Answer ... Court proceedings in Indonesia commence with the plaintiff submitting a claim to the chairperson of the district court in the defendant’s domicile. The plaintiff must then:
- register the civil suit with the deputy registrar of the district court; and
- pay a filing fee.
Upon registration, the deputy registrar must issue a letter of summons to the defendant at least three days prior to the first court hearing. If the defendant fails to appear at the first court hearing, it will be summoned to a second hearing and, if necessary, to a third hearing. If the defendant has not made an appearance by the third hearing, it is within the discretion of the court to issue a default judgment, unless the plaintiff’s lawsuit is clearly groundless. Such a default judgment is subject to appeal and is therefore not binding or conclusive.
At the first hearing, where both parties appear, the judges will check relevant powers of attorney and must then encourage the parties to reach an amicable settlement or conciliation. The judges will urge the parties to endeavour to settle the dispute amicably during a mediation period and must adjourn the hearing until the mediation period ends. If the mediation is successful and an agreement is reached, the agreement must contain a clause regarding the withdrawal of the lawsuit or a statement stating that the dispute is settled. The judges may affirm the agreement and incorporate it into a decision, which is not subject to appeal and is therefore final and binding. In most instances, informal mediation/conciliation procedures are unsuccessful.
If the mediation process is unsuccessful, the first court hearing is then devoted to receiving the statement of the defendant and to certain administrative matters. The judges are empowered to issue directives to the parties regarding the evidence and legal alternatives available to each side. The main arguments during the course of the trial are in the form of written submissions.
Once the defendant’s response to the original summons has been filed with the court, the court adjourns for a period, during which time the plaintiff is permitted to file its counterplea. The defendant may also file a counterclaim against the plaintiff’s claim simultaneously with its first response. The counterclaim may be for an amount that is equal to, higher or lower than the claim. The filing of the counterplea triggers the commencement of a second period, during which the defendant is required to file a rejoinder or response to the counterplea.
Once these written submissions have been duly filed at the court, another session is scheduled to examine the written exhibits. The originals of the exhibits are not produced initially. The purpose of this session is for the judges to verify the copies against the originals. After the written exhibits have been properly examined by the judges, a subsequent court session is scheduled to hear the witnesses for the plaintiff and the defendant.
The next court session is scheduled for the purpose of accepting final written submissions from each party. Upon receipt of these final submissions, the judges usually adjourn the court for two to three weeks in order to review the submissions carefully and to render their decision. At the final court session, the judges will issue their decision.
The Supreme Court recently introduced the e-court system and thus some of the above proceedings may now be carried out through the e-court system.