E-Court and E-Litigation: The New Face of Civil Court Practices in Indonesia

Abstract

To fulfill the principle of simple, speedy and inexpensive justice, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Indonesia launched the e-Court application (electronic court) on July 13, 2018 after previously releasing Regulation Number 3 of 2018 on Electronic Case Administration in the Court as the legal basis for its implementation. The creation of E-Court is aimed at facilitating justice seekers in resolving civil cases in the general courts, religious courts and state administrative courts. After a year, E-Court has now been perfected to become E-Litigation (electronic litigation) through the issuance of Supreme Court Regulation Number 1 of 2019 dated August 8, 2019. Previously, E-Court only facilitates three types of electronic-based case services: e-filing, e-payment, and e-summon, while E-Litigation will enable the delivery of answers, replies, rejoinders, evidences and judgments to be carried out electronically. The implementation of E-Litigation not only significantly changes the face of Indonesian judiciary toward information technology-based modern judiciary, but also radically contravenes the provisions of civil procedural law stipulated in HIR and RBg. This article will focus on analyzing the new face of civil court practices in Indonesia in responding to the demands of the industrial revolution 4.0, while also examining the role of the Supreme Court in establishing civil procedural law that shows a similar trend to the courts in several countries that adhere to the common law system. Through the method of analysis of E-Court/E-Litigation application and regulations as well as comparative studies with other countries, this article is expected to provide ideas how E-Litigation should ideally be carried out and also to present new facts about the role of the Supreme Court in responding to the slow development of civil procedural law.