Federal Court sets five-day hearing for Petronas, Sarawak oil and gas petitions beginning Jan 25

The Federal Court has scheduled a five-day hearing, beginning January 25, to address petitions from Petroliam National Bhd (Petronas) and the Sarawak government. These petitions challenge laws governing oil and gas matters. Judge Datuk Rhodzariah Bujang stated that the cases would be heard in the order they were filed, but left the decision of which case to address first to the panel.

The panel must decide whether to first hear the Sarawak government's preliminary issue regarding the validity of the Sarawak (Alteration of Boundaries) Order in Council 1954 (OIC). The two petitions are not consolidated, so the panel is better positioned to determine the order. The court requested submissions by January 11 and reply submissions by January 18, with case management set for January 12.

Petronas and the Sarawak government will request an enlarged panel of either nine or eleven members to hear the cases. Petronas filed its petition on January 10 and obtained leave on March 16, while the Sarawak government filed its petition on February 23. Petronas' lawyer argued that the OIC issue should be addressed first, but Petronas' lawyer disagreed, suggesting that the OIC issue can be addressed during the main hearing.

The Federal Court granted leave for Petronas to challenge the legal competency of the Sarawak State Legislature, claiming that the legislature lacked the authority to enact laws related to matters under the Federal List in the Ninth Schedule of the Federal Constitution.