President concerned about Roche's case
President concerned about Roche's case
JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid has reiterated that
Indonesia should honor the sanctity of contracts and abide by Law
No.30/1999 on arbitration and alternative dispute settlement to
woo back foreign investors and keep those already doing business
in the country.
The President made the remark after he received detailed
explanations about the dispute between Swiss pharmaceutical
company PT Roche Indonesia and PT Perusahaan Dagang Tempo and a
controversial ruling by the South Jakarta District Court on that
case.
"We briefed the President on the utter injustice done to PT
Roche by the South Jakarta District Court in connection with its
dispute with Dagang Tempo," Roche's lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis
told reporters.
PT Roche's president Dieter Garbade, accompanied by Swiss
Ambassador Gerard Fonjallaz and Mulya, met Abdurrahman early this
week to brief the President on the grave impact of the court's
flawed handling of the dispute.
The meeting itself was a follow up to the complaint expressed
by Swiss leaders at a meeting with President Abdurrahman during
his February visit to Europe.
"The South Jakarta District Court decided to examine the
dispute even though both Roche and Dagang Tempo had clearly
stipulated in their distributorship contract that they should
settle any dispute through arbitration," Mulya said.
Dagang Tempo filed a suit against Roche last October for
annulling a contract that appointed the plaintiff as a
distributor of Roche's generic and over-the-counter drug products
in Indonesia.
"The court is actually incompetent to try the case as both
parties are bound in an arbitration agreement," Mulya added.
Presiding judge R. Sunarto nonetheless decided in early
November in favor of the plaintiff and issued a sequestration
ruling on Roche's assets, including land and factory in
Cimanggis, east of Jakarta, spare parts and stocks of goods and
basic materials.
Sunarto has been notoriously popular over the last few days
for his controversial ruling early this week that acquitted
Djojoko Tjandra of all corruption charges in the high-profile
Bank Bali corruption case.
Mulya argued that the court should have turned down the case
right from the outset because Roche and Tempo have clearly
stipulated in their contract that any dispute arising between
them which cannot be settled amicably shall be finally settled by
arbitration conducted in the English language in Jakarta under
the Rules of the Arbitration of the Indonesian National Board of
Arbitration (BANI).
"Still more strange was the fact that the court issued the
sequestration ruling on Oct. 22 more than ten days before the
first trial session on the case was held on Nov.4," he added.
More flabbergasting still, Mulya added, the sequestration
decision was issued without first giving the chance to Roche to
defend itself in the Nov.4 hearing of the case.
"This is entirely in violation of the principle of procedural
law (audi ad alteram partem)," Mulya said.
Dagang Tempo's lawyer Amir Syamsudin, however, argued that
inspite of their arbitration agreement Dagang Tempo could still
file a lawsuit against Roche as long as the case pertained to
purely juridical matter and not to business technical matters.
Mulya expressed grave concern that foreign investors would
continue to shun Indonesia if the government could not establish
certainty under law.
"Besides security and political stability, the supremacy of
law and the enforcement of universal principles of business is
the prerequisite to economic development," he added.
Mulya said the multi-dimensional crisis the nation is now
suffering is the result of the utterly poor enforcement of law
during Soeharto's authoritarian rule.
President Abdurrahman seems to be fully aware of the crucial
importance of law certainty as he has put law enforcement on top
of his priority programs.
"But the government should act quickly and firmly to reform
the judicial system, otherwise we will remain mired in this
crisis," Mulya pointed out.