On 4 April 2018, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Indonesia (“SC”) issued SC Regulation No. 3 of 2018 concerning Electronic Court Case Administration (“SC Regulation No. 3/2018”).
SC Regulation No 3/2018 sets a new landmark in the court filing system in Indonesia by introducing the electronic court filing system. In particular, it significantly changes the procedures for filing Court Submissions (particulars of claim/petition, statement of defence, reply, rejoinder and conclusion) to Indonesian courts, for civil, religious, military administration and state administration cases.
This new filing system is expected to bring improvements in the procedures for filing Court Submissions, as described below:
| Matters | Previous Regulation | SC No. 3/2018 |
| Court Submission | Physical submission in a hearing session at the relevant court, which is often very time-consuming and leads to inefficient administrative procedures. | Electronic submission, which for the time being is accessible only to appointed advocates. To use the electronic filing system, the advocate should first register at https://ecourt.mahkamahagung.go.id. Once the account is activated, the pdf version of the Court Submission can be filed with the court simply by uploading the Court Submission through the advocate’s account.
The disputing parties are no longer required to appear before the court, except in evidentiary hearings. It should be noted, however, that this new system does not immediately replace the filing system under the previous regulation and consequently the disputing parties are still allowed to go through the conventional litigation by appearing before the court to file the Court Submission. This new filing system is currently accessible only to several Indonesian courts, among others, all District Courts in Jakarta, District Court of Surabaya, District Court of Palembang, District Court of Makassar, District Court of Medan, District Court of Bandung, Administrative Court of Jakarta, Administrative Court of Bandung and Administrative Court of Denpasar. |
| Service of Court Documents | Court documents are personally served on the disputing parties at their respective domiciles, which often causes delays in the proceedings. | Subject to the written approval of the parties, the court documents will be served on the parties through the electronic system at their respective Electronic Domiciles. Although this new system can minimize delays in the service of court documents, the requirement for approval from all parties may become a hurdle, particularly when a disputing party is not willing to have the decision immediately published. |
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