Australian and Indonesian Courts Sign New Agreement

Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Bill Farmer has welcomed the ongoing partnership between Indonesia’s Supreme Court and Australia’s Federal Court and Family Court that was marked by the signing of a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) this week in Melbourne, Australia.

The Indonesian Chief Justice, Bagir Manan, of the Indonesian Supreme Court visited Australia earlier this week to sign the MoU with the Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia, Michael Black and Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia, Diana Bryant.

Under the MoU, the courts will work together in areas such as judicial transparency and accountability and improving quality of and access to court services.

Mr Farmer said that the signing reflected an ongoing commitment to support Indonesia’s Supreme Court implement its reform program.

“Our continuous partnership with the Indonesian Supreme Court is part of our broader efforts to support legal reform in Indonesia,” said Mr Farmer.

During his visit to Australia, Bagir Manan also signed a new MoU with the University of New South Wales and University of Technology Sydney, the managers of the Asian Legal Information Institute (AsianLII) website.

This agreement will facilitate the publication of decisions of the Supreme Court of Indonesia and all courts within its jurisdiction on the AsianLII website.

“This will contribute to the Indonesian Supreme Court’s efforts to enhance judicial transparency by providing free public access to Indonesian court decisions,” said Mr Farmer.

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