PERADI Proposes HPI Bill to Anticipate Cross-Border Legal Issues

The Indonesian Advocates Association (PERADI) Profesional has proposed that the Draft Law on International Civil Law (RUU HPI) anticipate the increasingly complex development of cross-border legal relations, including those resulting from advances in digital technology. “Indonesia needs a legal system that provides certainty, justice, and benefit for all parties,” said Harris, as quoted from a statement received in Jakarta on Tuesday. During a Public Hearing Meeting (RDPU) with the Special Committee (Pansus) for the RUU HPI in Jakarta on Monday (13/7), PERADI Profesional Chairman Harris Arthur Hedar assessed that Indonesia requires more adaptive regulations regarding the development of cross-border legal relations. According to him, the RUU HPI is an important milestone in reforming Indonesia’s international civil law amidst increasing human mobility, foreign investment, international trade, digital transactions, international arbitration, cross-border asset protection, and global technological developments. The professor from Makassar State University (UNM) noted that currently, various international civil law issues are still scattered across different provisions, jurisprudence, and judicial practices. This situation creates legal uncertainty, particularly regarding judicial competence, choice of law, choice of forum, recognition of foreign judgments, and the enforcement of international rulings. Harris stated that all input provided by PERADI Profesional is the result of a comprehensive study considering national law, judicial practices, comparative law, and various relevant international legal instruments. One of the recommendations is to broaden the regulatory scope to accommodate future legal practice developments. Furthermore, PERADI Profesional also proposed clarifying the relationship between ‘choice of law’, ‘choice of forum’, and Indonesian jurisdiction in the RUU HPI to provide legal certainty. “The parameters could include the principles within the law, Pancasila, the 1945 Constitution, mandatory laws, citizens’ constitutional rights, and national interests,” said Yuhelson.