International Law

Govt limits liability for nuclear accidents

Posted on July 19, 2009
The government recently issued GR 46/2009 on the limit of liability for losses caused by nuclear accidents. Under the recent GR, liability is limited into Rp. 4. Trillion (from the previous Rp. 900 billion). Read the said GR here (in Bahasa).

Can public service law be applied to private sector?

Posted on July 14, 2009
Below is my recent Below is my recent op ed in Jakarta Post. Just a little typo at the 7th paragraph, it should read 'employer'.Can public service law be applied to private sector? Mohamad Mova Al Afghani , Jakarta | Tue, 07/14/2009 9:55 AM | Opinion The House of Representatives passed the public services bill into law on June 23, 2009...

Is Skype Auto Recharge setting illegal?

Posted on July 12, 2009
I am a regular skype user and found that its auto-recharge feature is annoying. Recently I found out that I am not the only one with this problem. Consider for example, this, this, this and this.Auto recharge is of course a feature that can help many users...

Hyperregulated Society and Its Discontents

Posted on July 05, 2009
I have been reading Habermas theory of Juridification and the colonization of lifeworld. I came across my old article arguing in the same line. Hyperegulated Society and Its Discontents By Mohamad Mova Al ?Afghani* The Jakarta Post, Opinion and Editorial - June 28, 2005...

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Rewriting the antiterror law

Posted on July 04, 2009
Below is my 2005 op-ed on Indonesian Anti Terrorism Law in Jakarta Post.Rewriting the antiterror lawThe Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Mon, 10/24/2005 2:02 PM | OpinionMohamad Mova Al 'Afghani, JakartaLong unguarded coastlines, poverty, rampant corruption, a crippled legal system and widening social and economic gaps accompanied by mushrooming religious extremism have made Indonesia an easy target for terrorists...

Franchise in Indonesia

Posted on July 04, 2009
The franchise industry is booming in Indonesia, generating up to IDR 50 trillion annually, said the Jakarta Post. The legal framework for franchising has never been clearly outlined by the government. The nitty gritty of franchise agreement and the legislation surrounding it is elaborated in this page.

Hierarchy of regulations in Indonesia

Posted on June 30, 2009
I have been asked several times by my fellow lawyers working in foreign jurisdictions about the hierarchy of rules and regulations in Indonesia. This post will try to clarify.The hierarchy of rules based on the old People Consultative Assembly Decree is no longer in force...

Indonesia ranks 62 in FP failed states index

Posted on June 29, 2009
Indonesia's rank is 62 (out of 177 states) with a total score of 84,1. See the report here. Indonesia is colored orange, in the "warning" zone. Complete report is here, methodology is obtainable here.

Public Service Law was passed by the House

Posted on June 27, 2009
The House of Representative passed the Public Service Law last Tuesday (June 23). This law is expected to boost Indonesia's public service performance. The Law imposes sanctions to government officials in breach of public service obligations, in the form of warning, suspension and even termination of employment...

Bringing patients to court may not be efficient

Posted on June 19, 2009
This is my recent op-ed piece in JP. I tried to argue that litigating is not always the best option, both for producer and consumer in cases where credence good is involved.Unlike buying clothes in a department store, the quality of a particular health, legal and financial service is hard to ascertain...

Housewife on trial for defamation

Posted on June 03, 2009
Prita Mulyasari, the housewife detained for sending letter about her experience of (alleged) medical malpractice will undergo her first criminal trial tomorrow. Prita was brought to both civil and criminal suit by PT.Sarana Meditama Internasional Cs (presumably the legal incorporation of RS Omni where she was treated)...

HP 3 Rights, What Strategy for NGOs?

Posted on May 19, 2009
Following my Articles on HP-3 in Jakarta Post ("The need for Clarification on HP-3 Rights" and previously "Coastal Management Law Review?") it is relevant to ask question on which course of (legal) action would our Civil Societies colleagues take, in response to the enactment of Coastal Law...

The need for clarification on HP-3 rights

Posted on May 14, 2009
I published an article in today's Jakarta Post: Law 27/2007 enables private ownership of coastal zones through a system called HP-3 (which governs the right to commercialize coastal waters). The idea behind this system is to allow the exploitation of the currently neglected, but potentially profitable, 81,000 thousand kilometers of Indonesian coastline and its 12 mile wide territorial sea...

Preemptive Strike

Posted on May 10, 2009
I found my old article about preemptive strike (2004). The article was written when John Howard (who, at that time was racing for another period of premiership) issued a statement that he will employ preemptive attacks to terrorist bases, when necessary...

The Boss is in Time 100

Posted on May 01, 2009
SBY made it to Time 100's, "Leaders & Revolutionaries" #9:The time is right for Indonesia, as the world's most populous Muslim nation, to assume a more prominent position in Asia and throughout the Muslim world. In response to President Obama's warm overtures to Muslim countries for a new phase in relations with the U...

