Due to the fact that hard-cash transactions are prone to be used as a means of money-laundering and other criminal activities, the government and the House are currently discussing the Draft Bill on the Restriction of Hard-Cash Transactions. In a nutshell, this Draft Bill prohibits any hard-cash transactions with values of above IDR 100 million from being undertaken in Indonesia, with a number of exemptions to this restriction also being described. All agreements which set out such hard-cash transactions will therefore subsequently be considered null and valid. Moreover, the carrying of foreign banknotes in certain amounts will require the acquisition of permits issued by Bank Indonesia if this Draft Bill is ultimately passed by the House.

In order to implement a more convenient registration process, the Ministry of Law and Human Rights has now set up an electronic system for the reporting of testament deeds and for applications for testament certificates through the issuance of Regulation No. 60 of 2016 on Procedures for the Reporting of Testaments and Applications for Testament Certificates via Electronic Means. Through this regulation, notaries are now obliged by the Ministry to create lists of the testament deeds which are drawn up before them within a month of their creation, as well as so-called ?null lists? if no such testament deeds are drawn up. These lists should then be reported to the Testament Lists Center via the official website of the Directorate General of General Legal Administration at the Ministry, or by notaries who will be held liable for any legal consequences which are incurred as a result of any acts of non-compliance. Aside from the various procedures and requirements involved in the compliance with these obligations, the new regulation also sets out a number of guidelines which relate to requests for testament certificates, which allows interested parties to ascertain whether certain testament deeds have already been registered or not.

In pursuit of its overall goal of combating money laundering and monitoring the transfer of illicit funds, the Government has enacted Government Regulation No. 99 of 2016 on the Carriage of Cash and Other Instruments of Payment into or out of Indonesian Territory (?Regulation?). This Regulation is an implementation of Article 36 of Law No. 8 of 2010 on the Prevention and Deterrence of Money-Laundering Crime and sets out details covering disclosure requirements for the carriage of funds up to or in excess of IDR 100 million, either to or from Indonesian territory, as well as the penalties for non-compliance

In a bid to maintain the skill-base of underwriter representatives and brokerage dealers, the Financial Services Authority (OJK) has issued a mandate requiring professionals in these fields to undergo continuing education programs. Under the new regulations, attendance in these programs is now pre-requisite to the extension of professional licenses. In that regard, the OJK has issued Circular Letter No. 45/SEOJK.04/2016 on the Organization of Continuous Education Programs for Underwriter Representatives and Brokerage Dealers, which provides further guidelines for the implementation of this obligation. Circular Letter No. 45/SEOJK.04/2016 covers requirements concerning the organization of these continuous education programs, including the requirements/procedures necessary to secure acknowledgement from OJK and the basis for revoking such acknowledgement, as well as the obligations for PPL organizers and participants.

In a bid to improve the management of mass organizations which are established in Indonesia by foreign parties, the government recently issued Government Regulation No. 59 of 2016 on Mass Organizations Established by Foreign Parties. In essence, this regulation is an implementation of Articles 44 to 49 and Article 79 of Law No. 17 of 2013 on Mass Organizations, which required the formulation of further guidelines for foreign citizens and entities as regards the establishment and operation of mass organizations within Indonesia.

The Ministry of Law and Human Rights has issued Regulation No. 36 of 2016 on Procedures for the Submission of Indonesian-Citizenship Applications in a bid to offer more effective and efficient application procedures to any foreign citizens who are married to Indonesian citizens and who are intending to secure Indonesian citizenship. With this goal in mind, this new regulation updates the requirements and procedures for such citizenship applications, which are now to be processed via an electronic system instead of via the previous manual system which was mandated under Ministry Regulation No. M.02-HL.05.06 of 2006.

As is widely known, the holding of Freehold Titles and/or Right-to-Build Titles for land and/or buildings located in Indonesia is limited to Indonesian citizens only. Unfortunately however, this does not include Indonesian citizens who are married to foreign citizens and who are not in possession of a prenuptial agreement which separates their joint assets. This was the case for Mrs. Ika Farida, who then filed a petition with the Constitutional Court on 11 May 2015 requesting a review of a number of articles which are set out under both the Basic Agrarian Law and the Marriage Law. In response to the petition, the Constitutional Court finally rendered Decision No. 69/PUU-XIII/2015 on 27 October 2016. Although the Court ultimately completely rejected the petition regarding certain provisions which were set out under the Basic Agrarian Law, a breakthrough was nevertheless achieved in that prenuptial agreements can now be drawn up after a marriage, and not only before or at the time of a marriage, as was previously mandated under the Marriage Law. This means that any Indonesian citizens who are already engaged in mixed marriages may now protect their assets, especially assets which take the form of lands and buildings, by entering into prenuptial agreements.

After a lengthy deliberation process, the House of Representatives finally passed the Bill on Trademarks and Geographical Indications (?Bill?) on 27 October 2016. The long-awaited Bill updates a number of provisions which were originally set out under Law No. 15 of 2001 on Trademarks, as well as by Government Regulation No. 51 of 2007 on Geographical Indications, including the overall scope of the framework and registration procedure.

The 2016 Regulation affirms that no legal action can be taken against pretrial decisions, including attempts to file applications for case reviews with the Supreme Court. In addition, the 2016 Regulation also sets out a number of new matters which can be heard at pretrial hearings, pursuant to Constitutional Court Decision No. 21/PUU-XII/2014, that broadens the ambit of pretrial procedures.

In essence, the Court reaffirms that only a convicted party or his/her heirs can file for a case review against any final and binding court decisions, as stipulated under Art. 263 (1) of the KUHAP. Thus, any case review petitions initiated by public prosecutors intended to challenge final and binding court decisions, as was commonly practiced before the Decision was issued, are deemed to be in direct contradiction with the 1945 Constitution.