Indonesia Law Report (ILR)

And, a gentle reminder:
An online discussion on consumers rights in the Indonesian water services sector will be held on Wednesday, 2nd of June 2010 at 19.00 (GMT+0) in here. More detail.

Following is the announcement (in Bahasa Indonesia):

Waktu:  Rabu, 2 Juni 2010, pk. 19.00 - 20.30. (GMT + 0)

Pembicara: Mohamad Mova Al 'Afghani
(Ph.D Candidate, UNESCO Centre for Water Law, Policy and Science. University of Dundee, UK) 

Chair: Rizal Yaya
(PhD Student University of Aberdeen UK) 

Tema: "Perlindungan Hukum bagi Konsumen Air di Indonesia"

 
Tambahan informasi dari Indonesia Law Reporter:
Acara ini bisa juga diikuti dari twitter dengan menggunakan hashtag #lawtalk atau me reply ke @movanet atau mendengarkan broadcast di home page Web Conference Indonesia Law Report. 

Prosiding dari acara ini akan disiapkan oleh Indonesia in Motion. 

Bahan bahan diskusi.
Makalah diskusi dengan judul “Perlindungan Hukum Terhadap Konsumen Air di Indonesia” dapat di download di sini. 
Op-ed and blog posts:
Transparency in Water Services
Indonesian Water Services Suffering from a Lack of Governance
Supreme Court Decision on Water Monopoly in Batam
Missing water and shadow users
14 Disturbing Facts about Jakarta's Water
Tomorrow, the Freedom of Information Law is in force!
Three ways for your business to be implicated by the new Indonesian freedom of information law
Where to complain for bad water services – a comparison
Jakarta’s water crisis, whose fault?
Human Right  Aspects of Private Sector Participation in the Water Sector
Is water a commodity or human rights?
The human right to water is not a property right
Why busy with the right to water instead of governance
Consultation on the Human Right  Aspects of Private Sector Participation in the Water Sector: more responses from the private sector
The Economist and the human right to water
Transparency Agenda in Water Utilities Regulation
Hukum Air (Water Law) is not really a topic in Indonesia
Papers:
Safeguarding water contracts in Indonesia
Constitutional Court review and the future of water law in Indonesia
Presentation:
Anticipating water trade

In previous posts, I argue for the benefits of cloud computing for lawyers, lawfirms and government. However, cloud computing also posses some risks and the existing legal framework may not be adequate to tacke the problem. Read the recent ACLU publication (click on the image):

“Cloud computing”—the ability to create, store, and manipulate data through Web-based services—is growing in popularity. However, outdated laws and varying corporate practices mean that documents created and stored in the cloud may not have the same protections as the same documents stored in a filing cabinet or on a home computer. Can cloud computing services protect the privacy of their consumers? Do they? And what can we do to improve the situation?

HT @StephKimbro

 

 

Data Transfer, the DPR’s Style
6 Free collaboration tools for lawyers

 

I tried googling “water law” in Google.com (the Indonesian term is “hukum air”) and on the first google page, I found no reference to any site relevant to my search. If you click on the link, you will find that everything on the page is related to the religious law pertaining water for prayers or religious activities. None of them refers to water law.

I then googled “privatisasi air” (water privatization). Voila, everything in the first page is relevant. I scrolled down unto the 6th page, and everything reflects the true meaning of my google query.

From my queries, I can infer that water law is simply not (yet) a substantial part of the public discourse. But conversely, privatization is. So talks about water in Indonesia is dominated with the privatization discourse. What is interesting, the discourse of water privatization is much focused in the privatization of ‘water utilities’. If you speak bahasa Indonesia and google “privatisasi air”, you will find that most of the pages are critical towards the privatization of water utilities. Only one or two discusses water privatization in another context. Another thing: almost none (at least in google’s 1-3rd page) discusses sanitation.

On the one hand, it is a positive thing that privatisation is becoming a part of public discourse, but on the other hand, it is a pity that the debate is dominated only with privatisation of water utilities. What we need now is a better governance of our water (both resources and services) and law, is an important tool of governance. Privatization of utilities is only a small – albeit important and vital – part where law comes into play. But that’s not everything. We also need to think on how our resources is managed and how our services (both when they are public and private) are run.

It is not adequate for us to speak “against privatization”. We must also say what should be done when privatization is already the fact of life and what should be done when public ownership becomes the mode of delivery. Irrespective of the model (privatization or public ownership), in the end of the day, it is the consumer that needs to be defended. They need water to flow to their tap and they need the law to be on their side.  

