Parliamentary Special Committee Agrees to Begin Drafting International Private Law Bill
JAKARTA — The Special Committee (Pansus) of the Indonesian House of Representatives has agreed to commence discussions and begin drafting a Bill on International Private Law (IPL) following a working session with the government.
Martin Tumbelaka, Chair of the Special Committee on the IPL Bill, stated that all parliamentary factions have presented their views and approved the continuation of discussions on the proposed legislation.
“We have agreed on a schedule for the first-level discussion meetings to deliberate the International Private Law Bill,” said Martin during the Pansus meeting between the House of Representatives and the government on Wednesday, 11 March 2026.
According to him, the bill will be deliberated within a maximum of three parliamentary sessions, and may be extended if decided in a plenary session of the House of Representatives.
“The IPL Bill is expected to serve as a systematic and integrated legal foundation for handling cross-border civil disputes,” he stated.
Earlier, Justice Minister Supratman Andi Agtas explained that the IPL Bill will broadly regulate various aspects of civil law involving cross-border elements.
“In broad terms, the IPL Bill regulates the principles and main instruments of international private law, legal subjects and determination of their legal status, family law involving foreign elements, tangible and intangible property applicable to moveable property, immoveable property, and registered property,” said Supratman.
Supratman added that the IPL Bill also contains provisions regarding the jurisdiction of Indonesian courts in adjudicating civil disputes with foreign elements, as well as mechanisms for recognition and enforcement of foreign court decisions in Indonesia.
He emphasised that such regulation is necessary to provide clear guidance in addressing increasingly complex cross-border civil law issues.
“In this evolving context, the state must be present to facilitate and provide protection for legal subjects, and ensure that all legal relationships between Indonesian and foreign legal subjects operate within a harmonious framework to achieve legal certainty, justice, and utility,” said Supratman.
Currently, international private law provisions in Indonesia remain based on Articles 16, 17, and 18 of the Algemene Bepalingen van Wetgeving and Article 436 of the Reglement op de Rechtsvordering—regulations dating from the colonial era.
“These have become increasingly inadequate to address the complexity of transnational legal issues,” Supratman concluded.
The House of Representatives previously established the Special Committee on the International Private Law Bill during a plenary session in December 2025 to deliberate on the proposed regulation together with the government.