Reconsideration is one of the extraordinary legal remedies submitted to the Supreme Court to review and annul a final and binding court decision. A reconsideration petition does not prevent the execution of a final and binding decision.
Essentially, Article 24 paragraph (2) of Law No. 48 of 2009 concerning Judicial Power and Article 66 paragraph (1) of Law No. 14 of 1985 concerning the Supreme Court (“Supreme Court Law“) stipulate that, in principle, only one reconsideration petition may be filed, and no reconsideration can be made against a reconsideration decision.
This provision is in line with the considerations of the Constitutional Court in Constitutional Decision No. 108/PUU-XIV/2016 and Decision No. 16/PUU-VIII/2010 (regarding the constitutional review of Article 66 paragraph (1) of the Supreme Court Law and Article 24 paragraph (2) of the Judicial Power Law), which opined that the application of Reconsideration in non-criminal cases, including civil cases, still needs to be limited.
This is further reinforced by Number 1 of the Chief Justice Circular Letter No. 10 of 2009 concerning the Submission of Reconsideration Petitions (“Circular Letter 10/2009“), which states:
“A reconsideration petition in the same case filed more than once, whether in civil or criminal cases, is contrary to the law. Therefore, if a case is filed with a second or subsequent reconsideration petition, the Chief Justice of the First Instance Court, by analogy to the provisions of Article 45 A of the Supreme Court Law, shall, by Decision of the Chief Justice of the First Instance Court, reject the petition and the case file need not be sent to the Supreme Court.”
However, Number 2 of Circular Letter 10/2009 states, in essence, that if there are 2 or more reconsideration decisions that are contradictory to each other, whether in civil or criminal cases, and one of them is filed with a reconsideration petition, the reconsideration petition shall be accepted, and the case file shall be sent to the Supreme Court. This is affirmed by Circular Letter No. 7 of 2012 (Result of the Civil Chamber Plenary Meeting: General Civil Chamber) stating that, in principle, a second reconsideration is not allowed unless there are two contradictory decisions in civil, criminal, administrative, or religious court decisions (suggestion for review of Circular Letter 10/2009).
The issuance of Circular Letter No. 4 of 2016 concerning the Implementation of Formulation of the Supreme Court Plenary Meeting Chamber Results in 2016 as Guidelines for the Implementation of Duties for Courts (“Circular Letter 4/2016“) in the Formulation of General Civil Chamber Law, also provides a basis for the possibility of a Second Reconsideration, specifically in Number 5 which essentially states the provisions of Number 2 of Circular Letter 10/2009 as follows:
“For the sake of justice, a second reconsideration petition against two final and binding decisions that contradict each other, and one of them is a reconsideration decision, can be formally accepted even though the two decisions are at different levels of jurisdiction, including criminal, religious, and administrative court decisions.”
With Circular Letter 4/2016, a Second Reconsideration petition does not necessarily require two reconsideration decisions that contradict each other, but one of them can also be a Cassation decision, a decision of the appellate court, or a decision of the first instance court that has become final and binding. Therefore, a Second Reconsideration petition can be filed against a Reconsideration decision that has become final and binding, with the following provisions:
- The existence of 2 (two) or more final and binding decisions that are contradictory to each other, whether it be a Reconsideration decision with another Reconsideration decision or with a non-Reconsideration decision (such as a Cassation decision, appellate court decision, or first instance court decision).
- The same subject matter of the case.
- Filed within the statutory period of 180 (one hundred and eighty) days since the Reconsideration decision became final and binding and has been notified to the parties involved in the case.
For further understanding of the provisions regarding the Second Reconsideration remedy, consultation with a Lawyer/Legal Consultant is advisable.
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