The Paris Court of Appeal upheld the Malaysian government's challenge against reinforcing a partial award to the Filipino heirs of a former sultan who won $15 billion in an arbitration over a colonial-era land deal.

The Paris Court of Appeal upheld the Malaysian government's challenge against reinforcing a partial award to the Filipino heirs of a former sultan who won $15 billion in an arbitration over a colonial-era land deal. According to a report by the news agency Reuters on Wednesday (June 7), the government said on Tuesday the court's decision implied the final award would be annulled and the descendants' efforts to seize Malaysian assets would end. According to Malaysia's Law Minister Azalina Othman Said, "This decision, which is final and binding, is a decisive victory for Malaysia in its ongoing pursuit of legal remedies, which Malaysia is confident will result in comprehensive defeat for the claimants and their funders." Last year, the heirs of the last Sultan of Sulu won a $14.9-billion award in the court in a dispute over the deal, after a partial award was first issued in May 2020. The Malaysian government said on Tuesday the court found the case arbitrator had wrongly upheld his jurisdiction. The dispute stems from an 1878 deal The long-running dispute stems from an 1878 deal between the Sultan of Sulu and European colonists for the use of his territory which spanned islands in the southern Philippines and parts of present-day Malaysia on Borneo island. Reuters reported that the government paid a token sum annually to the heirs to honour the deal but stopped in 2013 when the supporters of the former sultanate launched an incursion to reclaim the land from Malaysia. The heirs, meanwhile, said they were not involved in the incursion and sought arbitration over the suspension of payments. The Filipino claimants would now consider their options before the French Supreme Court. The claimants and their lawyers also requested protection from their respective foreign ministries over concerns that there could be further actions against them. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

French court upholds Malaysia's appeal against partial award in $15 billion claim by former sultan's heirs

The heirs of a 19th-century sultanate are attempting to take Malaysian government assets all over the world, despite a stay of the case issued by a French judge.&nbsp;Talking to Reuters their attorneys said that the heirs&nbsp;are merely&nbsp;attempting&nbsp;to execute a $14.9 billion arbitration verdict they had&nbsp;obtained against the Southeast Asian country. The verdict in question is in connection to a land deal from the colonial era.&nbsp;The&nbsp;Sultan in question had made a deal with a British trading company in 1878 to allow the company to exploit resources in the territory he controlled, including what is now the oil-rich Malaysian state of Sabah, on the northern tip of Borneo. After gaining independence from Britain, Malaysia took over the deal giving the heirs who are&nbsp;Philippine nationals an annual token fee.&nbsp;

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However, the payments were terminated in 2013, with Malaysia claiming that Sabah belonged to its territory and that no one else had any claim to it.&nbsp;The heirs who assert that they are the last Sultan of Sulu's successors-in-interest filed a case soon after.&nbsp;

In order to resolve the conflict over the land deal, a French arbitration court ordered Malaysia to pay the amount to the lineal descendants of the last Sultan of Sulu in February.

However, Malaysia announced on Wednesday that a Paris Court of Appeal has stayed the verdict after concluding that the award's execution may violate the nation's sovereignty.

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The stay, according to law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, would stop the award from being implemented while Malaysia seeks to overturn the decision. Malaysia hadn't previously taken part in the arbitration.

However, attorneys for the claimants assert that the February judgement is still enforceable outside of France under the New York Convention, an international arbitration agreement ratified by 170 nations.

According to Paul Cohen, the heirs' principal co-counsel at the London-based law firm 4-5 Gray's Inn Square, "the'stay' that seems to comfort the Malaysian government temporarily delays local enforcement in one country, France itself," adding "It does not apply to the other 169."&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

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The heirs of a 19th-century sultanate are attempting to take Malaysian government assets all over the world, despite a stay of the case issued by a French judge.

The heirs of a 19th-century sultanate are attempting to take Malaysian government assets all over the world, despite a stay of the case issued by a French judge. Talking to Reuters their attorneys said that the heirs are merely attempting to execute a $14.9 billion arbitration verdict they had obtained against the Southeast Asian country. The verdict in question is in connection to a land deal from the colonial era. The Sultan in question had made a deal with a British trading company in 1878 to allow the company to exploit resources in the territory he controlled, including what is now the oil-rich Malaysian state of Sabah, on the northern tip of Borneo. After gaining independence from Britain, Malaysia took over the deal giving the heirs who are Philippine nationals an annual token fee. Watch | World in Pictures: Ukrainian cargo plane crashes in Greece; Spain, Portugal battle wildfires However, the payments were terminated in 2013, with Malaysia claiming that Sabah belonged to its territory and that no one else had any claim to it. The heirs who assert that they are the last Sultan of Sulu's successors-in-interest filed a case soon after. In order to resolve the conflict over the land deal, a French arbitration court ordered Malaysia to pay the amount to the lineal descendants of the last Sultan of Sulu in February. However, Malaysia announced on Wednesday that a Paris Court of Appeal has stayed the verdict after concluding that the award's execution may violate the nation's sovereignty. Also read | 'Good guy with a gun': 3 killed in mass shooting in Indiana, armed onlooker saves the day The stay, according to law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, would stop the award from being implemented while Malaysia seeks to overturn the decision. Malaysia hadn't previously taken part in the arbitration. However, attorneys for the claimants assert that the February judgement is still enforceable outside of France under the New York Convention, an international arbitration agreement ratified by 170 nations. According to Paul Cohen, the heirs' principal co-counsel at the London-based law firm 4-5 Gray's Inn Square, "the'stay' that seems to comfort the Malaysian government temporarily delays local enforcement in one country, France itself," adding "It does not apply to the other 169." (With inputs from agencies) Watch WION LIVE HERE: You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Malaysian government's international assets at stake as heirs of a 19th century sultan claim $15 billion award

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French court upholds Malaysia's appeal against partial award in $15 billion claim by former sultan's heirs

Malaysian government's international assets at stake as heirs of a 19th century sultan claim $15 billion award