PETRONAS, Sarawak oil and gas legal challenge to be heard from Jan 25

Composite photo showing the Sarawak DUN Complex and Petronas logo

By DayakDaily Team

PUTRAJAYA, Oct 1: The Federal Court has fixed Jan 25 to 29 next year to hear separate constitutional challenges by Petroliam Nasional Bhd (PETRONAS) and the Sarawak government over the laws governing oil and gas in the State, with the court yet to determine whether Sarawak’s challenge over the validity of the 1954 Order in Council should be heard as a preliminary issue.

Justice Datuk Rhodzariah Bujang said today that the petitions would be heard in the order in which they were filed.

However, she left it to the Federal Court panel hearing the cases to determine whether to first hear a preliminary issue raised by the Sarawak government concerning the validity of the Sarawak (Alteration of Boundaries) Order in Council 1954 (OIC), which relates to the boundaries of Sarawak’s territorial waters.

She said the panel would be in a better position to determine the matter as the two petitions had not been consolidated.

Justice Rhodzariah made the ruling after the two cases came before her for summonses for directions.

She directed all parties to file their respective submissions on the petitions and the preliminary issues by Jan 11, followed by reply submissions by Jan 18. Case management has been fixed for Jan 12.

“The hearing date is fixed from Jan 25 until Jan 29, next year,” she said.

Senior State counsel Mohd Adzrul Adzlan, representing the Sarawak government, told the court that the state would file an application concerning its preliminary issue under Rule 23 of the Rules of the Federal Court 1995 within 14 days.

Meanwhile, PETRONAS and the Sarawak government will each write to the Chief Justice to request that the petitions be heard by an enlarged panel of either nine or 11 Federal Court judges.

The parties had previously indicated that they wanted their respective petitions to be heard separately.

PETRONAS wants its petition to be heard first, followed by the petitions in the order in which they were filed, while the Sarawak government maintains that its petition should be heard first.

PETRONAS filed its petition on Jan 10 this year and was granted leave by the Federal Court on March 16 under Article 4(4) of the Federal Constitution.

The Sarawak government subsequently filed its petition on Feb 23.

During today’s proceedings, Mohd Adzrul argued that the Federal Court panel should first determine the preliminary issue concerning the validity of the OIC before proceeding to hear the substantive petitions.

However, PETRONAS counsel Datuk Dr Cyrus Das argued that there was no basis for determining the legal status of the OIC as a preliminary issue, saying the matter could instead be addressed during the substantive hearing of the petition.

Senior Federal Counsel Ahmad Hanir Hambaly @ Arwi, representing the federal government, supported PETRONAS’ position and argued that PETRONAS’ petition should be heard first.

On the Sarawak government’s preliminary issue concerning the OIC, he submitted that it was unnecessary for the matter to be determined as a preliminary point of law, as the state could raise the issue during the main hearing.

On March 16, the Federal Court granted PETRONAS leave to commence proceedings challenging the legislative competency of the Sarawak State Legislature to enact certain laws and seeking declarations that several state laws were invalid.

PETRONAS contends that the Sarawak State Legislature lacks the constitutional competence to enact, modify, amend or revise laws concerning matters under List 1 of the Federal List in the Ninth Schedule of the Federal Constitution.

The Sarawak government, meanwhile, filed its petition against the Government of Malaysia and PETRONAS, seeking determinations on the constitutional validity and continued applicability of several federal laws to Sarawak.

Among other reliefs, Sarawak is seeking declarations that the Petroleum Development Act 1974 (PDA), Continental Shelf Act 1966 and Petroleum Mining Act 1966, insofar as they apply to Sarawak, are unconstitutional and void ab initio. — Bernama