Pertamina tanker battle may return to square one

Pertamina tanker battle may return to square one

Leony Aurora , The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The legal battle over a ruling by the Business Competition
Supervisory Commission (KPPU) on the sale of two tankers by
Pertamina looks set to return to square one after the Supreme
Court decided that all the appeals against the ruling would have
to be heard by the same judicial panel.

The decision, signed by Chief Justice Bagir Manan, was read
out on Wednesday by the separate judicial panels of the Central
Jakarta District Court that are hearing the appeals against the
KPPU ruling lodged by state oil and gas firm Pertamina, financial
advisor to the deal Goldman Sachs and tender winner Frontline
Shipping Ltd.

Frontline's local agent, PT Equinox, has also submitted a
similar appeal against the KPPU ruling to the South Jakarta
District Court.

Goldman's legal representative, Todung Mulya Lubis, told The
Jakarta Post that his client would file an appeal against the
Supreme Court's decision, saying that it came too late.

"We were supposed to get a ruling tomorrow," said Todung.
"Now, we have to start all over again.

"We shouldn't let the Chief Justice's neglect (in deciding on
the issue) disrupt an ongoing process," he added.

The Central Jakarta District Court will sit on Wednesday to
hear the stance of the parties as regards the Supreme Court
decision.

Two weeks ago, before the District Court case started, the
KPPU submitted a petition to the Supreme Court requesting that
the appeals against its ruling in the tanker case be heard
jointly by the same judicial panel, citing Article 4 of Supreme
Court Regulation No. 1/2003 on appeals against KPPU rulings.

This article stipulates if appeals are brought by more than
one business entity before different judicial panels against one
KPPU ruling, then the KPPU can ask the Supreme Court to designate
a single District Court panel to examine all of the appeals.

Idawara Suprida, one of the KPPU's lawyers, said that the KPPU
welcomed the decision.

"We stand by what the law says," she said. "Besides, the KPPU
issued only one ruling. Why do we need four different court
rulings in response to it?"

According to Idawara, the Supreme Court order was signed on
April 13, but the judges only received it on Wednesday morning.
The reason for the delay was unclear.

Todung was of opinion that the article did not stipulate that
all of the appeals had to be heard by one judicial panel. "It's
just a matter of location," he said.

The KPPU ruled on March 4 that the sale of two Very Large
Crude Carriers (VLCCs) belonging to Pertamina last year to
Bermuda-based Frontline for US$184 million breached the
requirements of fair competition.

It ordered Pertamina's boards of directors and commissioners to
explain the case to its shareholders, while Goldman Sachs,
Frontline and Equinox were fined Rp 19.7 billion ($2.06 million),
Rp 25 billion and Rp 16.6 billion, respectively.

Goldman and Frontline were also ordered to pay damages of Rp
60 billion and Rp 120 billion respectively to compensate the
state for loss of potential revenue.

All parties were given two months to comply with the ruling.