President concerned about Roche's case<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid has reiterated that
\nIndonesia should honor the sanctity of contracts and abide by Law
\nNo.30\/1999 on arbitration and alternative dispute settlement to
\nwoo back foreign investors and keep those already doing business
\nin the country.<\/p>\n
The President made the remark after he received detailed
\nexplanations about the dispute between Swiss pharmaceutical
\ncompany PT Roche Indonesia and PT Perusahaan Dagang Tempo and a
\ncontroversial ruling by the South Jakarta District Court on that
\ncase.<\/p>\n
\"We briefed the President on the utter injustice done to PT
\nRoche by the South Jakarta District Court in connection with its
\ndispute with Dagang Tempo,\" Roche's lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis
\ntold reporters.<\/p>\n
PT Roche's president Dieter Garbade, accompanied by Swiss
\nAmbassador Gerard Fonjallaz and Mulya, met Abdurrahman early this
\nweek to brief the President on the grave impact of the court's
\nflawed handling of the dispute.<\/p>\n
The meeting itself was a follow up to the complaint expressed
\nby Swiss leaders at a meeting with President Abdurrahman during
\nhis February visit to Europe.<\/p>\n
\"The South Jakarta District Court decided to examine the
\ndispute even though both Roche and Dagang Tempo had clearly
\nstipulated in their distributorship contract that they should
\nsettle any dispute through arbitration,\" Mulya said.<\/p>\n
Dagang Tempo filed a suit against Roche last October for
\nannulling a contract that appointed the plaintiff as a
\ndistributor of Roche's generic and over-the-counter drug products
\nin Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\"The court is actually incompetent to try the case as both
\nparties are bound in an arbitration agreement,\" Mulya added.<\/p>\n
Presiding judge R. Sunarto nonetheless decided in early
\nNovember in favor of the plaintiff and issued a sequestration
\nruling on Roche's assets, including land and factory in
\nCimanggis, east of Jakarta, spare parts and stocks of goods and
\nbasic materials.<\/p>\n
Sunarto has been notoriously popular over the last few days
\nfor his controversial ruling early this week that acquitted
\nDjojoko Tjandra of all corruption charges in the high-profile
\nBank Bali corruption case.<\/p>\n
Mulya argued that the court should have turned down the case
\nright from the outset because Roche and Tempo have clearly
\nstipulated in their contract that any dispute arising between
\nthem which cannot be settled amicably shall be finally settled by
\narbitration conducted in the English language in Jakarta under
\nthe Rules of the Arbitration of the Indonesian National Board of
\nArbitration (BANI).<\/p>\n
\"Still more strange was the fact that the court issued the
\nsequestration ruling on Oct. 22 more than ten days before the
\nfirst trial session on the case was held on Nov.4,\" he added.<\/p>\n
More flabbergasting still, Mulya added, the sequestration
\ndecision was issued without first giving the chance to Roche to
\ndefend itself in the Nov.4 hearing of the case.<\/p>\n
\"This is entirely in violation of the principle of procedural
\nlaw (audi ad alteram partem),\" Mulya said.<\/p>\n
Dagang Tempo's lawyer Amir Syamsudin, however, argued that
\ninspite of their arbitration agreement Dagang Tempo could still
\nfile a lawsuit against Roche as long as the case pertained to
\npurely juridical matter and not to business technical matters.<\/p>\n
Mulya expressed grave concern that foreign investors would
\ncontinue to shun Indonesia if the government could not establish
\ncertainty under law.<\/p>\n
\"Besides security and political stability, the supremacy of
\nlaw and the enforcement of universal principles of business is
\nthe prerequisite to economic development,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Mulya said the multi-dimensional crisis the nation is now
\nsuffering is the result of the utterly poor enforcement of law
\nduring Soeharto's authoritarian rule.<\/p>\n
President Abdurrahman seems to be fully aware of the crucial
\nimportance of law certainty as he has put law enforcement on top
\nof his priority programs.<\/p>\n
\"But the government should act quickly and firmly to reform
\nthe judicial system, otherwise we will remain mired in this
\ncrisis,\" Mulya pointed out.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/president-concerned-about-roches-case-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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