Hence, water law should be in the discourse.

ps: if your google search (for hukum air) returns this post on the first page, then we might have contributed the “hukum air” meme into the discourse

Transparency in Water Services
Indonesian Water Services Suffering from a Lack of Governance
Supreme Court Decision on Water Monopoly in Batam
Missing water and shadow users
14 Disturbing Facts about Jakarta's Water
Tomorrow, the Freedom of Information Law is in force!
Three ways for your business to be implicated by the new Indonesian freedom of information law
Where to complain for bad water services – a comparison
Jakarta’s water crisis, whose fault? 
Human Right  Aspects of Private Sector Participation in the Water Sector
Is water a commodity or human rights?
The human right to water is not a property right
Why busy with the right to water instead of governance
Consultation on the Human Right  Aspects of Private Sector Participation in the Water Sector: more responses from the private sector
The Economist and the human right to water
Transparency Agenda in Water Utilities Regulation

H.T to Bo.
The economist recently released an excellent report on water. But there are some parts of the report that disturbs me a little:

Industrial use takes about 60% of water in rich countries and 10% in the rest. The difference in domestic use is much smaller, 11% and 8% respectively. Some of the variation is explained by capacious baths, power showers and flush lavatories in the rich world. All humans, however, need a basic minimum of two litres of water in food or drink each day, and for this there is no substitute. No one survived in the ruins of Port-au-Prince for more than a few days after January’s earthquake unless they had access to some water-based food or drink. That is why many people in poor and arid countries—usually women or children—set off early each morning to trudge to the nearest well and return five or six hours later burdened with precious supplies. That is why many people believe water to be a human right, a necessity more basic than bread or a roof over the head.

From this much follows. One consequence is a widespread belief that no one should have to pay for water. The Byzantine emperor Justinian declared in the sixth century that “by natural law” air, running water, the sea and seashore were “common to all”. Many Indians agree, seeing groundwater in particular as a “democratic resource”. In Africa it is said that “even the jackal deserves to drink”.
A second consequence is that water often has a sacred or mystical quality that is invested in deities like Gong Gong and Osiris and rivers like the Jordan and the Ganges. Throughout history, man’s dependence on water has made him live near it or organise access to it. Water is in his body—it makes up about 60%—and in his soul. It has provided not just life and food but a means of transport, a way of keeping clean, a mechanism for removing sewage, a home for fish and other animals, a medium with which to cook, in which to swim, on which to skate and sail, a thing of beauty to provide inspiration, to gaze upon and to enjoy. No wonder a commodity with so many qualities, uses and associations has proved so difficult to organise.

If you read these sentences carefully, you will find:

• The reason why there is the right to water
• The first consequence of the right to water
• The second consequence of the right to water

What are they? Let’s return to the paragraphs:

 

Industrial use takes about 60% of water in rich countries and 10% in the rest. The difference in domestic use is much smaller, 11% and 8% respectively. Some of the variation is explained by capacious baths, power showers and flush lavatories in the rich world. All humans, however, need a basic minimum of two litres of water in food or drink each day, and for this there is no substitute. No one survived in the ruins of Port-au-Prince for more than a few days after January’s earthquake unless they had access to some water-based food or drink. That is why many people in poor and arid countries—usually women or children—set off early each morning to trudge to the nearest well and return five or six hours later burdened with precious supplies.  That is why [Reason] many people believe water to be a human right, a necessity more basic than bread or a roof over the head.
From this much follows. One consequence is a widespread belief that no one should have to pay for water. [First Consequence] The Byzantine emperor Justinian declared in the sixth century that “by natural law” air, running water, the sea and seashore were “common to all”. Many Indians agree, seeing groundwater in particular as a “democratic resource”. In Africa it is said that “even the jackal deserves to drink”. [ Example of first Consequence?]
A second consequence is that water often has a sacred or mystical quality that is invested in deities like Gong Gong and Osiris and rivers like the Jordan and the Ganges. [Second consequence] Throughout history, man’s dependence on water has made him live near it or organise access to it. Water is in his body—it makes up about 60%—and in his soul. It has provided not just life and food but a means of transport, a way of keeping clean, a mechanism for removing sewage, a home for fish and other animals, a medium with which to cook, in which to swim, on which to skate and sail, a thing of beauty to provide inspiration, to gaze upon and to enjoy. No wonder a commodity with so many qualities, uses and associations has proved so difficult to organise.

With all the respect to the economist, I think it is contestable that the human right to water causes either (1) the widespread belief that water is free or (2) that water is sacred and mystical.

Let’s discuss the first consequence. The economist is already quite prudent in not directly pointing out that human right to water means that water should be for free. Instead, it points out that human right to water makes people think that water should be free (a widespread belief). But is it true. Is it true that the human right to water makes people think that water should be free? It would require an empirical research to survey people’s opinion, not only about the human right to water, but also the term human rights in general. Is it true, that when something is labeled as “human rights”, then it should be free? This would make an interesting research in itself because it will have implications to human rights based access movements. My understanding is of course, that things which are labeled human rights, does not necessarily means that they are ‘free’. The right to education and the right to health are not free, although they are human rights. The right to vote is not free, because someone will have to provide and construct the ballots. Indeed, elections costs a lot.  

