Malaysia’s sovereignty upheld with resolution of Sulu claim

THE Malaysian Bar welcomes the decision of the Paris Court of Appeal to fully annul the purported “Final Award” of US$14.9bil (RM61.24bil) in favour of the so-called heirs of the defunct Sultanate of Sulu.

In its judgment, the Paris court found that the arbitrator who had issued the award lacked jurisdiction to do so, as there was no valid arbitration agreement binding Malaysia to it. The court thereby ordered the claimants to pay Malaysia’s legal costs (“Sulu case is now history, claimants owe Malaysia nearly RM1mil”, The Star, Dec 11; online at bit.ly/starsulu).