Indonesian Court Refuse To Intervene Arbitration Proceedings Under BANI Rules

In a recent judgment, the District Court of South Jakarta refused to hear an application to recuse an arbitrator in arbitral proceeding held under the Indonesian National Board of Arbitration ('BANI') rules. The District Court was of the view that it had no jurisdiction to deal with the application.

The judgment in proceeding No. 533/Pdt.G/2014/PN.Jkt.Sel dated 28 November 2014 related to a dispute between PT Citra Televisi Pendidikan Indonesia ('PT CTPI') and PT Berkah Karya Bersama ('PT BKB') over the ownership of a television company. Mohamad Jarman, the Director of PT CTPI, filed an application in the District Court of South Jakarta to recuse an arbitrator appointed to hear the dispute under BANI rules. It was reported that the application was based on Article 25 of Indonesian Arbitration Law No. 30 of 1999 ('Arbitration Law'), which reads: