KUALA LUMPUR: The ruling by the Hague Court of Appeal in the Netherlands in dismissing the Sulu claimants’ request reinforced the Malaysian stand that the entire purported award was riddled with irregularities, said the legal fraternity.
The court today denied the Sulu claimants’ application for recognition and enforcement of a purported arbitral award of US$14.9 billion (RM62.59 billion) in the Netherlands.
Commenting on the landmark verdict, International Criminal Court counsel Datuk N. Sivananthan said the decision clearly put paid to the rather unorthodox manner in which the award was initially given and the questionable nature of the arbitrator's appointment.
“It reinforces the Malaysian stand that the entire award was riddled with irregularities,“ he told Bernama.
Sivananthan also said he did not see any prospect of success if the Sulu claimants mount another action to enforce the final award.
Sharing the same thoughts, lawyer Datuk Malik Imtiaz Sarwar said the ruling was sound as it recognised that the award was problematic in a way that, if enforced, would impinge Malaysia’s sovereignty.
“I cannot say what the claimants will do next. They may try to enforce the award in another jurisdiction. That will, I think, be made more difficult by the decisions of the French and Dutch courts,“ he added.
On June 6, Malaysia had secured a landmark victory after the Paris Court of Appeal upheld Malaysia’s challenge against the claim by eight individuals claiming to be heirs of the Sulu Sultanate.
The purported final award was issued by a Spanish arbitrator, Dr Gonzalo Stampa, on Feb 28, 2022 to the eight individuals.
In their bid to enforce the US$14.9 billion final award, the Sulu claimants were reported to have attempted to seize Malaysia’s oil firm Petronas’ assets in Luxembourg, assets in the Netherlands and also targeted Malaysia’s diplomatic assets in France (including part of its embassy).
In 2019, the Sulu claimants took the matter to the Spanish arbitrator to seek compensation for land in Sabah which was allegedly leased by their ancestors to a British trading company in 1878. -Bernama