It cannot be argued that according to the recent Omani law the accused has the right of access to a lawyer at any stage of the criminal proceedings. Nevertheless, it could be argued that the accused at some points may access a lawyer if he has one, otherwise the state is not obliged to offer him one under any circumstances and in any kind of crimes. There is no single rule stating that the accused must be represented by a lawyer even if he is facing capital punishment. Although the Omani law gives the accused the right to have the lawyer that he hired present with him during the investigation in general terms, there are no provisions to ensure that mechanisms are put in place which guarantee the effectiveness of such right. The Omani legislator has followed the approach upon which the presence of the lawyer is permissible, although this does not necessarily apply during the pre-trial stages in all cases. This research argues that, having no right of free access to a lawyer privileges those who are wealthier because such accused have the means to appoint a lawyer from the outset, a capacity that often evades the poorer accused. If the accused cannot afford a lawyer, the state should appoint one for him, grounded in the motivations of the state being concerned with achieving justice. The research addressed the question whether the Omani Law and particularly the Penal Procedures Code succeed in guaranteeing the accused right of access to a lawyer. Moreover, it considered whether the Omani law set the required procedures and safeguards to make all officials in charge of investigations and trials commit to respecting this right at all circumstances. These issues are considered by critically analysing the relevant Omani law and case law as well as looking at other legal frameworks, with special reference to the Egyptian System. This comparison has been provided in order to give a contextual base upon which the practicing of this right within the Omani Procedures Code can be critically analysed. This study found that there is a great deal of reform for the Omani legislator to urgently do in regard to the right of access to a lawyer during all criminal proceedings stages.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:569619 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | Al-Rawahi, Saif |
| Publisher | University of Aberdeen |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk:80/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=192279 |
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