Malaysia has applied to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for a revision of its 2008 judgment which found that sovereignty over Pedra Branca belonged to Singapore.
Malaysia's Attorney-General Mohamed Apandi Ali said yesterday that the application was made on Thursday after it discovered "new facts". "The discovery of the new facts is important and they should be ventilated in a court of law accordingly."
A spokesman for Singapore's Foreign Ministry said yesterday that it is studying Malaysia's application and documentation closely, and has formed a legal team to respond to it. The team includes Attorney-General Lucien Wong and three others who played leading roles in presenting Singapore's case at the ICJ in 2007: former deputy prime minister and law minister S. Jayakumar, Ambassador-at-Large Tommy Koh and former chief justice Chan Sek Keong.
The spokesman noted that the ICJ judgment was "final, binding and without appeal", and an application for revision may be made only when based on discovery of a fact that would be a "decisive factor" and was not known at the time of judgment.
The application must be filed within 10 years of the judgment and six months of the new fact being found.
