Law in Indonesia: Foreign Service

The law is different-very different-in Jakarta.

Practicing law in Jakarta is like trying to land a biplane on the deck of a fishing trawler in a monsoon at midnight. Your equipment is fragile and out-of-date, the target is moving, and visibility is zero. Oh, and the captain won't radio you permission to land until you make a contribution to his pension fund. I came to Indonesia because my husband got transferred here and because I was eager to see the country. I work with a small firm, about 10 lawyers. Western firms are not allowed to practice here under their own names, so they often form alliances with local firms. (Several big American firms, like White & Case and Baker & McKenzie, are here, as are the big Australian and English firms.) Foreign lawyers are called consultants and are in essence corporate lawyers.

Litigation here is incredibly messy and can be quite corrupt. Many lawyers admit that in a high percentage of cases, the outcome is determined by flat-out bribery. I've seen figures showing that up to 80 percent of judges are corrupt. Everyone professes to deplore the situation, but given how widespread it is, there's no easy solution. You can't exactly fire all the judges in a country already struggling with massive political and financial instability. My firm doesn't do much litigating and doesn't pay bribes, so I can only imagine how other firms manage it. I decided not to identify myself in this story because I want to give my frank impressions of the current state of the legal system.

Indonesia is rich in natural resources such as oil, gas, and minerals, which makes it attractive to foreign companies. We're helping one client acquire an interest in a production-sharing contract with an Indonesian quasi-government agency. This will involve a complex set of corporate ownerships and contracts. The laws of about five countries, including the U.S., may be applicable. It's challenging, too, because Indonesian laws and regulations tend to be much more general than American ones. Also, many new commercial laws have been issued in recent years, and there isn't yet a body of case law or scholarly commentary to explain them.

I like the excitement of working on a rapidly evolving frontier of the law, but you really have to keep track of which laws are in effect and which are not. There was a new labor law, for instance, that said employers had to pay severance to people who resigned or were fired for cause. Employers didn't like that, so the law was suspended. But employees rallied against the suspension, and the law was reinstated. You pretty much have to follow legal developments in the media, since it's very difficult to get copies of court decisions here. There's no Lexis or Westlaw system; if you want to see a decision, you have to call the court, get someone to agree to copy it, and send a paralegal over with money to cover the duplicating costs (negotiable, of course). On the other hand, since court decisions lack precedent-setting value, they're less important.

The political situation in Indonesia was volatile before September 11, and there's a fear now that American antiterrorism strikes against Afghanistan could make things worse (Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population). The fact is, demonstrations have always been common. That's something people at the office monitor: Is there a riot going on? Where is it? Do we need to close the office so people can go home, or is it better to sit here and wait? Following September 11, the U.S. State Department recommended that American citizens review their security arrangements and consider leaving the country. How much risk you're willing to tolerate is something you evaluate all the time. Daily life is challenging, too. Like most expats, I have a driver, because traffic and parking are terrible (a driver costs $60 to $100 per month). You can't really put things in the mail, because they get lost or stolen. But we've got computers, fax machines, and e-mail. We don't have high-speed photocopiers. Collating is done by "office boys"-that's what they're called. The office boys will also make sure you have bottled water all day (we're in the tropics; you can't drink the tap water), and they'll bring you lunch. Indonesian food is great-soups, noodles, satay.

Salaries in Jakarta are much lower than they are in the U.S., but the cost of living is also far less (you want to be paid in dollars, not rupiah, to take advantage of the favorable exchange rate). Professionally, Javanese tend not to get emotional or cause anyone to lose face, so the work culture is pleasant. English is spoken widely, and Bahasa Indonesia is a relatively easy language to pick up.

The political situation is as uncertain as it has been in years; you definitely have to be prepared for that if you come here. That said, this is a unique time to be a lawyer in Indonesia because the laws and the judicial system need to be improved quickly to enhance stability and to encourage vital foreign investment. People ask me why I work here. The truth is, I don't always know that answer myself. But this much I do know. Practicing in Jakarta is exotic, constantly changing, and never, ever, dull.