English abstract
The criminal protection of public funds in Oman forms the topic of this
research. Criminal protection is considered the most effective due to its its
ability to achieve to achieve general and special (individual) deterrence. It is
simultaneously one of the most dangerous protection methods because it
challenges the right to freedom through prison sentences. The importance of
this research arose because Oman is considered a rentier state with an
absolute monarchy system. The governments of rentier states are known for
expanding public expenditure. As a result, the state's role expands, which
increases the number of employees in the public sector. Therefore, public
funds need higher protection in these states.
This study uses a comparative research methodology. It analyses and
examines the articles of Oman's legislation that govern the topic of the
criminal protection of public funds and compares these articles with related
Egyptian legislation. The research results can be summarized as two main
results. First, the definition of public funds by the Oman penal code (8102/7)
neglects to include some crucial public authorities' funds under its
protection, such as those of social associations and sports federations. It is
worth mentioning that the penal code states that any subsequent private law
of a specific public authority can identify that authority's funds as public
funds. However, the researcher encourages Oman's penal code to be
explicitly specified these authorities to prevent any legal loopholes in
subsequent private laws.
Second, public funds' criminal protection should not be limited only to
companies with more than %24 governmental funds. The aim should be to
protect the public fund. Overall, there are no salient legislative deficiencies.
Therefore, the most significant at this stage is the appropriate
implementation of the legislation that protect the public funds. The
legislature's responsibility is to keep up with any future types of public fund
abuse to incriminate such behaviours.
