members are needed.
Article (24):
If the General Assembly meeting started in a valid way, the withdrawal of any members during the meeting doesn’t affect the validity of any decisions taken.
Article (25):
All the General Assembly decisions should be registered in a specific log, signed by the chairman and the secretary general of the board of directors.
Article (26):
It is not allowed for a member of the General Assembly to discuss, participate or vote for any matter that he/she has a personal interest in.
Article (27):
The minister must be provided with a copy of minutes of the General Assembly meeting within 15 days from the meeting date. The minutes of the meeting should include all the decision made signed by the chairman and the secretary general of the board of directors.
Part four: Board of directors
Article (28):
The Association is managed by a board of directors consisting of 8 members, the expiry of the board is two years and it is allowed to re-elect members whom their membership has expired.
Article (29):
The board of directors must elect a chairman, a vice chairman, a secretary general and a treasurer after the first General Assembly meeting.
Article (30):
The board of directors will manage the Association affairs and will be collectively responsible in front of the ministry as per the provisions of the law and the association’s bylaws and responsible for the association’s funds and properties, and will therefore be in charge of the following:
1. Manage the association for financial, administrative and technical aspects and the preparation of internal regulations, guided by the models prepared by the ministry.
2. Creating committees that the board finds necessary for the proper running of the association, each committee must be represented with one member at least, the decisions taken by the committee will remain within the limits determined by the board of directors. The committees’ work should be presented to the board in their first meeting for ratification.
3. Designation of staff and their rewards.
4. Inviting the General Assembly as per the law.
5. Study the application form for new members and resignation requests of current members.
6. The implementation of the General Assembly decisions.
7. Study offences committed by members.
8. Directly supervise and monitor the Association’s projects.
9. Prepare the balance sheet, Final accounts of the preceding financial year and a draft budget for the New Year with the annual report which will be submitted to the General Assembly.
10. Discuss the ministry notes and prepare and respond to them.
11. Notify the ministry with a copy of the minutes of the boards of directors’ and the General Assembly meetings within one month from their dates.
12. Nominate honorary members to the ministry for its approval.
Article(31):
The board of directors shall have a periodic meetings at least once each 2 months, members who doesn’t attend more than half these meeting without an acceptable excuse, is considered resigned.
Article (32):
The board meetings are considered valid with the attendance of the absolute majority of its members, all the decisions are taken by the majority number of votes and in the case of draw, the side where the chairman of the board is, will decide.
Article (33):
In the case of having a vacancy in one of the board of directors members in the duration between one assembly meeting and another, the board of director must fill it with the person who got the second highest votes in the previous election, if second place didn’t accept to fill the vacant then the third will be asked to join.
Article (34):
The board of directors’ minutes of the meetings should be registered in a special log, signed by the chairman of the board and the secretary general.
Article (35):
The Board of Directors may delegate some of its powers to an executive committee consisting of the Chairman or Vice-President, treasurer, Secretary General of the Board of Directors, and members who are elected by the board, putting in consideration that they should not exceed 5 members. The meeting could be held with the attendance of at least three members.
Article (36):
The executive committee is in charge of the following:
1. Approving financial expenses as per the limits determined by the board of directors.
2. Approving staff nominations and recruitments as per the limits determined by the board of directors.
3. Approving annual inventory.
4. Studying the implantation plan and suggestions for any project, and also the budget before presenting it to the board of directors.
5. Reviewing and approving the final account and the balance sheet. Studying the auditing report and prepare a respond to all remarks stated in the report prior to the submission to the boards of directors.
6. Approving other committee’s decisions prior to its submission to the board of directors, the executive committee members meet at least once a month for reviewing all the matters related to their scope of work. The decisions will be registered in a log and will be presented to the board of directors at once.
The board of directors duties
Article (37): chairman duties
The chairman is in charge of the followings:
1. Heading the board of directors, ordinary and extraordinary general assembly and all internal committees he/she attends, with the right of asking for any meeting.
2. Represent the association.
3. Certify board of director agendas and monitor its implementation.
4. Sign all the contracts and agreements that the boards of directors approve.
5. Jointly sign with the secretary general the minutes of the meetings, administrative decision and all human resource documents.
