Jakarta – A court in the Indonesian capital rejected a government multi-million-dollar pollution lawsuit against US mining giant Newmont and ruled the case should be settled by arbitration.
The 1.24 trillion rupiah (124 million dollars) suit filed by Environment Minister Rachmat Witular in April should be "solved through an arbitration court," said Chief Judge Sudarto of the South Jakarta district court.
Sudarto said the ruling was based on a clause in Indonesia's contract with Newmont which stipulates that disputes must be solved in an arbitration court. The judge also ruled that Witular had no legal authority to represent the government in the case.
Indonesian police last year launched an investigation following allegations that Newmont had pumped toxic waste into the air and sea around its mine in North Sulawesi province, causing neurological disorders and severe skin conditions.
Witular filed the suit eight months after complaints emerged from residents near its mine near Buyat Bay that toxins dumped by a Newmont operation had caused the medical complaints.
Rubi Purnomo, a Newmont spokesman, welcomed the ruling. "We're pleased that the court respects our contract," Purnomo said.
Government lawyer Iskandar Sonhaji said he would report the court's decision to Witular and a decision whether to appeal would be made within two weeks.
Newmont Minahasa Raya, the Denver-based company's Indonesian subsidiary, and its president Richard Ness are being separately tried on criminal charges of polluting Buyat Bay near the company's now closed gold mine there.
Prosecutors accuse Newmont Minahasa Raya of illegally and intentionally causing pollution and allege Ness did nothing to stop it. He could face up to 10 years in jail if convicted.
Newmont has consistently denied the charges, saying it disposed of toxins safely and that levels of mercury and arsenic around the mine were well within acceptable levels. The company has also maintained that the indictment is riddled with legal deficiencies.
A World Health Organisation-backed report found no evidence of pollution but Indonesian government tests showed high levels of toxins.