Court questions license of Newmont's lawyers
Saturday, February 19 2000 - 04:00 AM WIB
Spokesman of the Tondano District Court in Minahasa regency, North Sulawesi said the court was likely to dismiss all the statements of the lawyers of gold mining company PT Newmont Minahasa Raya as legally flawed and illegitimate given the questionable validity of their licenses, Manado Post reported.
Pomolango said under the regulation issued by the provincial High Court in Manado, all lawyers from outside the province have to officially report to the head of the provincial High Court to get permission to give legal service in the province.
Pomolango said Newmont's lawyer Hafsan Taher lives and has office in Jakarta with a license registered in the West Java Provincial High Court in Bandung,
Hafsan had sent a letter to the head of the Manado High Court, but he had yet to officially report to the head of the Manado High Court, Pomolango said.
Another lawyer of Newmont Moch. Kasali lives in Bandung and had a license registered in the Bandung High Court .
Kasali, however, had no right to give legal service in North Sulawesi because he had not yet received any license from the Ministry of Justice and had yet to official report to the head of the Manado High Court.
"Thus, all the statements made by Newmont Minahasa Raya's lawyers could be dismissed as legally flawed and invalid," Pomolango said.
Head of the Manado High Court OH Simarmata confirmed that Newmont's lawyers had yet to officially report to him. (*)