After being held up for two years, the Supreme Court (MA) has finally issued the Regulation of MA (Perma) No. 2/2015 on Procedures for Simple Claims Settlement with small claim court mechanisms. Perma No. 2/2015 specializes in the rule of inspection in the trial of a civil suit with a maximum compensation value of Rp200 million.
Basically the Perma is issued to give wider access for the public in obtaining justice. Moreover, the rapid legal developments in the field of economic prompted the need for dispute settlement procedures that is simpler, faster, with lighter cost and this Perma is published to fill the legal vacuum.
The authority to conduct hearing of small claims court is within the jurisdiction of general courts. The scope of the lawsuit includes a simple claim for default, tort, or unlawful act, but excluding claims for disputes that are done through a special court or disputes over land rights.
Provision for small claims court that sets it apart from the ordinary courts settlement is the parties. The parties in the small claims court process is only made up of the plaintiff and the defendant that the amount should not be more than one and must reside in the same area of the court of law. This simple lawsuit can not be filed against a defendant who’s whereabouts is not known.
The plaintiff and the defendant are required to be present in person in the trial with or without an attorney. Due to small claims court trial led by a single presiding justice, the settlement is limited to a maximum period of 25 days. With such a short period of time, the Perma prohibits the parties to submit claims, exceptions, counter-charges, intervention, replik, closing argument or even a conclusion. Moreover, against a claim which is not denied, the Perma states there is no need for any verification of evidence.
Preliminary examination stage is the most crucial stage in the completion of this simple lawsuit because at this stage the justice is authorized to assess and determine whether the case is a simple lawsuit or not. If the justice believes that the lawsuit is not a simple matter, then the justice will issue a determination, which states that the small claims court will not continue. On this determination, there’s no legal remedy allowed.
Perma No. 2/2015 is an interesting regulation since it includes regulation on the role of the justice. Perma No. 2/2015 states justice shall play an active role in doing a few things, namely:
- to gives a balance explanation of the small claim court mechanism to the parties;
- to seek a peaceful settlement of the case, including suggesting to the parties to make peace outside of the court;
- to guide the parties in the verification of evidence; and
- to explain the available legal remedies that can be taken by the parties.
Related to the final verdict in this small claims proceedings, Perma No. 2/2015 states that the parties may file for an objection within seven days after the judgment is pronounced or after the notification of the decision. Decision of the justice on the objection is a final verdict that is not available for another appeal, cassation, or reconsideration. Unfortunately, on this decision that has been legally binding, its implementation remains voluntary. This is honestly confusing. If at the end of the say everything must go back to a voluntary act, then what’s the point of going to the court?
By Pradnya Paramitha
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