Unlawful Act of Determination of Damages in Unilateral Cancellation of Cooperation Agreement for Management of B3 and Non-B3 Waste

Abstract

This study examines the Bekasi District Court Decision No. 322/Pdt.G/2012/PN.Bks., the Bandung High Court Decision No. 408/Pdt/2013/PT.Bdg., and the Supreme Court Decision No. 1051 K/Pdt/2014 regarding the unilateral cancellation of a hazardous and non-hazardous waste management cooperation agreement by PT Chuhatsu Indonesia. The research aims to analyze judicial reasoning concerning the signatory's authority, the classification of the act as an unlawful act (perbuatan melawan hukum or PMH), damages, and the consistency of the rulings. A normative-juridical method was employed, utilizing statutory and case-based approaches. The findings indicate that the agreement remained valid because the Director's authority was established only after the agreement had been executed. The unilateral cancellation was deemed an unlawful act under Article 1338 of the Indonesian Civil Code, even though the substance of the issue more closely resembled a breach of contract (wanprestasi). Damages of IDR 9.5 billion—out of a claimed IDR 60 billion—were awarded based on principles of fairness, lacking detailed evidentiary substantiation. While the operative parts of the three decisions were consistent, the underlying reasoning regarding the unlawful act and the damages awarded remains open to question.