Lani Diana Wijaya, Jakarta – The first civil lawsuit hearing on the city's air pollution is postponed. The chief judge Saifudin Zuhri said that both plaintiff and defendant did not fulfill the administrative requirement yet.

"We [the court] agree to postpone [the trial] because of lacking the required documents," said Saifudin in the courtroom of Central Jakarta District Court, Thursday, August 1.

Saifudin explained one of the plaintiffs named Sandyawan did not possess the original letter of authorization. Besides, Matthew Michele as the plaintiff's legal team member was not listed in the document.

The defendant side did not submit the letter of authorization as well. A lawyer from Jakarta Legal Aid (LBH) Nelson Nikodemus Simamora said that Attorney's General Muhammad Prasetyo on behalf of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has not inked the letter yet. The same issue for Health Minister Nina Moeloek.

"Several letters of authorization have not been signed yet. Both plaintiff and defendant must fulfill the lack," he added.

Therefore, the next trial is scheduled to take place on Thursday, August 22, at 10:00 local time. Saifudin also expected all representatives attend the pretrial. In today's hearing, Banten Governor Wahidin Halim failed to come.

Previous reports suggested that a total of 31 activists filed a civil lawsuit on Thursday, July 4 over air pollution in the capital city. They demanded rights as citizens to get clean air. The suit was addressed to the President, Environment and Forestry Minister, Health Minister, Home Affairs Minister, Jakarta Governor, West Java Governor, and Banten Governor.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1231032/first-civil-lawsuit-hearing-on-jakarta-air-pollution-postponed