COVID-19 Pandemic: Enforcement of Electronic Court Proceeding in Indonesia
The Indonesian judiciary system has acknowledged the Electronic Court (“e-court”) since 2019 and enforcement of the e-court and e-litigation system is suggested particularly amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The adjustment from physical trials to a virtual court proceeding is indeed necessary to avoid prolongation of and delays in proceedings due to the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic.
Legal Frameworks: Our below executive summary refers to the following regulations:
- Supreme Court Regulation No. 1 of 2019 on Administration of Case and Hearing in Court through Electronic System (“SC Regulation 1/2019”);
- Supreme Court Circular Letter No. 1 of 2020 on Guidelines for Executing Duties during the Prevention Period of COVID-19 Spreading within the Supreme Court and Lower Judicial Bodies that previously has been amended fourth times, at the latest by Supreme Court Circular Letter No. 5 of 2020 (“SCCL 1/2020”);
- Business Competition Supervisory Commision/Komisi Pengawas Persaingan Usaha (“KPPU”) Regulation No. 1 of 2020 on Electronic Case Handling; and
- The Supreme Court, the Attorney General’s Office (“AGO”), and the Ministry of Law and Human Rights (“MoLHR”) Memorandum of Understanding on the Implementation of Criminal Trials through Teleconference dated 13 April 2020 (“MoU”).
Main Keys on the Enforcement of E-Court Proceeding amidst COVID-19 Pandemic in Indonesia: We have managed to provide you the following main keys regarding the enforcement of e-court proceeding amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia.
Criminal Court Proceeding: The SCCL 1/2020 suggested to; (i) postpone the court proceeding of any criminal cases which detention period can still be extended; (ii) continue the court proceeding if the defendant detention period is unable to be extended; or (iii) halt the court proceeding that has passed the deadline for certain cases which the examination period is limited under the law by submitting official postponement minutes to The Substitute Clerk (Point 2 Letter A-C of SCCL 1/2020).
We note that the Supreme Court, AGO, and MoLHR has executed an MoU which enable to conducting criminal trials through video teleconference. In this instance, the judges and prosecutors are to be physically present in the courtroom, while the defendants will be seated in a dedicated room at their detention facilities for a hearing. The prosecution will then use a video link to question the defendants.
Provided that the physical court proceeding cannot be avoided, certain procedures should be carefully implemented; (i) restrictions on the number of trial visitors; (ii) implementation of physical distancing; and (iii) body temperature screening prior to entering the courtroom (Point 2 Letter D of SCCL 1/2020).
Civil Court Proceeding: The Supreme Court encourages the utilization of the e-litigation system for civil, religious, and administrative cases (Point 2 Letter E of SCCL 1/2020). In this instance, the litigation documents are submitted electronically, and the case examination proceeding can be done through teleconference. However, please be advised that Judges may request some hearings such as evidence and witness examination to be conducted physically.
KPPU Proceeding: KPPU has allowed the submission of allegation report, clarification, investigation, hearing, examination, and monitoring of behavioral remedy to be done through electronic means, among others, video teleconference and exchange of electronic documents through email (Art. 5 - Art. 7 of KPPU Regulation 1/2020).
We also note that the implementation of KPPU virtual proceeding is also applicable to ongoing merger notifications, cases, and monitoring. Furthermore, the regulation also stipulates that the execution of KPPU’s decision could be done electronically (Art. 23 - Art. 24 of KPPU Regulation 1/2020).
The article above was prepared by Marshall S. Situmorang (Partner) and Aniendita Rahmawati (Associate).
