Litigation Practice Notes: Costs Borne by Losing Party

One of the hallmarks of Omani court cases is that it is very unlikely that the losing party will be ordered to bear the winning party’s legal costs. Even when the Courts do order the losing party to pay some of the winning party’s legal costs, the amount that the Court imposes is normally de minimis, at approximately the level of RO 100 (approx. US$250). To the best of our knowledge, the highest sum ever ordered by the Omani courts to be borne by the losing party in respect of the winning party’s legal fees was RO 1,000 (approx. US$2,500) – and that was in a case where the winner’s legal fees actually exceeded RO 20,000 (approx. US$50,000).

However, there is a silver lining for winning parties when it comes to litigation costs: the Courts normally order the losing party to bear the entire costs of any Court-appointed expert(s).