The examples of the first consequence is not really clear to me.  The second sentence (Justinian’s decree) does not really reinforce the assertion used on the main idea (human right to water causes the widespread belief that water should be free). But the sentence does provide an understanding that in the past people once regard water as ‘common to all’. This is correct. What is not correct is when they are tied to the main assertion. There is no relation between the human right to water and Justinian’s decree that water is a res communis. The two are different things. To put it in different way: Justinian does not say that running water is common to all, because it is a human right.

Now let’s move on to the second consequence: the right to water makes sacred or mystical qualities attached into it. I am almost certain that this is not the case. The Ganges were there, and was considered sacred, long before the term “Human Rights” were invented.

Anyway, probably it is me the one who misunderstood the Economist’s paragraphs above. Do you have a better suggestion?

 

I contributed a paper about the transparency agenda in water utilities regulation and the role of Freedom of Information Law for the next edition of the Journal of Water Law. The case studies are England and Indonesia. The paper is quite relevant for the situation in Indonesia as the Freedom of Information Law has just been recently enacted and not so many literature is available. This is the content of the forthcoming Journal of Water Law which you might find interesting:

 

CONTENTS

 

Preface

Promoting water (law) for all Addressing the world’s water problems – a focus

on international and national water law and the challenges of an integrated approach

PATRICIA WOUTERS, SARAH HENDRY

 

International Water Law

Reframing the water security dialogue

DAN TARLOCK, PATRICIA WOUTERS

 

Introducing an analytical framework for water security: a platform for the refinement of

international water law BJØRN-OLIVER MAGSIG

 

The principle of good faith in the Argentina-Uruguay pulp mills dispute

TERESA LIGUORI

 

Examining the thresholds of harm for international watercourses in the Canada-US

context: would a mining development in the Flathead River watershed violate the Boundary

Waters Treaty?

MICHAEL AZULAY

 

The concepts of equitable utilization, no significant harm and benefit sharing under

the Nile River Basin Cooperative Framework Agreement: some highlights on theory and

practice

MUSA MOHAMMED ABSENO

International water law in Central Asia: commitments, compliance and beyond

DINARA ZIGANSHINA

 

National Water Law

Protection of foreign investment and the implications for regulation of water services and

resources: challenges for investment arbitration
ANA MARIA DAZA VARGAS

Responding to the ‘water crisis’: the complementary roles of water governance and

the human right to water
HILARY J GRIMES

The transparency agenda in water utilities regulation and the role of freedom of

information: England and Jakarta case studies

MOHAMAD MOVA AL ‘AFGHANI

 

Valuing water in law: how can Indigenous cultural values be reconciled with Australia’s

water law in order to strengthen Indigenous water rights?

TRAN TRAN

An analytical framework for legal regimes applicable to freshwater ecosystems

HUGO TREMBLAY

Bridging the water law, policy, science interface: flood risk management in Scotland

CHRIS SPRAY, TOM BALL, JOSSELIN ROUILLARD


Related Posts:
Transparency in Water Services
Indonesian Water Services Suffering from a Lack of Governance
Supreme Court Decision on Water Monopoly in Batam
Missing water and shadow users
14 Disturbing Facts about Jakarta's Water
Tomorrow, the Freedom of Information Law is in force!
Three ways for your business to be implicated by the new Indonesian freedom of information law
Where to complain for bad water services – a comparison
Jakarta’s water crisis, whose fault?

Human Right  Aspects of Private Sector Participation in the Water Sector
Is water a commodity or human rights?
The human right to water is not a property right
Why busy with the right to water instead of governance
Consultation on the Human Right  Aspects of Private Sector Participation in the Water Sector: more responses from the private sector

 

The HRW 2010 report released earlier this May focused on Indonesia’s defamation law. According to the Human Rights Watch’s press release:

The 91-page report, "Turning Critics into Criminals: The Human Rights Consequences of Criminal Defamation Law in Indonesia," documents recent cases in which criminal libel, slander, and "insult" laws have been used to silence public criticism. Criminal defamation charges have been filed against individuals after they held public demonstrations protesting corruption, wrote letters to the editor complaining about fraud, registered formal complaints with the authorities, and published news reports about sensitive subjects.

In an SMH op-ed published today, the author of the report argue:

Not everyone in Indonesia who airs critical facts or opinions ends up accused of a criminal offence. But the arbitrary enforcement of such laws, and even the mere threat of enforcement, has a damaging chilling effect on civil society, the media, and private citizens' willingness to express critical thoughts or opinions, especially online.

