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18 THE LEGAL STATUS OF THE ARABIAN GULF STATES
The British Government has dealt with the afTairs of the Trucial
Shaikhdoms collectively, through its Political Agency at Dubai. But
today Abu Dhabi has a separate Political Agent of her own who
i reports directly to the British Political Resident in Bahrain. Moreover,
a British legal adviser was appointed in 1964 for the six Trucial Stales,
with the exception of Abu Dhabi, to assist them in their local
administration.1
Muscat
The system of government in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman is
autocratic. There is no organised system of administration and the
Sultan's rule in Muscat is maintained through a number of officials of
l various nationalities. These include a British Personal Adviser to the
Sultan, British Military and Development Secretaries, a Pakistani
Secretary for Finance and Foreign Affairs and an Egyptian Director-
General of Customs. In addition, there is an Arab Minister of the
Interior, Sayyid Ahmad ibn Ibrahim. The latter exercises his authority
!
in towns through governors, known as walis, while authority in the
interior of Oman is exercised by tribal shaikhs and religious leaders
over whom the Sultan has only a nominal control. The duties of the
ivalis are, inter alia, to collect taxes from the people and administer
i justice, with the help of Muslim qadis. Justice is exercised in accordance
with the uncodified tenets and laws of the Ibadi sect of Islam. In
addition to these Sharfah laws applied by the qadis in their own courts,
the Sultan, in order to keep pace with events, issues, from time to
time, decrees, taking the form of legislation, to regulate emergent
civil and commercial matters. These decrees, or ordinances, have the
force of law in courts. There are local courts in the various districts
of the Sultanate and a Chief Court in Muscat. From the latter appeals
lie to the Sultan personally.2
1951 ‘with the object of inducing them to adopt a common policy in administrative
matters’. And see ‘Problems of the Trucial States—II’, The Times, 4 February
1964; The Economist Intelligence Unit, Quarterly Economic Review, Middle East
Oil and the Arabian Peninsula, Annual Supplement (1966), pf>. 60-2, 18-19. For
background information on the development of British-sponsored institutions on
the Trucial Coast, see Marlowe, op. cit., pp. 197-8.
1 See Hay, op. cit., p. 115; Mann, C., Abu Dhabi, op. cit., pp. 111-12; Europa
Publications, op. cit. Shaikh Zayid ibn Sultan of Abu Dhabi, who replaced his
‘reactionary’ brother, Shakhbut, in August 1966, has been reported to have ap­
proved the formation of ‘a board to supervise investment of state revenue’. He
has also established a Finance Department which has a British Director. The latter
has been instructed to set up ‘a budgetary system’ for the tiny Shaikhdom whose
oil revenues have reached £30 million a year. See Arab Report and Record, London,
No. 3, 23 February 1967; The Observer, London, 14 August 1966; The Observer,
11 April 1965, Patrick Seale’s article on Shaikh Shakhbut, Abu Dhabi.
2 Sec Hay, op. cit., pp. 140-1; The Statesman's Year-Book, 103rd ed., 1966-7
(1966) PP- 1266-8: Europa Publications, op. cit., pp. 515-16; The Times, ‘Problems
of the Trucial States-II’, 4 February 1964.