Whether its an Indonesian civil court decision or a foreign arbitral award, enforcement has long been a problem in Indonesia. The lack of consistency of enforcement procedures between the courts has been a key factor in this process.

Recently, the director general of General Judicature at the Supreme Court of the Republic of Indonesia issued decree No 

40/DJU/SK/HM.02.3./1/2019 outlining the new enforcement guidelines for District Courts, which hopes to bring more certainty on the process and timeline for enforcement in court.

Until now, the enforcement procedure varied from court to court, based on the internal policy of the court, in which enforcement was being sought. The new enforcement guidelines expand upon these policies to provide a detailed enforcement process, including the filing procedures. Perhaps most interesting of all is that there are now specific and detailed requirements for each type of enforcement, where previously there were none. The aim of having detailed requirements is to reduce inefficiencies in registering the enforcement application, which has been a principal issue in enforcement in Indonesia.

Having certainty in the enforcement process is crucial for investors doing business in Indonesia, as low rates of success negatively affect investor trust in the Indonesian legal system. Reforming this system should hopefully go some way to provide comfort to investors seeking to realistically ascertain their chances of successful recovery in judicial proceedings in Indonesia.

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