A Paris court has annulled the Sulu claimants’ ‘Final Award’ and ordered them to pay Malaysia €200,000, marking a major legal victory for the country.
PARIS: The Paris Court of Appeal has annulled the entire ‘Final Award’ issued by arbitrator Gonzalo Stampa in February 2022.
It also ordered the so-called Sulu claimants to pay Malaysia €200,000 in costs.
The court delivered its ruling on December 9, with the Malaysian government receiving the official judgment overnight.
It found that Stampa lacked jurisdiction to issue the award, as there was no valid arbitration agreement binding on Malaysia.
“As a result, the court annulled the purported ‘Final Award’ in its entirety,” stated the Sulu Special Secretariat War Room, acting for the Malaysian government.
“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 affirmed Malaysia’s commitment to vigorously defend against any further legal action.
This decision follows a previous ruling where the same court refused to recognise or enforce a related ‘Partial Award’ in June 2023.
That earlier decision was subsequently upheld by the French Supreme Court in November 2024.
The Malaysian government concluded by reaffirming its unwavering commitment to defend the nation’s sovereignty, immunity and national interests.
Eight Filipino individuals who claimed lineage from the now-defunct Sulu Sultanate had earlier launched an arbitration bid in Spain, demanding billions from Malaysia over Sabah.
In March 2019, a court in Madrid named Stampa as the arbitrator for the dispute.
Then, on Feb 28, 2022, Stampa delivered a “Final Award” of USD14.9 billion to the claimants — despite the fact that the arbitration was invalid, as his appointment had already been voided by a Spanish court.
