Newmont Trial Starts at Constitutional Court
Wednesday, 22 February, 2012 | 15:43 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:The government has submitted its response to the dispute over PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara’s 7 percent divestment share purchase to the Constitutional Court. The measure was taken to resolve the conflict between the US mining company and the government, the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) and the House of Representatives (DPR).


The court held the first trial on the dispute yesterday. At the trial, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was named the claimant, represented by the finance as well as the justice and human rights ministries. The government called on the Constitutional Court to grant constitutional authority to buy the divestment share worth US$ 246.8 million without the DPR’s approval.

The government also called on the Court to settle the BPK’s decision, which cites that the divestment share purchase must adhere to a government regulation and therefore the DPR’s approval is non-binding. “We think the BPK has surpassed its authority,” said the Finance Ministry’s secretary-general, Kiagus Ahmad Badaruddin.

AKBAR TRI KURNIAWAN | M ANDI PERDANA