INDONESIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Nico Angelo Putra Mooduto, Mahareksha Singh Dillon, Talitha Amanda Ekadhani and Bagas Ananta, SSEK Law Firm
have a strong tradition of granting injunctive relief, especially in civil and commercial cases, where remedies tend to be compensatory rather than preventative. In Indonesian law, injunctive relief is a form of court order designed to prevent harm or pre- serve the status quo before a full hearing on the merits of a case. The courts have discretion- ary authority to issue injunctions based on the urgency and necessity of the situation. It must be noted that filing injunctive meas- ures must be made in the lawsuit setting out the claims. It is not an ex parte process. In any event, injunctions are rarely granted in practice. One of the most common injunctive measures in Indonesia is provisional attachment ( sita jaminan or conservatoir beslag ). This measure is used to secure assets belonging to the defendant in order to prevent their dissipation during litiga- tion. The purpose of provisional attachment is to ensure that the assets remain available for enforcement if the plaintiff prevails in the case. Assets that can be attached under this measure include real property, bank accounts, and mov- able property such as vehicles or equipment. Another applicable injunctive measure is sequestration of disputed property ( sita revindi- catoir ). This specific form of attachment is used when the ownership of the property itself is in dispute. Sita revindicatoir is intended to preserve the property in question until the court resolves the issue of ownership. The issuance of these injunctive measures is subject to the following general requirements. • Urgency: the party requesting the interim measure must demonstrate a clear and pre-
sent risk that the defendant may dissipate or hide assets, or that the subject matter of the dispute could be altered before a judgment is rendered. • Prima facie, case: the plaintiff must present a prima facie, case, demonstrating a reason- able likelihood of success on the merits of the case. 6.2 Arrangements for Obtaining Urgent Injunctive Relief In principle, injunctive measures can be request- ed at any point before the panel of judges issues a ruling or prior to the execution of the judgment. However, these requests must generally be sub- mitted and heard during the court’s official work- ing hours. Indonesian courts do not provide for out-of-hours judges or emergency hearings out- side of normal operating times. 6.3 Availability of Injunctive Relief on an Ex Parte Basis Injunctive relief cannot be obtained on an ex parte basis. 6.4 Liability for Damages for the Applicant An applicant who obtains an injunction can be held liable for damages suffered by the respond- ent if the injunction is later discharged, espe- cially if it is determined that the injunction was wrongfully granted or caused undue harm. The liability of the applicant is based on the principle that the respondent should be compensated for any losses incurred as a result of the injunction if it was unjustified. 6.5 Respondent’s Worldwide Assets and Injunctive Relief Injunctive relief is typically limited to assets within Indonesia. The Indonesian courts gener- ally do not have the authority to issue injunc-
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