Commercial arbitration in Indonesia<\/p>\n
Frans H. Winarta, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The battle to eradicate corruption is extremely difficult; it
\nis like the battle to combat \"evil\". As a consequence, the
\ngovernment needs to address the problem seriously. Indonesia, as
\na developing country, has to learn from the experiences of other
\ncountries in effectively combating corruption. This is because
\nother countries have clearly been able to reduce the incidence of
\ncorruption.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian government is currently committed to
\neradicating corruption through various legal means. Nonetheless,
\nit has not been successful in dealing with this acute problem,
\nand the results of the government's campaign against corruption
\nto date have been far from the people's expectations. The lack of
\nsocial control and poor law enforcement also make corruption
\ndifficult to cope with.<\/p>\n
Moreover, the courts as forums for seeking justice have become
\nmarketplaces for the buying and selling of judgments. But,
\ncorruption does not only affect the courts but also other legal
\nor law enforcement institutions, such as the prosecution service
\nand the police. Corruption in the courts is referred to as
\n\"judicial corruption\". Overall, corruption is now widespread in
\nour courts and law enforcement institutions.<\/p>\n
Justice and court decisions can be bought. Ironically, the
\ncourts are supposed to be places where people can seek and obtain
\njustice.<\/p>\n
Corruption does not only occur within the courts of law but
\nalso with every legal and law enforcement institution, such as
\nthe prosecution service and police. This proves that corruption
\nhas spread throughout the legal infrastructure.<\/p>\n
If we look to our legal and judicial systems, it is clear that
\njudicial corruption will be difficult to eradicate. Because of
\nthe bad image of our judicial system, it will be very difficult
\nfor our courts to win the trust of society.<\/p>\n
In overcoming the above problem, there is a \"new trend\" being
\navailed of by international business players, namely, turning to
\narbitration rather than utilizing the courts as dispute-
\nsettlement forums.<\/p>\n
Arbitration is popular as it has more advantages compared to
\ngoing through the courts. The advantages of settling a dispute
\nthrough arbitration include less time-consuming process, the fact
\nthat the parties and the arbitrators want to achieve a win-win
\nsolution, the process accords with business values, and the
\ndecision is final and binding upon the disputing parties.<\/p>\n
Clearly, these advantages are not possessed by the Indonesian
\ncourts. It is generally known that court processes are more time-
\nconsuming as they entail a number of levels -- district court,
\nhigh court (on appeal level), the Supreme Court (on final level).
\nMoreover, the credibility of the Indonesian courts are often
\nquestioned by foreign litigants.<\/p>\n
Based on this, dispute settlement through arbitration is
\nreally needed, especially by business players, as a less time-
\nconsuming dispute settlement process is preferably for them. The
\nexistence of corruption in our judicial institutions means that
\narbitration provides \"a new place\" for the parties in dispute to
\nseek justice.<\/p>\n
Arbitration as a means of dispute settlement is governed by
\nthe Arbitration Law (Number 30 of 1999). However, there is still
\nan impediment or barrier in Indonesia as regards arbitration as
\nthe approval of the Central Jakarta District Court is required
\nfor the execution of a decision.<\/p>\n
Problems in executing international arbitration awards often
\narise if the case is connected to an ongoing criminal or civil
\ncase in Indonesia. The fact that various interested parties have
\nfiled civil or criminal suits often prevents the execution of
\ninternational arbitration awards. In short, the execution of
\ninternational arbitration awards require a high level of
\nintegrity and effort from the legal authorities and other
\nrelevant parties.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, arbitration is a preferable and better method of
\nsettlement compared to legal proceedings, and one way to get
\naround the problem of judicial corruption.<\/p>\n
The writer is an attorney based in Jakarta.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/commercial-arbitration-in-indonesia-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }