The MPs are Rosol Wahid (Hulu Terengganu), Fathul Huzir Ayob (Gerik), Awang Hashim (Pendang), Mas Ermieyati Samsudin (Masjid Tanah) and Abdul Khalib Abdullah (Rompin).
Lawyer S Karthigesan told High Court judge Justice Amarjeet Singh the dispute was the first of its kind to reach the courts and involved questions on the interpretation of the Federal Constitution.
Karthigesan said his clients had instructed him to invoke Section 84 of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964 to refer the constitutional questions to the Federal Court.
“The issues require the Federal Court’s determination, particularly regarding the effect of the agreement signed, including under Article 69 of the Federal Constitution,” he said during case management today.
Article 69 concerns the federation’s legal capacity regarding property, contracts and legal proceedings.
Federal counsel Krishna Piya Venugopal informed the court that she would need two weeks to review the documents and seek further instructions from the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC), as she was only served with the plaintiffs’ court papers yesterday evening.
Amarjeet fixed Feb 23 for the next case management and directed the plaintiffs to file the specific questions for referral to the apex court.
The PN lawmakers filed an originating summons at the High Court on Jan 19 to challenge the trade agreement signed by Malaysia and the US last October.
The defendants are Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the attorney-general and the government.
In their court papers, the plaintiffs argued that Anwar lacked the constitutional authority to bind the federation to the agreement.
They are seeking declarations that the prime minister and the government failed to uphold their constitutional duty of collective responsibility, and that the attorney-general failed to properly advise them on the constitutional prerequisites before Malaysia could be lawfully bound to the deal.
The plaintiffs are seeking a declaration that the trade agreement, including its outcomes, is unconstitutional and void.
On Nov 4 last year, Anwar said the government had consulted the AGC to ensure that the reciprocal trade agreement with the US was constitutionally compliant.
He added that the AGC’s input was sought to ensure that the ART provisions did not contravene the “spirit of the Federal Constitution and domestic laws”.