The cover page of the report pictured Prita Mulyasari, the housewife sent to trial under the defamation law for complaining for a bad health service she had received from a hospital. In my earlier op-ed, I emphasize the need for an efficient and effective out of court settlement in health cases, such as that involving Prita’s:

In a market-based solution, the parties stay out of court. If the health service provider does something wrong, they pay the patient and the patient can agree not to sue at a price. If providers don't do anything wrong, they ask the patient to issue a public apology and a sum of money to the extent that they can pay. The cost expended in this mechanism is much lower compared to going to court. This mechanism requires the government to reduce information asymmetry in the market as parties can only negotiate when the evidence is available.

This report sends a very strong message to the international community and create pressures to the government that a reform is urgent. Click on the image below to download the full report:

 

Related posts:
Bringing patients to court may not be efficient
Housewife on trial for defamation

Good news from SSRN:

 

Dear Mohamad Mova al 'Afghani:

Your paper, "Religious Freedom in Indonesia Before and after Constitutional Amendments", was recently listed on SSRN's Top Ten download list for Asian Law eJournal, HRN Religious Studies Research Network, REL Subject Matter eJournals and Religion & Culture eJournal - Forthcoming. As of 05/17/2010, your paper has been downloaded 47 times. You may view the abstract and download statistics at http://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=1587256.

Top Ten Lists are updated on a daily basis. Click on the following link to view the Top Ten list for the journal Asian Law eJournal Top Ten, HRN Religious Studies Research Network Top Ten, REL Subject Matter eJournals Top Ten and Religion & Culture eJournal - Forthcoming Top Ten.

Click on the following link to view all the papers in the journal Asian Law eJournal All Papers, HRN Religious Studies Research Network All Papers, REL Subject Matter eJournals All Papers and Religion & Culture eJournal - Forthcoming All Papers.

To view any of the Top Ten lists, click the TOP button on any network, subnetwork, journal or topic in the Browse list reachable through the following link: http://www.ssrn.com/Browse

Your paper may be listed in the Top Ten for other networks or journals and, if so, you will receive additional notices at that time.

If you have any questions regarding this notification or any other matter, please email AuthorSupport@SSRN.com or call 877-SSRNHelp (877.777.6435 toll free). Outside of the United States, call 00+1+585+4428170.

 


Hm... religion and constitution seemed to be quite a hot topic. I am not sure I’d get that much of downloads for my papers on governance issues.

Related Posts:
MK: The Blasphemy Law is here to stay
The nature of the Indonesian blasphemy law
The controversial blasphemy law verdict
More on Blasphemy Law
Does religion matter in corruption eradication?

 

The company refused to be blamed:

 

“The massive silting that broke the pump in Pulogadung was caused by the declining quality of water. We fixed the pump and parts of the pipeline network,” Yosua said. “This  shortage is not entirely our fault.”
He said it would take more time for water to reach areas located farther from the main pipelines, which had been empty for days.
“And there are people in several neighborhoods in North Jakarta who collect water from hydrants too, and this makes [the distribution of water] even worse,” Yosua added.
Aetra Air Jakarta said it was becoming increasingly difficult to provide millions of Jakartans with potable water.
“The city has become overpopulated, and the levels of pollution have increased exponentially,” Yosua said. “These two factors greatly contribute to water  shortages in the city.”

Consumers are entitled to water services based on the service level as determined by law (if there are components of the service levels which are based on contracts, then they will not apply, as the law automatically derogates them). In Indonesia, water quality level is determined by the decree of the ministry of health  907/MENKES/SK/VII/2002 and Government Regulation 16/2005 (GR 16/2005) Article 6.2. In Jakarta, the continuity of water services is guaranteed by Regional by Law 13/92 and 11/93.

If any of these service levels are violated, based on GR 16/2005, consumer shall have the right to compensation. Article  67.1.a and 68.2.e of GR 16/2005 stipulates (in Bahasa):

(1) Setiap pelanggan air minum berhak:
a. memperoleh pelayanan air minum yang memenuhi syarat kualitas, kuantitas, dan
kontinuitas sesuai dengan standar yang ditetapkan;
b. mendapatkan informasi tentang struktur dan besaran tarif serta tagihan;
c. mengajukan gugatan atas pelayanan yang merugikan dirinya ke pengadilan;
d. mendapatkan ganti rugi yang layak sebagai akibat kelalaian pelayanan; dan
e. memperoleh pelayanan pembuangan air limbah atau penyedotan lumpur tinja.

Hak dan Kewajiban Penyelenggara
Pasal 68
(1) Setiap penyelenggara berhak:
a. memperoleh lahan untuk membangun sarana sesuai dengan peraturan perundangundangan;
b. menerima pembayaran jasa pelayanan sesuai dengan tarif/retribusi jasa pelayanan;
c. menetapkan dan mengenakan denda terhadap keterlambatan pembayaran tagihan;
d. memperoleh kuantitas air baku secara kontinu sesuai dengan izin yang telah
didapat;
e. memutus sambungan langganan kepada para pemakai/pelanggan yang tidak
memenuhi kewajibannya; dan
f. menggugat masyarakat atau organisasi lainnya yang melakukan kegiatan dan
mengakibatkan kerusakan prasarana dan sarana pelayanan.

