Malaysia won a legal battle in France that will likely cancel an award of about $15 billion over territorial claims related to the present day Borneo state of Sabah.
(Bloomberg) — Malaysia won a legal battle in France that will likely cancel an award of about $15 billion over territorial claims related to the present day Borneo state of Sabah.
The Paris court of appeals ruled Tuesday that the arbitration court that ordered Malaysia to make the payment to the so-called heirs of Sulu, the erstwhile rulers of the region, didn’t have jurisdiction in the case.
Malaysia’s Law Minister, Azalina Othman, said Tuesday’s decision “implies” that the Paris appeals court will annul the $15 billion award in a subsequent decision. An attorney for the heirs, Benjamin Siino, disputed that assessment and said the ruling has “no automatic effect” on the actual award that Malaysia is contesting in a parallel lawsuit. The heirs also said they’re considering contesting Tuesday’s decision at France’s top court, according to a statement.
The dispute is linked to the Sulu heirs’ years-long claims to the state of Sabah. The then-sultanate had leased Sabah to a British company in 1878 and the Borneo state was later absorbed into Malaysia. The Sulu sultanate ruled the islands in the Sulu Archipelago, which are part of Mindanao in today’s Philippines.
Read More: Court Sets Aside Action on Claim Over Malaysia’s Sabah Territory
A French Arbitration Court in Paris last year ordered Malaysia to pay the Sulu descendants over their claim. In March, a court in Paris upheld a stay order obtained by Malaysia on enforcement of the award.
(Updates with comment from Sulu heirs’ attorney in third paragraph.)
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