Limits of Contractual Freedom under FIDIC and Indonesian Legal Sovereignty: Harmonizing Civil and Common Law

Mardiaman; Henry Maurice Situmorang; Rudi P. Sitorus; Larap Kemayan Estu

doi:10.31941/pj.v25i2.8306

Authors

Mardiaman Universitas Tama Jagakarsa
Henry Maurice Situmorang Universitas Pekalongan, Indonesia
Rudi P. Sitorus Universitas Pekalongan, Indonesia
Larap Kemayan Estu Universitas Pekalongan, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31941/pj.v25i2.8306

Keywords:

Civil Law, Common Law, FIDIC, Freedom of Contract, Legal Sovereignty

Abstract

Infrastructure projects in Indonesia that are financed by multilateral lenders or involve foreign contractors may use FIDIC conditions of contract, which rely largely on common law drafting techniques, whereas Indonesian contract law is codified and supplemented by mandatory sector-specific rules on construction services. Previous Indonesian studies compare FIDIC with national standard contracts but do not specify where party autonomy ends. This normative legal study examines how civil law and common law principles interact in FIDIC-based construction contracts, where freedom of contract ends when FIDIC clauses meet mandatory Indonesian norms, and which harmonization model preserves legal certainty and Indonesian legal sovereignty. It applies statutory, conceptual, comparative, and case approaches to the Civil Code, Law No. 2 of 2017 on Construction Services and its implementing regulation, the language and arbitration laws, Supreme Court Circular Letter No. 3 of 2023, the Nine AM Ltd. decisions, and the 2017 FIDIC Red Book. The analysis distinguishes three types of collision: conflicts with mandatory norms, differences in contract interpretation, and conflicts of applicable law or forum. Construction-specific norms, namely the bilingual contract requirement, statutory liability for building failure, and the rule that construction contracts are subject to Indonesian law, restrict party autonomy more than the general provisions of the Civil Code. The study proposes a layered harmonization model that places these norms above the Particular and General Conditions, treats dispute boards, arbitration, and public-policy review as safeguards, and derives drafting and regulatory recommendations.

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