(2) Setiap penyelenggara berkewajiban untuk:
a. menjamin pelayanan yang memenuhi standar yang ditetapkan;
b. memberikan informasi yang diperlukan kepada semua pihak yang berkepentingan
atas kejadian atau keadaan yang bersifat khusus dan berpotensi akan
menyebabkan perubahan atas kualitas dan kuantitas pelayanan;
c. mengoperasikan sarana dan memberikan pelayanan kepada semua
pemakai/pelanggan yang telah memenuhi syarat, kecuali dalam keadaan memaksa
(force majeure);
d. memberikan informasi mengenai pelaksanaan pelayanan;
e. memberikan ganti rugi yang layak kepada pelanggan atas kerugian yang
dideritanya;
f. mengikuti dan mematuhi upaya penyelesaian secara hukum apabila terjadi
perselisihan; dan
g. berperanserta pada upaya perlindungan dan pelestarian sumber daya air dalam
rangka konservasi lingkungan.
(3) Pemberian ganti rugi sebagaiman dimaksud pada ayat (2) huruf e diupayakan
berdasarkan penyelesaian di luar pengadilan atau melalui pengadilan.
(4) Upaya penyelesaian di luar pengadilan sebagaimana dimaksud pada ayat (3)
dilakukan dengan arbitrase atau alternatif penyelesaian sengketa sesuai dengan
peraturan perundang-undangan.

From the legal point of view, consumer has the right to receive the continuity, quality and quantity of water as prescribed by law. They should be compensated if these rights are interrupted or not fulfilled due to the negligence committed by water undertakers. GR 16/2005 above also prescribes that water undertaker must pay a decent compensation to consumer for the loss they sustained. Although GR 16 is not particularly clear on what it means by ‘loss’ but this is likely to be a term for ‘violation of service levels’. 

Hence, under the law, ‘whose fault’ is not really the question for consumer. GR 16 does not differentiate whether the fault lies on the part of the bulk water supplier (in this case, PT Jasa Tirta) or the treatment and distribution facility (in this case, Palyja or Aetra). What the law require is for the consumer to be compensated, irrespective of whose fault it is.

'Whose fault’ is more a question for the government. The government is the one responsible to provide accountability mechanism in response to the complicated structural arrangement in the water sector. The government should determine where the liability lies and direct the compensation fund from the liable party to consumer.

More in this issue: my interview with Kompas (in Bahasa). 

 

Related Posts:
14 Disturbing Facts about Jakarta's Water
Supreme Court Decision on Water Monopoly in Batam
Water companies duty to satisfy reasonable demands

 

(and get a free advice on something)

Jennifer asked:

Who would be a good person to tweet for advise on Clemency and human rights? I support Australian Schapelle Corby who is mentally ill and her lawyer has appealed to the Indonesian president for clemency. I believe she is innocent and did not receive a fair trial but now her mental health is priority. She was sentenced to 20 years which is harsh by Indonesian standards with no testing of the evidence despite her demands to police and prosecution (these tests may of proved her innocence). She has suffered enough and needs to come home. Thanks, any info would be appreciated

Short answer: perhaps these people can help:

@taufikbasari @arijuliano @anggarasuwahju @TodungLubis @lisrasukur

Long answer: follow them on twitter, discover their network and give a shot. Perhaps it is better to drag people’s attention through your own twitter campaign. A lot of people is using twitter to extend their advocacy to the online world.  An important feature in this effort is in creating incentives for people to tweet their opinion. The incentive could either be external (from outside factors, such as a praise or a thank you note from other people) but they are mostly internal (they just feel good about tweeting). I will try to elaborate this further on my next post.

Related posts:

Twittering the Indonesian Legal Community
ABAnet Twitter Debate on Virtual Law Office
6 Free Collaboration Tools for Lawyers

 

If you are in England, UK:

 

 

Consumer Council for Water : Consumer Council for Water via kwout

 

 

If you are in Victoria, Australia:

 

 

 

If you are in Indonesia:

 

 

 

 

With one caveat however. The Indonesian Ombudsman does not deal particularly with water (or utilities issues). So I have no idea how they can help, especially when the service is privatized. Read my article here.

 

Related Posts:

 

Missing water and shadow users
Human Right Aspects of Private Sector Participation in the Water Sector
14 Disturbing Facts about Jakarta's Water
Water companies duty to satisfy reasonable demands

 

 

Suppose you have just built a new home in a nice city. All your neighbours has water connection, unfortunately, the local water company refuse to extend their pipes into your property. Do you think they are acting against the law?

