Recognition And Enforcement Of Foreign Titles. Interim Measures. Debtor Insolvency - Indonesia

1. What information can you find out about a judgment debtor before and during the recognition and enforcement proceedings?
   
   Company information in Indonesia can be obtained on the website of the Directorate General of Administration of General Laws (Administrasi Hukum Umum or "AHU"). Their website can be accessed through their online platform, called AHU Online, via https://ahu.co.id/. AHU contains general information ("General Profile") of companies, such as company name, their registered address, and their contact number. This information is provided for free.
   
   Furthermore, information on previous local cases of a debtor can be looked up at the Directory of Decisions/Verdicts of the Supreme Court of Indonesia (Mahkamah Agung or "MA") accessible online at https://putusan3.mahkamahagung.go.id/. If the Debtor is known to be involved in pending local litigation, information on the case can be found in the Public Service Information System (Sistem Informasi Pelayanan Publik or "SIPP") accessible via the website at http://sipp.pn-jakartapusat.go.id/.
   
   However, any data regarding a company's or an Individual's private assets is not available nor accessible via the public means. Practically, most creditors seeking recompense from an Indonesian debtor should procure private investigator to identify and assess the debtor's assets, before submitting an application for asset confiscation/seizure to the court.
   
2. Do you need to have a foreign judgment recognized before enforcement steps are taken or interim measures are obtained?
   
   a. Foreign Judgment by Foreign Court:
   
   It is important to note that a foreign judgment issued by a foreign court is not executable in Indonesia. This is because Indonesia is not a party to any international conventions or bilateral agreements regarding the recognition of foreign judgments. Any party wishing to enforce the result of foreign proceedings on an Indonesian party must comply with the Memorandum of Understanding signed by MA and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Therefore, foreign judgments are not enforceable in Indonesia (Article 436, Regulation on legal proceedings (Reglement op de Rechtvordering)). In practice, the enforcement of a foreign court order/judgment/decision requires the commencement of fresh proceedings in Indonesia, with the foreign order/judgment/decision used as evidence. 
   
   Based on the above positions, the process of enforcing a foreign court judgment in Indonesia does not merely involve a registration process, as opposed to that of a foreign arbitration award. We will explain about that further below.
   
   Therefore, our responses afterward will only focus on enforcing Foreign Arbitration Awards in Indonesia, as Foreign Judgments by Foreign Courts cannot be recognized and enforced within Indonesian jurisdiction.
   
   b. Foreign Arbitration Award:
   
   Under Law No. 30 of 1999 on Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Settlement ("Law No. 30/1999"), the District Court of Central Jakarta (Pengadilan Negeri Jakarta Pusat or "Central Jakarta District Court") holds the authority to administer the acknowledgement and execution of foreign arbitration award (Article 6 of Law No. 30/1999).
   
   A foreign arbitration award can be acknowledged and executed within the Indonesian jurisdiction upon fulfilling the following conditions:
   
   
   1. The foreign arbitration award is decided by the arbiter or arbitration council of a country that is bound in a bilateral and multilateral agreement with Indonesia, with regard to the acknowledgment and execution of the Decision;
   2. The foreign arbitration award must be based on the provisions of Indonesian law specifically within the scope of trade laws;
   3. The foreign arbitration award does not contravene public order;
   4. The foreign arbitration award can be executed in Indonesia upon issuance of an executory order from the Chief of Central Jakarta District Court; and
   5. If the foreign arbitration award involves Indonesia as one of the parties to the dispute, it can be executed upon receipt of an executory order from MA to be delegated to the Central Jakarta District Court.

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