RI hopes to conclude Churchill lawsuit next year
Monday, December 7 2015 - 01:26 AM WIB
The Indonesian government hopes that the legal battle against LSE-listed Churchill Mining Plc at an international arbitration court could be concluded early next year.
The government is also optimistic it would win the case. ?The target is for it (the lawsuit) to be concluded early 2016. But we?ll see, they (Churchill) may seek for a delay,? said Heriyanto (one name), Head of the Legal Bureau at the Directorate General of Mineral and Coal, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, to Petromindo.com last week.
?We?re optimistic to win the case against Churchill,? he added.
Churchill and its subsidiary Planet Mining Pty Ltd filed a request for arbitration in 2012 with the Washington-based International Centre for Settlement Dispute (ICSID) after East Kutai Regency administration in Indonesia revoked the IUP mining permit of Ridlatama Group at the East Kutai coal project, in which Churchill and Planet hold a 75 percent interest. The Churchill group acquired the interest in 2008.
Churchill said that the revocation was unlawful, claiming compensation worth about US$1.3 billion.
The government of Indonesia has said that the East Kutai administration revoked the permit because it was based on falsified documents.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak