UNILATERAL TERMINATION OF A CO-OPERATION AGREEMENT IS AN UNLAWFUL ACT

The Plaintiff is a company engaged in the management and utilisation of hazardous and non-hazardous waste and has entered into a cooperation agreement with PT CI (Defendant), in terms of the management, utilisation and transportation of hazardous and non-hazardous waste. The Plaintiff and the Defendant had entered into a cooperation agreement with a period of 2 (two) years. However, after only a few months, the Defendant appointed another party to manage economic waste and hazardous waste at the Defendant’s premises. The Defendant also stated that this meant that the cooperation agreement that had been made so far between the Defendant and the Plaintiff was declared invalid or cancelled.

Not accepting this, the Plaintiff asked the District Court to declare that the Defendant’s act of unilaterally cancelling the agreement was unlawful and demanded compensation. The district and high courts agreed that the Defendant’s actions were unlawful. The Defendant filed an appeal against the judex facti decision.

At the cassation level, the Supreme Court ruled that the Defendant continued to commit unlawful acts because it had been proven that the Plaintiff and the Defendant had entered into a cooperation agreement in the management and utilisation and transportation of B.3 and Non B.3 Waste, but the Defendant had unilaterally terminated the cooperation without the Plaintiff’s consent. The Supreme Court ruled that the unilateral termination of the Cooperation Agreement was an unlawful act, therefore the Defendant must pay the losses suffered by the Plaintiff.

• Supreme Court Decision Number 580 Pk/Pdt/2015, Dated 17 February 2016.

Source: https://putusan3.mahkamahagung.go.id/direktori/putusan/78b6653b1426ffe59312c3fc21b7dff7.html.

Salam Pancasila,

Fredrik J. Pinakunary