 

Before we argue on the basis of positive law, I will first raise the issue on what the law ‘should be’ : Do you think the law should obligate water companies to provide connections to consumer? To put it into other terms, can water companies refuse a connection request? If they can, under what basis?

 

The answer to the first question is ‘yes’. The reason is because water is a special kind of good. Many authors classify it into merit good and quasi public good, I do not wish to discuss this in a more detail. To illustrate, consider the differences of buying water from buying clothes. In buying clothes, you have a number of option, you can go either to debenhams, zara or marks & spencer. But for water, it is likely that you are stuck with only one company for the whole city. If that company refuses to trade, then you are doomed. This is what natural monopoly is all about in practice: consumer is stucked with few option or no option at all. Existing customer also find it difficult to exit from the market as no competitor is available in their local. So, unless the water company is regulated, they can do anything they want.

 

How should the law deals with this phenomenon?

 

The English Law obligates water companies to ‘satisfy reasonable demands’. This is what the Water Industry Act 1991 says:

 

Domestic connections

45Duty to make connections with main

(1) Subject to the following provisions of this section and to sections 46 and 47 below, it shall be the duty of a water undertaker (in accordance with section 51 below) to make a connection under this section where the owner or occupier of any premises in the undertaker’s area which—

(a)consist in the whole or any part of a building; or

(b)are premises on which any person is proposing to erect any building or part of a building,

serves a notice on the undertaker requiring it, for the purpose of providing a supply of water for domestic purposes to that building or part of a building, to connect a service pipe to those premises with one of the undertaker’s water mains.

(2)Where a notice has been served for the purposes of this section, the duty imposed by subsection (1) above shall be a duty, at the expense of the person serving the notice, to make the connection required by the notice if—

(a)the main with which the service pipe is required to be connected is neither a trunk main nor a water main which is or is to be used solely for the purpose of supplying water otherwise than for domestic purposes; and

(b)such conditions as the undertaker may have imposed under sections 47 to 50 below have been satisfied;

and, subject to section 51 below, that duty shall arise whether or not the service pipe to which the notice relates has been laid when the notice is served.

(3)A notice for the purposes of this section—

(a)shall be accompanied or supplemented by all such information as the undertaker may reasonably require; and

(b)if the notice has effect so that a requirement is imposed on the undertaker by virtue of section 46(4) below, shall set out the matters that have given rise to the imposition of that requirement;

but, subject to section 51(5) below and without prejudice to the effect (if any) of any other contravention of this subsection, a failure to provide information in pursuance of the obligation to supplement such a notice shall not invalidate that notice.

(4)The duty imposed on a water undertaker by this section shall be owed to the person who served the notice by virtue of which the duty arises.

(5)Where a duty is owed by virtue of subsection (4) above to any person, any breach of that duty which causes that person to sustain loss or damage shall be actionable at the suit of that person; but, in any proceedings brought against a water undertaker in pursuance of this subsection, it shall be a defence for the undertaker to show that it took all reasonable steps and exercised all due diligence to avoid the breach.

(6)Where a water undertaker carries out any works which it is its duty under this section to carry out at another person’s expense, the undertaker shall be entitled to recover from that person an amount equal to the expenses reasonably incurred by the undertaker in carrying out the works.

(7)Nothing in this section or in sections 46 to 51 below shall impose any duty on a water undertaker to connect a service pipe to any premises with a service pipe to any other premises.

(8)In the following provisions of this Chapter a notice served for the purposes of this section is referred to as a connection notice.

 

 

Now let’s see what the Indonesian Law ( Government Regulation 16 Year 2005) suggests:

 

Hak dan Kewajiban Penyelenggara
Pasal 68

 

(2) Setiap penyelenggara berkewajiban untuk:
a. menjamin pelayanan yang memenuhi standar yang ditetapkan;
b. memberikan informasi yang diperlukan kepada semua pihak yang berkepentingan
atas kejadian atau keadaan yang bersifat khusus dan berpotensi akan
menyebabkan perubahan atas kualitas dan kuantitas pelayanan;
c. mengoperasikan sarana dan memberikan pelayanan kepada semua
pemakai/pelanggan yang telah memenuhi syarat, kecuali dalam keadaan memaksa
(force majeure);
d. memberikan informasi mengenai pelaksanaan pelayanan;
e. memberikan ganti rugi yang layak kepada pelanggan atas kerugian yang
dideritanya;
f. mengikuti dan mematuhi upaya penyelesaian secara hukum apabila terjadi
perselisihan; dan
g. berperanserta pada upaya perlindungan dan pelestarian sumber daya air dalam
rangka konservasi lingkungan.
(3) Pemberian ganti rugi sebagaiman dimaksud pada ayat (2) huruf e diupayakan
berdasarkan penyelesaian di luar pengadilan atau melalui pengadilan.
(4) Upaya penyelesaian di luar pengadilan sebagaimana dimaksud pada ayat (3)
dilakukan dengan arbitrase atau

 

Sorry for non English speakers. Article 68(2) of GR 16/2005 regulates the  obligations of a water undertaker in Indonesia. Unfortunately, the obligations they owed is only towards existing customers. I am unable to find any provisions obligating the undertakers to extend their pipes to prospective customers. There is, however, a general obligation for the Regional Government to provide water services to citizens in their locale (See Art. 40.c).

