Madrid Protocol of 1885
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1d/1848-1899_sulu_ph.jpg/250px-1848-1899_sulu_ph.jpg)
The Madrid Protocol of 1885 was an agreement between the United Kingdom, Germany, and Spain to recognize the sovereignty of Spain over the Sulu Archipelago as well as the limit of Spanish influence in the region.[1] Under the agreement, Spain relinquished all claim to Borneo.
The Spanish Government renounces, as far as regards the British Government, all claims of sovereignty over the
territories of the continent of Borneo, which belong, or which have belonged in the past to the Sultan of Sulu (Jolo), and which comprise the neighbouring islands of Balambangan, Banguey, and Malawali, as well as all those comprised within
a zone of three maritime leagues from the coast, and which form part of the territories administered by the Company styled the "British North Borneo Company".
— Article III, Madrid Protocol of 1885
Another important point regarding the agreement relates to Article IV, which guarantees no restriction on trade to the parties of the protocol within the Sulu Archipelago and North Borneo.[2]
North Borneo dispute
The North Borneo dispute is the territorial dispute between Malaysia and the Philippines over much of the eastern part of the state of Sabah, a territory known as North Borneo prior to the formation of the Malaysian federation. The Philippines, presenting itself as the successor state of the Sultanate of Sulu, retains a "dormant claim" on Sabah on the basis that the territory was only leased to the British North Borneo Company in 1878, with the sovereignty of the Sultanate (and subsequently the Republic) over the territory having never been relinquished.[3] However, Malaysia considers this dispute as a "non-issue" as it interprets the 1878 agreement as that of cession[4] and that it deems that the residents of Sabah had exercised their right to self-determination when they joined to form the Malaysian federation in 1963.[5]
Sulu heirs
Besides the Philippines, the Sabah region has also been claimed by the purported heirs of the last Sultan of Sulu.[6] In 2019, the self-proclaimed heirs of the Sulu empire filed an arbitration appeal in Spain based on the 1878 agreement.[7] Malaysia refused to be part of the arbitration process insisting that the proper venue to resolve the dispute was within its own legal system.
The Madrid High Court appointed Gonzalo Stampa the sole commercial arbitrator on the matter, a move which Malaysia challenged in the Civil and Criminal Chamber of the Superior Court of Justice of Madrid. The appointment was annulled, however, Stampa moved the case to the High Court of Paris.[8] On 28 February 2022, Stampa ruled in favor of the alleged descendants of the sultan and ordered Malaysia to pay US$14.92 billion in settlement to the litigants.[9] The award was eventually struck down by the Hague Court of Appeal on June 27, 2023.[10]
See also
References
- ^ Tregonning, H.G. (1970). The Philippine Claim to Sabah (PDF). The Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society.
- ^ "BRITISH NORTH BORNEO TREATIES" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 October 2013.
- ^ "East and Southeast Asia: the Philippines". CIA Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
- ^ Campbell, Charlie (26 February 2013). "Sabah Standoff: Diplomatic Drama After Filipino Militants Storm Malaysia". TIME. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
- ^ James W. Gould (1969). The United States and Malaysia. Harvard University Press. pp. 106–. ISBN 978-0-674-92615-8.
- ^ "Explaining the Sulu claim". The Star. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ Byrnes, Sholto (20 July 2022). "The heirs of a sultanate are using international law to make Malaysia pay". The National. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ Alerion_03 (26 July 2022). "UPDATE - Paris Court of Appeal granted Malaysia a stay of the enforcement of multi-billion award in France while its enforcement is pursued in Luxembourg". Alerion Avocats Paris. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Vidal, Desiré (16 February 2022). "Sultan of Sulu: the story of Spain´s largest arbitration". Legal Dealmaker. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ "Hague Court Dismisses Sulu Heirs US$15 Billon Claim, A Landmark Victory For Malaysia". Business Today. 27 June 2023. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
Further reading
- Leigh R. Wright. Historical Notes on the North Borneo Dispute. The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 25, No. 3 (May 1966), pp. 471–484.
- Leigh R. Wright. The Origins of British Borneo. Modern Asian Studies, Vol. 10, No. 1 (1976), pp. 149–154
- Leigh R. Wright. The Anglo-Spanish-German Treaty of 1885: A Step in the Development of British Hegemony in North Borneo. Australian Journal of Politics & History 18 (1), 62–75
External links
- British North Borneo, 1885 Sabah Law
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history1
- Bruneian Sultanate (1368–1888)
- Japanese occupation
- Battle of Borneo (1941–1942)
- Borneo campaign
- British Military Administration
- Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation
- Malaysia Agreement
- 2019 federal constitution amendment (on hold) ★ first tabling
- 2020 Malaysia coronavirus pandemic
- 2021 federal constitution amendment (passed) ★ second tabling
![Map of British and Dutch Borneo, 1898.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ac/British_and_Dutch_Borneo%2C_1898.png/150px-British_and_Dutch_Borneo%2C_1898.png)
Sabah
- Brunei Civil War
- Sultanate of Sulu
- Austrian colony
- North Borneo Chartered Company
- North Borneo
- Madrid Protocol
- Jesselton revolt
- Sandakan camp
- Battle of North Borneo
- Crown Colony of North Borneo
- Self-government of North Borneo
- Cobbold Commission
- Keningau Oath Stone
- Double Six Crash
- Cross border attacks from the Philippines
- 1986 Sabah riots
- 1991 Sabah political arrests
- Project IC
- Sabah State Water Department corruption probe
- 2020 Sabah coronavirus pandemic
Sarawak
Labuan
- Crown Colony of Labuan
- North Borneo Chartered Company
- North Borneo (1890–1904)
- Straits Settlements (1907–46)
- Battle of North Borneo
- Colony of Singapore (1946)
- Crown Colony of North Borneo (1946–63)
- Cobbold Commission
- Sabah (1963–84)
- Federal territory (1984–)