Transparency in water utilities

Posted on March 23, 2009
I argued in my newspaper op-ed that the natural monopoly character of water services justifies its transparency. The purpose of water services regulation is to reduce natural monopoly and decreases information asymmetry. Transparency mechanisms work in that direction by allowing information to be interpreted by competing interest groups, thereby enhancing the regulator's capacity in deciphering information and producing more qualified decisions...

?Obstruction of performance? under Article 86(2) of the EC Treaty and its application to the water sector

Posted on January 15, 2009
My master thesis attempts to define "Obstruction of performance" under Article 86(2) of the EC Treaty and how this category can be applied to the water industry. The thesis argued that Obstruction of performance has to be narrowly interpreted and necessity/proportionality of the measure has to be taken into account in order to invoke "Services of General Economic Interest" (SGEI) justification under the EC Treaty...

The New Law on Coastal Management

Posted on April 15, 2008
Here's my recent Article on Coastal Management Law in JP: Theoretically, there could be around 12 nautical miles times 81,000 kilometers of "greenfield" spaces in the sea, ready for exploitation, for up to 20 years. This is indeed a huge business opportunity...

My position on the 'Fitna' Film

Posted on April 05, 2008
Some friends and colleagues have asked my opinion on the Fitna film. For now I have no time to write a lengthy review and my stance on religious freedom has been quite clearly represented through my previous writings (see here, here and here).So let me just state my position briefly:We must protest but we cannot restrict.

More on blasphemy law

Posted on January 20, 2008
I wrote an article on how the law on blasphemy and the abuse of religion could contravene the constitution. There, I conclude that the Indonesian Constitution contains no specific reference to any religions and that Article 29(2) of the constitution was meant to protect not only major religions but also all beliefs...

CSR/GCG for utility companies

Posted on December 24, 2007
I wrote a paper explaining why certain Good Corporate Governance (GCG) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) norms needs to be practiced by utility companies. You can download the paper here.Abstract:This paper argues that utilities delivers basic services to society, a function that was previously undertaken by the state...

Safeguarding Water Contracts (peer-reviewed version)

Posted on December 08, 2007
Abstract: The The provision of water and sewerage services has been in the public sector for thousands of years. However, the trend towards privatising these basic services has recently been growing. When dealing with Multinational Corporations (MNCs), governments face risks in the form of legal asymmetries...

State and Religion relationship in Indonesian Constitution

Posted on December 07, 2007
An excerpt from my newspaper article: Unlike in theocratic states, in Indonesia, clerics may issue a verdict (fatwa) but this verdict is not legally binding. It is important to note that the word "God" appeared many times on the Indonesian constitution...

Foreigners has no right of judicial review

Posted on November 19, 2007
A colleague of mine explained eloquently in his blog that only Indonesians -- and not foreigners -- are entitled to request judicial review to the constitutional court. This does not mean that foreigners do not have legal rights. They are guaranteed with legal rights -- as well as constitutional rights, however they do not have the formal procedural previleges to request a review...

Jakarta's water problem

Posted on October 26, 2007
Pfff, check this out: In my recent visit to Jakarta I found out that things are worse than I had envisaged. What I have feared has become reality. Lands in northern parts of Jakarta have subsided. Jakarta bypass has subsided by 50 centimeters since it was laid...

Where is the "wealth of nations"? Answer: Rule of Law

Posted on October 06, 2007
An interesting story from Reason Magazine: A Mexican migrant to the U.S. is five times more productive than one who stays home. Why is that? The answer is not the obvious one: This country has more machinery or tools or natural resources. Instead, according to some remarkable but largely ignored research?by the World Bank, of all places?it is because the average American has access to over $418,000 in intangible wealth, while the stay-at-home Mexican's intangible wealth is just $34,000...

Concession markets in Indonesia

Posted on September 10, 2007
Here's a link to an OECD article on the role of KPPU in supervising concession markets in Indonesia and other set of regulatory framework. This article only discusses the peripherals, but is nevertheless not bad as a start.Download here.

Poor water infrastructure in Kupang?

Posted on August 28, 2007
Have a look at this reader's comment on the Jakarta Post 28/08: Money from the water budget seems to be spent improperly every year. Kupang does not have even the simplest water treatment plant, while poor maintenance has caused the deterioration of old PDAM infrastructure for years...

Living with the Other Fishes

Posted on August 27, 2007
Finally I could meet Mr. P yesterday, after getting his rushed phone at the mid of this week. Currently, he dedicates his life to a mid-size law firm in Jakarta which hold an affiliation with the south-east law firm and America continent law firm.Yesterday?s appointment was promised to him in order to clarify an important case...

Longing for Corporate Social Responsibility's (CSR) implementing regulation

Posted on August 22, 2007
Now that corporate social responsibility (CSR) is obligated under the new company law (for companies which its core business is Natural Resources or in one way or another related to the environment), business community in Indonesia awaits its implementing regulation...

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