 

Hence, if you complain why your water company refuse to extend their pipes to your newly erected building or homes, the law may not be on your side. Sorry :(

 

Related Posts:

Indonesian Water Services Suffering from a Lack of Governance

Supreme Court Decision on Water Monopoly in Batam 

Missing water and shadow users
Troubled Waters: Confronting the Water Crisis in Australia’s Cities (Free Ebook)
14 Disturbing Facts about Jakarta's Water

I hope our brother blog would have some time to indulge us in this never ending debate about the right to water (IUCN paper here):

The term ‘right to water’ does not only refer to the rights of people but also to the needs of the environment with regard to river basins, lakes, etc. Realistically, a right to water cannot be secured without attention to this broader context. A failure to recognise water as an environmental resource may jeopardise the rights-based approach, which views water primarily as a social resource. (Scanlon et al. 2004: 22)

 

I have no doubt that there is a duty to protect the environment. But arguing that the right to water extends into the environmental right to water is a bit too much, I think – or perhaps not?

I don’t quite understand the logical flow. Is it like this:

• Right to Water –> Secure the trees and lakes, etc –> Water for everyone

If yes. Then how ‘bout this:

• Right to education –> safe the trees –> trees to build schools for everyone

(Which means that everyone on the Easter Island violated the right to education—as well as the right to housing, health and so many other rights). I have no doubt that cutting the trees too much may reduce the long term of availability of water. But cutting trees may also provide immediate housing and livelihood. Sucking out fossil water, the great manmade river project (BBC news story here) for example is definitely not sustainable (and its environmental impacts are not yet known), but they said that it’d be able to quench Libya’s thirst for tens of years.

 

  

 

Qadhafi may actually be providing the short-term needs of the Libyan for water, without any regard to environmental sustainability. Is this not the right to water?

Consider the view of this Equadorian blogger about their water law (H.T. to our neighbor blog). He demands that the law must comprise of 9 points, one of them being the rights of the nature and a deprivatization policy.

 

From the outset of the right to water debate, we can see a differing view. One perceives it to be ultimately anthropocentric, while the other sees it as inherent with the environment. Integrating the latter’s view into the former might be difficult, as it must pass through some anthropocentrical tests. For example, if you support the latter’s view, you will have to convince Qhadafi that drilling out Libya’s fossil water will jeopardize humanity. If the harm caused by the activity is remote, or ‘insubstantial’ compared to the immediate gains, then you might lose your argument. If the harm is unknown, a defeat is certain.

 

There are practical implications too. If the right to water is to comprise the latter view, its enforcement may be on the same level with existing environmental principles, which are considered soft laws. However, the point of having it is to provide a powerful advocacy basis for human rights campaigner. Then, there is a fear that interpreting the right of environment to water into the right to water would dilute this power.

 

Quick blogging. Follow this hashtag #22TwDb

 

From Ted:

 

1. You've got to judge law mainly by its effect on the broader society, not individual disputes.

2. For law to be the platform for freedom, people have to trust it.

3. Law sets boundaries, and on one side of those boundaries are all the things you can't do or must do. But those same boundaries are supposed to define and protect a dry ground of freedom.

4.To rebuild the boundaries of freedom, two changes are essential: (i) simplify the law and (ii) restore the authority to judges and officials to interpret and apply the law.

Philip continued:

We have to simplify the law. We have to migrate from all this complexity towards general principles and goals. The constitution is only 16 pages long. Worked pretty well for 200 years. Law has to be simple enough so that people can internalize it in their daily choices. Here is the hardest and biggest change. We have to restore the authority to judges and officials to interpret and apply the law. interpret and apply the law. (Applause) We have to rehumanize the law. To make law simple so that you feel free, the people in charge have to be free to use their judgment to interpret and apply the law in accord with reasonable social norms. As you're going down, and walking down the sidewalk during the day you have to think, that if there is a dispute, there is somebody in society who sees it as their job to affirmatively protect you if you are acting reasonably. That person doesn't exist today.

You know what, I asked futurist David Brin once, and he told me that the law of the future will only have one or two articles.

With a little reflection thanks to Star Trek, I think the law of the future will only have one article.

Separately, Gayus Lumbuun from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) said that the House leaders had to explain what really happened on the documents which should have been completely sent to the KPK.

