By Rozanna Latiff
KUALALUMPUR – The heirs of a nineteenth century sultanate are looking for to grab Malaysian authorities belongings world wide in a bid to implement a $14.9 billion arbitration award they gained towards the Southeast Asian nation, regardless of a keep on the case handed by a French courtroom, their legal professionals instructed Reuters.
A French arbitration courtroom in February ordered Malaysia to pay the sum to the descendents of the final Sultan of Sulu to settle a dispute over a colonial-era land deal.
Malaysia stated on Wednesday the Paris Court docket of Attraction had stayed the ruling, after discovering that enforcement of the award might infringe the nation’s sovereignty.
Regulation minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar stated the keep would forestall the award from being enforced as Malaysia works to put aside the ruling. Malaysia had not beforehand participated within the arbitration.
Legal professionals for the claimants, nevertheless, say the February ruling stays legally enforceable exterior France by means of the New York Conference, a U.N. treaty on worldwide arbitration recognised in 170 nations.
“The ‘keep’ that appears to consolation the Malaysian authorities briefly delays native enforcement in a single nation, France itself,” stated Paul Cohen, the heirs’ lead co-counsel, of London-based regulation agency 4-5 Grey’s Inn Sq..
“It doesn't apply to the opposite 169.”
With some exceptions, similar to diplomatic premises, any Malaysian government-owned asset inside nations get together to the U.N. conference is eligible for the needs of implementing the award, stated Elisabeth Mason, one other lawyer for the heirs.
Wan Junaidi, the Malaysian regulation minister, declined to remark when contacted.
PETRONASASSETSHELD
The heirs declare to be successors-in-interest to the final Sultan of Sulu, who entered a deal in 1878 with a British buying and selling firm for the exploitation of assets in territory beneath his management – together with what's now the oil-rich Malaysian state of Sabah, on the northern tip of Borneo.
Malaysia took over the association after independence from Britain, yearly paying a token sum to the heirs, who're Philippine nationals.
However the funds had been stopped in 2013, with Malaysia arguing that nobody else had a proper over Sabah, which was a part of its territory.
The claimants final week moved to grab two Luxembourg-based items of Malaysian state oil agency Petronas as a part of efforts to implement the award.
Petronas, which has described the seizure as “baseless”, has stated it would defend its authorized place, including that the items have divested their belongings.
Legal professionals for the heirs stated the items had been now beneath the management of bailiffs in Luxembourg, pending any attraction by Petronas towards the seizure.
“We notice Petronas’ description of sure transactions, and we notice their assertion that these transactions are full,” Mason stated.
“We'll uncover the total image of all belongings sooner or later.”
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