KUALA LUMPUR: The Paris Court of Appeal has annulled in its entirety the purported ‘Final Award’ from arbitrator Gonzalo Stampa granted on Feb 28, 2022, and ordered the so-called Sulu claimants to pay Malaysia €200,000 in costs.
In a statement issued today by the Sulu Special Secretariat War Room, acting on behalf of the Malaysian government, it was confirmed that the Paris Court of Appeal delivered its ruling on Dec 9. The government received the court's official judgment overnight.
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The court held that Stampa lacked jurisdiction to issue the ‘Final Award’, finding no valid arbitration agreement binding on Malaysia.
“As a result, the court the Court annulled the purported 'Final Award' in its entirety. Malaysia trusts that this victory will put an end to all the baseless attempts from the so-called Sulu claimants (and their litigation funder, Therium) to extort money and assets from the people of Malaysia,” the statement read.
The statement further affirmed Malaysia’s stance to vigorously defend itself against any further legal action initiated by the so-called Sulu claimants.
The Paris Court of Appeal had already refused to recognise or enforce the purported ‘Partial Award’ on June 6, 2023. The French Supreme Court subsequently upheld this decision on Nov 6, 2024.
The statement then concluded that the Government of Malaysia reaffirms its unwavering commitment to defend the nation's sovereignty, immunity and national interests against these baseless claims.
Previously, eight Filipino nationals claiming descent from the defunct Sulu Sultanate initiated arbitration in Spain, seeking billions in compensation from Malaysia over Sabah.
In March 2019, a Madrid court appointed Stampa as the arbitrator for the case.
On Feb 28, 2022, Stampa issued a ‘Final Award’ of USD14.9 billion in favour of the claimants, following an unlawful arbitration process, as his appointment had already been annulled by a Spanish court.
