This year, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Indonesia is planning to implement the e-litigation system for the first time in Indonesia. Such implementation is a breakthrough for court proceedings in the country, because e-litigation would allow the disputing parties to submit or exchange court documents (e.g. statement of claim, reply, response, rebuttal and conclusion) through the e-court system (which was initially introduced in 2018). Implementation of e-litigation would help reduce issues related to ineffectiveness of court proceedings in Indonesia, as to date, the physical attendance of parties is still required for every court hearing, including for submission of court documents.
E-litigation would also be in line with the Indonesian Government’s intention to boost its ranking in the Ease of Doing Business index. The Supreme Court is currently making the new e-court framework by amending Supreme Court Regulation No. 3 of 2018 on the Administration of Court Cases by Electronic Means (“SCR 3/2018”) in order to streamline and make e-litigation compatible with the e-court system in Indonesia, which includes e-filing, e-payment and e-summon. Currently, e-court is obliged to be implemented in 56 District Courts in Indonesia, based on Circular Letter of the Director General of General Judicature of the Supreme Court No. 4 of 2019 dated 10 June 2019.
Based on the public discussion held by the Supreme Court, there are several issues under review, which could be incorporated in the amendment of SCR 3/2018, among others:
- Definition of Electronic Litigation;
- Definition of Electronic Documents;
- The scope of Electronic Litigation Proceedings;
- Addition of Registered Users (Legal/Business Entity);
- Scheduled trial day;
- Procedure for Electronic Trial;
- Types of Electronic Documents;
- Standard document format; and
- Transitional Provisions
To support and accelerate implementation of e-litigation, the Supreme Court is also preparing IT infrastructure to support e-court system, which would cost around IDR 293 billion. This new regulation (and e-litigation) is expected to be issued in August 2019. It is hoped that this change will help the Supreme Court to embody the principle of a fast, simple and low-cost judiciary system in Indonesia. We will closely monitor and keep you updated on the progress and development regarding the e-litigation.