The Majlis Al Shura, Oman's elected lower house of parliament, yesterday devoted the first day of the year's third ordinary session to discussing an evidence draft law on civil and commercial transactions.

The draft law was presented to the 83-member house by the Legal Committee of the Majlis, headed by Khalid Al Marhoon. A senior Majlis official told Gulf News: "It was a threadbare, candid discussion which is to continue for another day."

Also on the agenda is another draft law on the environment which will be presented by a committee formed last month under chairmanship of Saleh Al Jafri. The law envisages ways and means of combating pollution in an era of industrialisation and urbanisation. It also aims at conserving wildlife and other aspects of nature.

The house will also discuss how to promote public awareness about the importance of environment and conservation. Oman recently hosted a GCC environment ministers' meeting to ensure a joint regional plan to fight pollution threatening the oil-rich region's marine life.

In his inaugural address, Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali Al Qatabi, Majlis President, underlined the house's role as a bridge between the government and the people and urged members to work harder to meet the expectations and aspirations of the masses.

He lauded the work done by various Majlis committees and made special mention of a committee formed last month to promote the environment in keeping with the royal directive.