Deputy House speaker Priyo Budi Santoso from the Golkar Party said he too was surprised by the fact that the KPK had yet to receive all the necessary documents and that the House leaders would investigate into the issue.

Hat Tip to Mulia.

Oxfam/Routledge published a special issue on water in Gender and Development Journal. The articles can be downloaded for free.

Gender and community mobilisation for urban water infrastructure investment in southern Nigeria
Charisma Acey

'Good' water governance and gender equity: a troubled relationship
Frances Cleaver and Kristin Harmada

Sustainable development, water resources management and women's empowerment: the Wanaraniya Water Project in Sri Lanka
Seela Aladuwaka and Janet Momsen

Unequal burden: water privatisation and women's human rights in Tanzania
Rebecca Brown

After the summit: women's access to water and policymaking in Brazil
Marianna Leite

Oxfam experience of providing screened toilet, bathing and menstruation units in its earthquake response in Pakistan
Jamila Nawaz, Shamma Lal, Saira Raza and Sarah House

Can water professionals meet gender goals? A case study of the Department of Irrigation in Nepal
Pranita B. Udas and Margreet Z. Zwarteveen

Menstrual hygiene in South Asia: a neglected issue for WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) programmes
Thérèse Mahon and Maria Fernandes

I cannot drink water on an empty stomach: a gender perspective on living with drought
Frank S. Arku and Cynthia Arku

Video: Kruha

The Jakarta Globe runs a special edition about Jakarta's Water last year and wrap them nicely in a downloadable PDF. I will sum up the statistics quoted by the globe in this Water special edition:


1. 20% of Jakartans have no access to toilet
2. 35 million people expected to be living and using water in Greater Jakarta by 2020
3. 60% less spending on infrastructure as a proportion of GDP than In Suharto's era
4. 140 elephants the weight of raw sewage goes into Jakarta's ground or waterways daily
5. 400,000 liters of waste dumped In the capital's rivers or canals everyday
6. 25cm some parts of Jakarta sink every year
7. $5.8 billion is Indonesia's annual economic and health cost for poor sanitation
8. 40% of homes in Jakarta have no piped water
9. 50% of treated water leaks out before getting to users
10. 20,000 squatters living on the banks of Pluit reservoir
11. 56,000 households flush their sewage straight into the ground
12. $600 low-end cost to connect a home to piped sewage system
13. 20% of the city’s daily waste ends up in local rivers, reducing their flow rate up to 50%
14. 150cm depth the city has sunk in some parts over the last decade

Some of the most prominent figures of the Indonesian legal community is sharing their thoughts in twitter. Sometimes, when they are happy, they provide advices too, with 140 characters, that is.

(Hey, in this world, nothing is free, except for advices. And for lawyers, oftentimes, that is also not free. So, 140 characters is a good thing to start.)

So, who’s on Twitter? Here’s a list of those benevolent lawyers.

1. Taufik Basari often tweets about human rights law.

2. Pramudya tweets about Law and Economics.

3. Ari Juliano, who is the Indonesian Coordinator for the Creative Commons Project, often tweets about IPR

4. Faiz, our future Constitutional Court Chief Justice, tweets about, well, Constitution.

5. Arsil has his own Jurisprudence class in Twitter.

6. Anggara, our savvy Press Lawyer (he did several Judicial Reviews related to press law by the way) tweets here.

7. If you are a law student, keep an eye on Legal101 (from students, for students :)

8. Oh, I tweet too. You can find me here. I tried to organize my useful tweets, with this hashtag #lawtalk . Pram is also joining me in this hashtag. 

These people are quite friendly. So I think they will be happy to answer your twitter queries.

Quick Blogging. For water enthusiasts, there’s a free ebook from ANU Press titled Troubled Waters: Confronting the Water Crisis in Australia’s Cities. Click on the snippet below to download.

 

Here’s the abstract:

Must we build more dams and desalination plants, or should we be managing the demand for urban water more prudently? This book explores the demand for urban water and how it has changed in response to shifting social mores over the past century. It explains how demand for centralised provision of water might be reshaped to enable the cities to better cope with expected changes in supply as our climate changes. And it discusses the implications of property rights in water for proposals to privatise water services.

 

3. Tungle
You are a very busy person with lots of schedules, but yet, your firm can’t afford to pay a secretary? It’s OK, not a problem. Tungle will help to sort out your scheduling problem.

5. Offisync
The old school of doing review is by turning the track changes on and then sending it once you made the review. Well, there’s a more effective way of doing it.

Offisync, well, sync, your office files with Google Docs and allow instant, online collaboration with coworkers. However, there is a caveat. You may not be able to save the doc files in its original MS Word Format, unless you have a premium account with google apps. So, everytime you save docs in offisync, it save it in google doc format. If you have plenty of tables and footnotes, you might want to be a bit careful using the service. I hope they will sort out this problem soon. I will update you when they do.



6. Finally, Google Apps