Recognition and/or enforcement of foreign money judgments
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In general current legal framework in Indonesia does not allow decision/orders of foreign court to be directly enforced in Indonesia.
There are two relevant references for this :
1. The Civil Procedural Law (State Gazette Year 1847 Number 52.)
Article 436
“All foreign court decisions cannot be implemented in Indonesian territory, except in the instances mentioned in Article 724 of the Commercial Code and other regulations.
2. Commercial Code (State Gazette Year 1847 Number 23
Article 724
“Calculations and distribution of general avarij are carried out at the request of the ship master and by experts.
Experts are appointed by the parties or by raad van justitie (district court) within the region
The law is that calculations and divisions must be carried out.
Experts must be sworn in before they begin their work.
The distribution must be ratified by raad van justitie (district court).
Outside Indonesia, general avarij are made by officials authorized to do so.”
Most decisions issued by courts outside Indonesia cannot be directly implemented in Indonesia, except through fresh litigation. Indeed, there is still room for Indonesian courts to recognize foreign court decisions that are declarative in nature and do not require execution against property located in Indonesia, for example divorce decisions.
However, punitive foreign court decisions, especially those requiring payment of a sum of money, cannot strictly be recognized and enforced in Indonesia. This punitive decision can only be used as a basis for initiating a new lawsuit in an Indonesian court or as evidence in the trial. Article 436(1) the 1847 Civil Procedural Code (Rv) states,
“All decisions of foreign courts cannot be implemented in Indonesian territory, except in cases mentioned in Article 724 of the Commercial Code and other regulations.”
Meanwhile, article 724 of the Commercial Code regulates the calculation and distribution of maritime losses. This means that only foreign court decisions relating to the calculation and distribution of maritime losses can be recognized and implemented in Indonesia.
The information in the above write-up is provided only for general guidance and is not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers and/or users should refrain from acting on the above information without first seeking independent legal advice.