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Abstract

Law Number 24 of 2009 on National Flag, Language, Emblem, and Anthem of Indonesia requires that any contract involving an Indonesian party must be drafted in Indonesian. In applying this law, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Indonesia, in Nine AM v. PT Bangun Karya Pratama Lestari judgment, annulled a loan agreement because it was considered to violate the language requirement. Although claiming to strengthen the use of Indonesian language in a contract, this judgment underscores a potential risk of voidance a foreign party face in entering into an agreement drafted in a foreign language when contracting with an Indonesian counterparty. On the other side of the hemisphere, the Court of Justice of the European Union in Anton Las v. PSA Antwerp NV and New Valmar BVBA v. Global Pharmacies Partner Health Srl drew the public attention to the obligation to use Dutch in employment contract and company documents as imposed in the Dutch-speaking region of Belgium. Despite Indonesia and Belgium being geographically far from each other, the abovementioned judgments underline the phenomenon that national language still plays an important role in influencing cross-border legal relations. This article seeks to explore the legal impacts of the obligation to use national language in contracts has on freedom of parties to contracting. It further argues that this obligation impedes international contracting.

Bahasa Abstract

Undang-undang Nomor 24 Tahun 2009 tentang Bendera, Bahasa, dan Lambang Negara, serta Lagu Kebangsaan mensyaratkan bahwa setiap kontrak yang melibatkan pihak Indonesia wajib ditulis dalam bahasa Indonesia. Dalam menerapkan undang-undang ini, Mahkamah Agung Republik Indonesia dalam putusannya untuk kasus Nine AM melawan PT Bangun Karta Pratama Lestari, membatalkan perjanjian kredit yang disepakati para pihak karena perjanjian tersebut dianggap melanggar persyaratan berbahasa Indonesia. Meskipun alasannya adalah untuk memperkuat penggunaan bahasa Indonesia dalam kontrak, putusan ini menunjukkan potensi risiko pembatalan kontrak yang disepakati dalam bahasa asing oleh pihak asing dan pihak Indonesia. Di belahan bumi lain, dalam kasus Anton Las melawan PSA Antwerp NV dan New Valmar BVBA melawan Global Pharmacies Partner Health Srl, Pengadilan Uni Eropa menarik perhatian publik karena memutus persoalan kewajiban penggunaan bahasa Belanda dalam kontrak tenaga kerja dan dokumen perusahaan yang diterapkan di wilayah berbahasa Belanda di Belgia. Meskipun Indonesia dan Belgia terpisah oleh jarak geograOis yang jauh, kedua putusan tersebut menunjukkan fenomena bahwa bahasa nasional masih memainkan peran yang penting dalam mempengaruhi hubungan hukum lintas-batas negara. Artikel ini mengeksplorasi dampak hukum dari kewajiban untuk menggunakan bahasa nasional dalam kontrak sehubungan dengan kebebasan para pihak dalam berkontrak. Lebih lanjut artikel ini berpendapat bahwa kewajiban ini menghambat kontrak-kontrak internasional.

References

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