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19 October, 2019
Executive summary
Litigation pursuant to Indonesia's civil law system is not efficient in terms of the time taken for proceedings. Generally, the time taken for the process is exhaustingly unpredictable. Even the agenda of the hearing is for the submission of the court documents, the attendance of the disputing parties is still required. Although the Chairman of Supreme Court has issued its circular letter on the timeline for each court in each stage of the examination of the case, generally the courts in Indonesia take longer than these guidelines.
The Supreme Court of Indonesia has now introduced the electronic court ("e-Court") to be implemented in every proceedings in Indonesia. The Supreme Court hopes that by implementing the e-Court, it will help reduce issues related to the inefficiency of court proceedings in Indonesia. Currently, the physical attendance of the disputing parties is still required for all agenda in the court hearings, including for submission of court documents which can be time consuming. In addition, other problems include slow processes in handling cases, the difficulty of accessing the courts and the poor quality and integrity of the judicial apparatus all of which lead to a reputation for low quality of the judicial process itself.
The e-Court will allow the disputing parties to submit or exchange court documents through the online system as well as make payments of the relevant court costs.
Electronic Proceedings Through E-Court System In Indonesia
In line with the principle of fast, simple and low cost proceedings, the Supreme Court of Indonesia issued the Supreme Court Regulation No. 1 of 2019 on Administration of Case and Hearing in the Court through Electronic System ("SC Regulation No. 1/2019"). The issuance of SC Regulation No. 1/2019 was also accompanied by the issuance of the Chairman of Supreme Court Decree No. 129/KMA/SK/VIII/2019 on Technical Guidelines for the Administration of Case and Hearing in the Court through Electronic System ("SC Decree No. 129/2019"). By the issuance of these two regulations, the Supreme Court wishes to see the implementation of the court proceedings through the e-Court processes.
Basically, SC Regulation No. 1/2019 and SC Decree No. 129/2019 improve the regulations regarding e-Court that have been stipulated under Supreme Court Regulation No. 3 of 2018 on the Administration of Cases and Legal Proceeding in Courts through Electronic System. SC Regulation No. 1/2019 updates the following issues related to the application of the e-Court in Indonesian courts: (i) scope of e-Court system; (ii) e-Court users; and (iii) e-Court proceedings.
1. Scope of e-Court System
In general, e-Court is an application designated for the online submission of the following court documents as well as administration documents:
- Receipt of claims, petitions, objections, or interventions;
- Receipt of payment;
- Submission of summon/notification, response, counterplea, rejoinder, or conclusion;
- Receipt of legal remedies;
The legal remedies (appeal, cassation, and civil review) can only be submitted through e-Court if the e-Court system was used since the court of first instance proceedings.
Note that, according to SC Regulation No. 1/2019, the type of cases that can be processed through e-Court are the followings:
- Civil cases;
- Religious cases;
- Military administrative cases; and
- Administrative cases.
2. The Users of e-Court
To use the application, a person must login as a Registered User (advocate) or Other User (non-advocate). The Other User (non-advocate) registration only remains valid until 14 days after the issuance of the court decision. To become either a Registered User or Other User in the e-Court application, a person must submit the required documents and input the necessary data online.
According to Article 5 of SC Regulation No. 1/2019, the requirements below must be fulfilled for any parties who will use the e-Court system:
| REGISTERED USER (ADVOCATE) | OTHER USER (NON-ADVOCATE) |
|---|---|
| The Identity Card (Kartu Tanda Penduduk) | Parties who are acting as proxies must possess: (i) an employee identification card/membership card, (ii) power of attorney and/or assignment letter from ministries/institutions/business entities. |
| The advocate membership card | For individuals, must have the Identity Card (Kartu Tanda Penduduk). |
| Minutes of Inauguration (Berita Acara Sumpah) from the relevant High Court who took the oath of the relevant advocates | The decree issued by the chairman of the court for incidental legal proceedings which involve familial relationships with prospective users who register through court information system. |
The Registered User and Other User must follow the terms and conditions provided under the e-Court system. Sanctions will be imposed against violation of terms and conditions of using e-Court applications and may cause the user to be unable to use the e-Court application. The type of sanctions that may be given by the Supreme Court are the following:
(i) warnings;
(ii) temporary revocation of access, or
(iii) permanent revocation of access.
Furthermore, to keep its users validated, the e-Court system obliges each user to actively update its data if it is renewed or expired.
3. Electronic Proceeding (e-Litigation)
According to SC Regulation No. 1/2019, electronic proceeding means a series of examination procedures followed by the issuance of the decision in relation to cases which are handled by courts and supported by information and communication technologies.
The submission of the case can be done by the users through the e-Court system. In filing the lawsuit/claim, the preliminary evidence must be included and submitted through the e-Court system. Having submitted the lawsuit/claim online, the party who submits it is required to pay the registration fee.
The summoning of the first hearing for the plaintiff will be carried out through the e-Court system, while the summoning for the defendant(s) will be carried out manually (i.e. by delivering the summons through the court bailiff in the defendant's domicile). In the first hearing, the judge will offer the defendant the option of conducting the whole proceeding electronically. If the defendant opposes, the proceeding will be done conventionally by face-to-face hearing.
However, if the defendant agrees to conduct the whole proceeding electronically, the response, counterplea, rejoinder, and other relevant documents will be submitted online to the e-Court application within the timeframe as set by the panel of judges in the online court calendar.
Once the disputing parties agree that the proceedings will be conducted online, the panel of judges should subsequently determine the e-litigation schedules for the submission of response, counterplea, and rejoinder, until the handing down of the ruling/decision.
Nevertheless, written evidence that is submitted online will still need to be presented physically to prove its authenticity.
The examination of witness, either factual or expert, can be conducted through audio visual media communication if agreed by the parties in which the fees will be borne by the relevant party. However, the parties are also allowed to ask the panel of judges to open a conventional hearing for the cross-examination of the witness(es).
Upon reaching the final decision/ruling by the panel of judges who are examining the case, SC Decree No. 129/2019 stipulates that the decision/ruling which has been digitally signed will be conveyed by the panel of judges through e-Court system. Moreover, the reading of the ruling is deemed performed by the judges when the copy of the decision/ruling in PDF format has been conveyed to the disputing parties through the online system.
Intervention by a Third Party – Third parties are entitled to submit an intervention petition through the e-Court system, however they must agree to follow the proceedings via the e-Court system since the main disputing parties have already agreed to do so.
Legal Remedy – The disputing party who has already been involved through e-Court since in the beginning, may file a legal remedy electronically within the legal time frame stated in the civil procedural law.
4. Pros and Cons of e-Court
The Supreme Court is still in the process of improving the performance of the e-Court system and accordingly some difficulties are still being faced by any parties who file their claim/lawsuit through the online system. Having reviewed provisions regarding e-Court under SC Regulation No. 1/2019 and SC Decree No. 129/2019, and in the light of its implementation in Indonesia, we note the following pros and cons:
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
|
|
Although issues might arise with respect to the e-Court, the application itself is designated for the purpose of time and cost efficiency. The Supreme Court is still in the process of improving the performance of e-Court system.
The Supreme Court is aiming that in 2020, all of court proceedings in Indonesia can be carried out through the e-Court system and is currently encouraging all advocates in Indonesia to adopt the e-Court system.
For further information, please contact:
Prawidha Murti, Partner, Ashurst
prawidha.murti@ashurst.com