6. Jointly sign with the treasurer warranty bonds and vouchers.
7. Adjudication of urgent matters which cannot wait till next executive committee meeting or board of director meetings, but these matters should be presented in the next meeting.
Article (38): vice chairman duties In case of the absence of the chairman, vice chairman will have all the rights and the privileges of the chairman. The board of directors have the right to authorize him/her for any task or mission.
Article(39): General secretary of the board of directors
1. Prepare meeting’s agendas, invite members, prepare minutes of the meetings and decisions logs and registering them in special logs, and presenting them all to the board for the next meeting for attestation. 2. Prepare a list of members names and basic information. 3. Keep minutes of the meetings of the board of directors and general assembly, and sign them jointly with the chairman. 4. Prepare annual report for the association’s activities and present it to the board of directors after showing it to the executive committee. 5. Prepare the General Assembly agenda and call for meetings in the legal time. 6. Notify the ministry and present them with the board of directors and General Assembly minutes of meetings as per the schedule.
7. Supervise and monitor all the administrative matters, keep all the documents and logs in the association’s headquarter.
8. Inspection of all incoming correspondences and presenting them to the board of directors or executive committees or the chairman as per their speciality.
9. Receive membership joining requests.
Article (40): treasurer duties:
1. Supervise the association income and expenses, monitor receipts books for incoming cash flows, receive and deposit all cashes in the association bank account and monitor the financial records.
2. Organize the financial matters.
3. Supervise annual inventory.
4. Cash authorize amounts and keep their records, sign them and sign cheques jointly with the chairman.
5. Prepare balance sheet and final accounts to be presented to the audits for the preparation of a report. The report will be presented to the executive committee and the board of directors.
6. Participate in preparing the budget and present it to the board of directors.
7. Prepare responds to any correspondence related to financial matters.
Article (41):
The General Assembly must hire an auditor who is not a member of the Association. A reward must be set if the total income or expenses exceeds 100,000 one thousand one hundreds Omani rials, the auditor must be a legal accountant, and will be in charge from the date of recruiting till the general assembly meeting, the auditor should be in charge of the following:
1. Inspecting all the associations logs and financial records any time , the auditor has the right to request any information of justifications when he/she thinks are needed to achieve his/her goal, the auditor must also inspect on the assets and liabilities of the association.
2. To set a financial structure that can guarantee an effective running of the work.
3. Treasury and custody inventory at the end of financial year then present a report to the board of director.
4. Present a report for the balance sheet and the final accounts to the board of directors one month at least before the general assembly meeting date, attached with the auditor’s own report and remarks regarding the budget and final account.
Chapter five
The Association’s income and how to use
Article (42): The Association’s income consists of:
1. Members subscription fees.
2. Donations but after the approval of the ministry.
3. Activities income
4. Government grants.
5. Other income that the ministry has no objection on.
Article (43):
The financial year starts in January and ends in December every year.
Article (44):
The Association funds and income should be deposited in any of the authorized banks in the Sultanate of Oman under the official name of the association, the ministry should be notified in case of changing the bank account within one week, these cash can only be withdrawn with cheques singed jointly by the chairman of the board of directors and the secretary general.
Article (45):
The board of directors decides the amount of petty cash kept with the treasurer for urgent expenses.
Article (46):
The Association funds are only spent for the purpose of achieving the Association’s goals, and it is not acceptable to spend them on any other purpose. The funds could be used to guarantee a fixed income by investing them under a condition that these investments won’t affect the Association and after achieving the ministry’s approval.
Chapter six
Dissolving the Association
Article (47):
If the board of directors finds that the Association became unable to achieve its goals, then the board will have the right to call for an extraordinary General Assembly meeting to discuss the dissolution of the Association. In case two thirds of the General Assembly members votes for the motion, a decision will be taken by the ministry to dissolve the Association.
A person will be hired for the inventory of assets and liabilities.
Article (48):
The association money will go to any other association that the ministry determines.
General Rules:
● Ministry : is the ministry of social affairs
● When any confusion or ambiguity in the interpretation of the articles or text of what is stated in this regulations, the ministry should be addressed.
Note: This version is a translation of the original Arabic version approved by the Ministry of Social Development. In case of any ambiguity or unclear provision, please refer to the original Arabic version.
