INDONESIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Nico Angelo Putra Mooduto, Mahareksha Singh Dillon, Talitha Amanda Ekadhani and Bagas Ananta, SSEK Law Firm
Disputes involving foreign parties will take signif- icantly longer due to lengthy service processes, which may take one to two years. 1.3 Court Filings and Proceedings In Indonesia, court filings and proceedings are generally open to the public as part of the prin- ciple of transparency in the judicial system. This can be seen online through the case tracking information system (s istem informasi penelu- suran perkara ), which allows the public to access information about the status of cases being han- dled by the respective courts. Furthermore, court decisions that have obtained legal force are generally accessible to the public through the decision directory (d irektori putusan ) managed by the Supreme Court of Indonesia. Similarly, court hearings are typically conducted in open court, and members of the public and media are allowed to attend. However, there are specific exceptions where court proceedings and documents may be restricted from public access to protect privacy or sensitive informa- tion. For example, cases involving minors, family dis- putes (eg, divorce and child custody), or matters that could threaten public morality or national security may be heard in closed sessions. In these instances, only the parties involved and their legal representatives are permitted to be present. 1.4 Legal Representation in Court Legal representatives must meet specific require- ments to appear and conduct cases in court. These requirements are intended to ensure that only qualified and competent professionals rep- resent clients in judicial proceedings.
Lawyers must hold a law degree from a recog- nised university and complete a professional advocate training program. They must also pass the bar examination administered by the Indo- nesian Bar Association and be sworn in by the high court. Only those officially registered with the Indonesian Bar Association are authorised to practice law and represent clients in court. Duly licensed lawyers have the right of audience in all courts across the country and may represent clients in both civil and criminal cases. Foreign legal consultants or advisors are permit- ted to practice in Indonesia, particularly in inter- national or cross-border matters, but they can- not conduct court cases or engage in any direct advocacy. Foreign lawyers are also required to work in co-operation with local law firms and are subject to regulations imposed by the Ministry of Law and the Indonesian Bar Association. 2. Litigation Funding 2.1 Third-Party Litigation Funding The general notion in Indonesian litigation is that each party bears its own legal fees. It is therefore extremely rare for a party to recover legal fees from the other party in court litigation, and, in addition, collection through the court enforcement process is cumbersome. For these reasons, third-party litigation funding is not par- ticularly prominent at the present time. Nevertheless, there is no regulation on third-par- ty litigation financing, as it is neither expressly allowed nor forbidden by current legislation. In the absence of a regulatory framework govern- ing third-party funding in litigation, the prevailing norms of Indonesian contract law apply, provid- ing for contractual freedom and party autonomy. Given the lack of specific regulations, parties
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