INDONESIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Nico Angelo Putra Mooduto, Mahareksha Singh Dillon, Talitha Amanda Ekadhani and Bagas Ananta, SSEK Law Firm
• Location of the Disputed Object: If the lawsuit concerns immovable property, the competent court is the one in the jurisdiction where the property is located. • Choice of Forum: Parties may also agree on a specific forum for dispute resolution, provided that it does not contravene public policy. Such agree- ments are typically respected by the courts unless there are overriding statutory requirements. • Nature of the Claim: Certain issues will need to be heard by certain specialised courts. For example, if the claim involves a civil matter such as an unlaw- ful act (tort) or contractual dispute, the lawsuit must be filed with the relevant district court. Con- versely, if the matter pertains to intellectual prop- erty disputes, the claim must be submitted to the commercial court, which has exclusive jurisdiction over such cases. 3.4 Initial Complaint In Indonesian civil litigation, the initial document filed to initiate a lawsuit is the statement of claim ( gugatan ). This document is submitted to the competent district court and outlines:
Service of the lawsuit is the responsibility of the court, not the plaintiff. The court’s bailiff serves the summons and other necessary court documents on the defend- ant. The plaintiff does not directly handle the service process but must ensure that the court has adequate information for the service to be carried out efficiently. The court bailiff physically delivers a copy of the sum- mons and the statement of claim to the defendant at their domicile or last known residence. If the defend- ant cannot be located, the bailiff may leave the docu- ments with the local village head or subdistrict head. If the defendant’s address is unknown, the summons is delivered to the regent of the area where the defend- ant was last known to reside. In these cases, the sum- mons is also posted on the announcement board of the district court. If the defendant resides within Indonesia but outside the jurisdiction of the court where the lawsuit was filed, the court may co-ordinate with the local district court where the defendant resides to serve the documents. For defendants located outside Indonesia, service can be executed through diplomatic channels. The plaintiff must notify the court of the defendant’s international address, and the court will liaise with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Indonesian embassies or consu- lates abroad to serve the documents on the defend- ant. 3.6 Failure to Respond If the defendant does not respond to a lawsuit and attend the scheduled hearing session, the case may proceed in their absence. The court will check if the summons was properly served and if the defendant had a reasonable opportunity to appear. If the court finds the service to be valid, the proceedings may move forward without the defendant. In these cases, the court may issue a default judgment in favour of the plaintiff, provided the claim is sup- ported both legally and factually. The court will review the evidence to confirm the plaintiff’s entitlement to the judgment before making its decision. Once issued, the default judgment is formally served to the defend- ant, notifying them of the court’s ruling.
• the plaintiff’s legal claims; • the basis for jurisdiction; • the facts of the case; • the legal arguments; and • the specific relief sought.
The plaintiff must clearly articulate the cause of action and substantiate their claims with relevant facts and laws. A party is permitted to amend its statement of claim after it has been filed, provided that the other party has not filed its statement of defence. Any amend- ment after the statement of defence is filed must be approved by the other party and the court. 3.5 Rules of Service Service of process ( panggilan and pemberitahuan ) is a crucial step in informing the defendant that they have been sued and ensuring the defendant’s right to a fair trial is upheld.
459 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook