JUDGMENT

Lord Keith of Kinkel:

This appeal and cross-appeal from the Federal Court of Malaysia are concerned with the validity of an award dated 7 February 1980 made by the Collector of Land Revenue, South West District, Penang, the appellant, purporting to assess compensation due in respect of the compulsory acquisition by the State Authority of certain lands owned by the respondents.

Section 3 of the Land Acquisition Act 1960, as amended, provides that the State Authority may acquire any land which is needed for inter alia any public purpose. Sections 4 to 6 provide for preliminary notification in the Gazette as to land likely to be needed for any of the purposes referred to in s. 3, for entry to and survey of such land, and for compensation to be paid for any damage caused by such entry and survey. Section 7 provides for the submission to the State Authority by the Collector of Land Revenue of a plan showing the particular lands which it is necessary to acquire and a list of such lands.

Section 8(1) provides:

(1) When the State Authority decides that any of the lands referred to in s. 7 are needed for any of the purposes referred to in s. 3, a declaration in Form D shall be published in the Gazette.

Under s. 8(3) a declaration in Form D is conclusive evidence that all the scheduled land referred to therein is needed for the purpose specified.

On 30 March 1972 there was published in the Gazette a s. 8 declaration (G.N.89) that certain lands, including some in the ownership of the respondents, were needed for "residential industrial and public purposes, namely recreation, health, education, police station and public roads".

Section 9 of the Act provides for certain action to be taken by the Collector in relation to lands which are the subject of a s. 8 declaration, including the marking out of the lands and the noting on the title to the lands of the intended acquisition. Section 10 provides:

(1) The Collector shall, having completed the action required by s. 9, commence proceedings for the acquisition of the land by giving public notice in Form E in the manner prescribed by s. 52, and by fixing the date of an inquiry for the hearing of claims to compensation for all interests in such land.

(2) The Collector shall not hold such inquiry earlier than twenty-one days after the date of publication of the notice referred to in sub-section (1).

(3) ...

On 31 December 1978, no action under s. 10 of the Act having yet been taken by the Collector, the respondent Kam Gin Paik commenced proceedings in the High Court seeking inter alia, a declaration that the acquisition of the respondent's lands was mala fide. This appeal is in no way concerned with those proceedings.

On 22 March 1979, the appellant gave notice of an inquiry under s. 10(1), which appears to have opened on the same day but to have been adjourned to 16 April 1979. It was further adjourned on the respondents' application, to 8 December 1979. The inquiry was actually commenced on that date and completed, after further adjournment, on 31 December 1979.

On 7 February 1980 the appellant issued an award, valuing the respondents' lands (including one lot from the acquisition of which the State Authority had, on 19 July 1979, withdrawn under s. 38 of the Act of 1960) at RM172,066.05, plus a sum of RM21,700 in respect of certain buildings on the land. In terms of paragraph 1 of the First Schedule to the Act of 1960, the market value of the land fell to be determined as at the date of the publication in the Gazette of the s. 4 notice in relation to the land, unless the s. 8 declaration was published more than 12 months later, in which event the date of publication in the Gazette of that declaration was to be the relevant date. It does not appear which of these two dates was the appropriate one in the present case, but it is evident the date of valuation can have been no later than 30 March 1972. The respondents' valuer valued their land at RM4,532,000 as at 7 January 1980.

On 16 Oc