Under Timor-Leste law, the President of the Republic, or a consensus group made up of one fifth of parliament, can request the High Court to evaluate proposed changes to the petroleum fund law before the decree is legalised.

The decree, promulgated by the President Francisco Lo Olo Guterres on Thursday as required by law, would remove a 20 percent cap on state participation in oil projects, and allows Sunrise and other projects to bypass approvals by parliament in future

José Luis Oliveira, the Director of Timor-Leste’ Asia Justice and Rights (AJAR) organisation, said if the High Court declared that the decree was unconstitutional then then the decree revision would be “invalid.”

Despite the President’s promulgation of the decree, Guterrres has insisted that he does not support the change.

The president’s approval of the decree “does not mean a political or legal judgment favourable to said decree,” a statement released Thursday from the President said.

In December, Guterres vetoed the decree saying it could allow the petroleum fund to be misused and called for the proposal to be revised.

Under Timor-Leste law, the President can veto a bill once, but must then ratify it if the bill wins a parliamentary vote of approval.

The purchases of ConocoPhillips and Shell holdings would give Timor-Leste a majority stake in the Greater Sunrise gas Project, along with remaining partners including Australia’s Woodside Petroleum and Japan’s Osaka Gas.