Former top judges launch Sundra Rajoo’s arbitration books

Former chief justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat and former Federal Court judge Zainun Ali jointly launched two books on arbitration by former Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC) director N Sundra Rajoo.

The books are “The Arbitration Act 2005 (Amended 2011, 2018 and 2024): UNCITRAL Model Law as Applied in Malaysia” and “Handbook on Arbitration”.

Tengku Maimun, in her foreword to the commentary on the first book, said arbitration was not an alternative to the judicial process but complemented it.

“Arbitration fundamentally relies on the courts for what tribunals cannot do for themselves: to enforce the arbitration agreement when a party tries to repudiate it; to provide interim measures that the tribunal cannot independently grant; and to enforce final awards when the losing party refuses to comply,” she said.

She said the legitimacy of arbitration rested on judicial discipline, with the Act requiring courts to interpret grounds for intervention narrowly.

Tengku Maimun said Sundra’s book would serve as an important reference for judges, practitioners and academics.

Zainun, in her speech at the launch, said the publication of the two books reflected the growing maturity of Malaysia’s arbitration law and practice.

“There was a time not so long ago, when a Malaysian practitioner with a difficult arbitration question would automatically reach out for an English textbook.

“In this context, the coming of age of any legal system is not by the volume of the litigation, nor by the amount of black letter laws, but by a quieter sign, the moment that legal system’s own literature finds its feet,” she said.

Zainun said arbitration had developed into a distinct juridical process with its own principles, philosophy and professional culture.

She also praised Sundra for making the complex field more accessible, particularly to those new to arbitration.

The Handbook on Arbitration covers the entire arbitration process, from the arbitration agreement through to enforcement, as well as specialist areas including investment, sports, maritime, construction, intellectual property, employment, economic sanctions, environmental and government disputes.

The launch was held yesterday at the Royal Lake Club here and was attended by members of the judiciary, legal profession and arbitration community. The two books were published by Thomson Reuters.

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