KERAJAAN NEGERI SARAWAK

On the court record

A State Government whose matters engage constitutional federalism: the Federal Court's original jurisdiction over legislative-power disputes, federal-state resource legislation, and injunctions preserving the position over gas supply.

KERAJAAN NEGERI SARAWAK (the Sarawak State Government) appears in the corpus in high-profile constitutional and resource matters, and its appearances go to the division of powers between the Federation and the State over petroleum and land. In a Federal Court matter the State was a respondent to a leave application invoking the original jurisdiction of the Federal Court under Articles 4(3), 4(4) and 128(1) of the Federal Constitution and Rule 30 of the Rules of the Federal Court 1995, engaging sections 2 and 3 of the Petroleum Development Act 1974, with leave granted. That matter reflects the constitutionally significant contest over petroleum rights in Sarawak.

In a High Court matter the State featured in a mandatory-injunction application addressing competing payment claims from two gas suppliers over natural-gas supply in Sarawak, amid a conflict between federal and state legislation; the injunction was granted to preserve the status quo and ensure continued gas supply with protected payments pending resolution of the underlying dispute. In further Federal Court matters the State appears as a respondent in appeals engaging the scope of a cross-appeal and the striking out of a cross-appeal under the Rules of the Court of Appeal 1994, and in a petroleum-related dispute with the national oil company.

For a reader, the cluster is a window into constitutional federalism litigation: the invocation of the Federal Court's original jurisdiction over disputes about legislative power, the interaction of federal and state resource legislation, and the use of injunctions to hold the position while such disputes are resolved. The State and corporate parties are named as they appear on the record; individual co-parties are referred to by their procedural role only. The State's appearances place it at the centre of the constitutional debate over the division of powers between the Federation and the States, particularly over petroleum and natural resources. The invocation of the Federal Court's original jurisdiction, and the use of injunctions to preserve the position pending resolution, show how such federalism disputes are channelled into the highest court and held in equilibrium while they are decided.