ANSS Counsellors at Law Secures Victory Concerning Early Termination of a Contract
Jakarta, 22 October 2025 – Our Dispute Resolution team is pleased to announce its recent victory in the first stage district court defending an Indonesian financial tech company in a civil lawsuit concerning early termination of subscription agreement on enterprise resource planning (ERP) software.
The plaintiff argues that early termination of the contract is not allowed and subject to the approval of a third party (the software owner) – which is not party to the contract between the parties. In this case, the approval was not granted by the third party and the plaintiff demanded for the defendant to pay the remaining balance of the subscription fees. This case discusses about the interpretation of clauses and structure of a contract.
The court later considers that implementation of a contract cannot depend on a third party – even if such third party is the owner of the software. The court dismiss the plaintiff’s claim and declare it as inadmissible. The plaintiff has the right to file an appeal against this first instance court decision.
Technology holds significant positions to gather all relevant information for the management to make accurate decisions or to assess daily operation of the company. We have seen that the owner of software (or their representatives) oftens hold authoritative positions and sometimes push its customer to retain their subscription or do not offer any room for negotiations. Contract should have been fair and reasonable for both parties.
Partner Adam S. Nasution, with Associates Yohanes Daniel Rynardus and Josua Ryantha handled this matter.
Key takeaways for business:
- Avoid dispute at early stage: The result of your dispute might reflect at the early stage during contract preparation - get proper help if needed.
- Preparation is key: Pulling all relevant documents and information takes time and, most of the time, requires cross department collaboration - but its worth the effort.
- Litigation generates reputational and financial risks: Out of court settlement is always recommended – if possible. Each party should make proper legal and commercial assessment of their action.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss further about this topic, please do not hesitate to contact our Dispute Resolution Team at ANSS Counsellors at Law.
Partner, Adam S. Nasution - adam@ansslaw.com
Senior Associate, Yohanes Daniel Rynardus – daniel@ansslaw.com
Associate, Josua Ryantha – josua@ansslaw.com
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