THE Court of Appeal has fixed November 15 to hear an appeal brought by Mohd Hatta Sanuri to reinstate his application for a review of the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) decision on Pulau Batu Puteh.

On the same day, the court will also hear Hatta’s appeal against a High Court decision on January 30 last year to seal the documents related to the ICJ ruling, at the request of the government.

The deputy head of the Civil Division II at the Attorney-General’s Chambers, Shamsul Bolhassan, confirmed the hearing date.

The parties involved are also required to make their respective submissions by October 18 and reply by October 31. The next date for case management is fixed for November 1, following case management held yesterday before Court of Appeal deputy registrar Norshakinah Ahmad Kamarudin.

On July 1 last year, the High Court in Kuala Lumpur struck out Hatta’s suit after allowing an application by the prime minister and the government.

High Court judge Hayatul Akmal Abdul Aziz held that the subject matter was non-justiciable and Hatta also did not have the legal standing to bring the action against the prime minister and the government.

In May 2018, the government withdrew an application to overturn ICJ’s ruling, awarding legal jurisdiction of Pulau Batu Puteh to Singapore before the hearing of the case, which was scheduled on June 11, 2018.

On May 28, 2021, Hatta filed the suit on behalf of all Malaysian citizens, which he said were affected by the decision.

He further said the decision was made without discussing it or tabling it in parliament.

Hatta is seeking an order for the government to provide a written explanation on why it had withdrawn, despite a review accompanied by strong evidence filed on February 3, 2017.

He is also seeking a declaration for the prime minister and the government to pay compensation to each Malaysian based on the value of Pulau Batu Puteh and based on the economic losses suffered by all Malaysians equally, amounting to at least RM10 million each.

An order is also sought for both the prime minister and the government to disclose in detail the total cost incurred by the government for its challenge to the ICJ decision. – Bernama, March 17, 2023.