How Ihza & Ihza battled the ICI case

The legal battle between local and foreign shareholders of paint producer PT ICI Paints Indonesia would not have attracted as much public attention were it not for the involvement of Yusril Ihza Mahendra & Partners Law Firm.

According to some, the fight allegedly became an unequal battle -- regardless of the legal merits on either side -- because the foreign shareholder ICI Omicron B. V. hired Yusril Ihza Mahendra & Partners (now called Ihza & Ihza) against its local partner PT Dwi Satrya Utama (DSU).

According to DSU, Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra reportedly intervened. He summoned representatives of DSU, and asked them to stop their legal fight.

But legal proceedings continued. And the outcome is obvious: ICI Omicron won the first phase of the battle at the South Jakarta District Court.

The court, in its verdict which raised eyebrows on July 25, 2002, ordered the local shareholder not to question the company's statute which DSU claimed to be in violation of the 1995 Limited Liabilities Law.

DSU, which owns a 45 percent stake in PT ICI Paints Indonesia, appealed the decision, causing further complications.

Apparently angered by the unrelenting legal measures pursued by DSU, Ihza & Ihza sent a warning letter dated Nov. 13, 2002 to DSU's lawyer Rufinus Hotmaulana & Partners, telling the latter in very terse language to stop the legal fight or: "We shall indeed file much more severe and serious criminal & civil lawsuits against your client to ensure they get their worst days."

Although the law firm has changed names, it still used Yusril Ihza Mahendra & Partners Law Firm letter heads in its warning letter to DSU.

TM Luthfi Yazid, a partner at Ihza & Ihza, said the use of the letter head was not aimed at threatening DSU as it was simply an administrative problem. It was registered under Yusril's name in the beginning of its legal battle with DSU.

"It is only an administrative matter. Our client is an offshore client, based in the United Kingdom, that it will take a long time to legalize the new name of Ihza & Ihza Law Firm in the UK," Luthfi said.

Nevertheless, Ihza & Ihza was apparently serious with its threats. Soon after, it filed a criminal lawsuit against two ICI directors representing DSU. The first hearing was held in the South Jakarta District Court on Wednesday (yesterday). --JP