Habibie to open seminar

JAKARTA (JP): State Minister for Research and Technology B.J. Habibie will open a one-day seminar on product and professional liability at the Horison Hotel in Bandung, West Java, on Thursday.

The seminar, organized by the state-owned aircraft manufacturer PT Industri Pesawat Terbang Nusantara (IPTN) and The Bandung Lawyers, will be entitled: Coping with Product and Professional Liability towards Indonesia's Main Product and Service by the Year 2003.

IPTN said in a statement here over the weekend that the seminar will discuss various topics, including product liability in the aviation industry, professional and product liability in Indonesia, professional liability in the service sector and insurance.

Product liability is the responsibility of producers over loss experienced by consumers of their products, while professional liability is the responsibility of professionals over loss experienced by consumers or a third party from their service or advice.

Knowledge of both issues are important for Indonesian businesspeople and professionals in the anticipation of the free- market era beginning in 2003, IPTN stated.

Besides the keynote speaker Minister Habibie, speakers will include Habibie's son, Ilham Akbar Habibie, who is the head of IPTN's N-2130 aviation program, Komar Kantaatmadja, a professor at Padjadjaran University's School of Law, Cahyana Achmad Jayani, president of PT Pos Indonesia, E. Saefullah, a professor at the Padjadjaran University, and Djasiman, technics director of PT Berdikari Insurance. (jsk)