If the chairperson of the panel finds that the panellist does not comply with the requirements of Annex 22-B (Code of Conduct for Panellists and Mediators), the new panellist shall be selected in accordance with Article 22.6 (Establishment of a Panel) of Chapter 22 (Dispute Settlement).
If the Parties fail to agree on the need to replace the chairperson, either Party may request that this matter be referred to one of the remaining members of the pool of individuals from the sub-list of chairpersons established under Article 22.7 (Lists of Panellists) of Chapter 22 (Dispute Settlement). His or her name shall be selected by lot by the co-chair of the Trade Committee from the requesting Party, or the chair’s delegate. The decision by the selected person on the need to replace the chairperson shall be final.
If this person finds that the chairperson does not comply with the requirements of Annex 22-B (Code of Conduct for Panellists and Mediators the new chairperson shall be selected in accordance with Article 22.6 (Establishment of a Panel) of Chapter 22 (Dispute Settlement).
Hearings
Based upon the timetable determined pursuant to Rule 9 of this Annex, after consulting with the Parties and the other panellists, the chairperson of the panel shall notify the Parties the date, time and venue of the hearing. This information shall be made publicly available by the Party in which the hearing takes place, unless the hearing is closed to the public.
Unless the Parties agree otherwise, the hearing shall be held in Brussels if the complaining Party is Indonesia and in Indonesia if the complaining Party is the European Union. The Party complained against shall bear the expenses derived from the logistical administration of the hearing.
Notwithstanding Rule 23, the panel may decide, on request of a Party, to hold a virtual or hybrid hearing and make appropriate arrangements, taking into account the rights of due process and the need to ensure transparency in accordance with Article 22.34 (Transparency) of Chapter 22 (Dispute Settlement).
The panel may convene additional hearings if the Parties so agree.
All panellists shall be present during the entirety of the hearing.
Unless the Parties agree otherwise, the following persons may attend the hearing, irrespective of whether the hearing is open to the public or not:
representatives of a Party;
advisers;
assistants and administrative staff;
interpreters, translators and court reporters of the panel; and
experts, as decided by the panel pursuant to paragraph 2 of Article 22.22 (Receipt of Information) of Chapter 22 (Dispute Settlement).
No later than five days before the date of a hearing, each Party shall deliver to the panel and to the other Party a list of the names of persons who will make oral arguments or presentations at the hearing on behalf of that Party and of other representatives and advisers who will be attending the hearing.
The panel shall conduct the hearing in the following manner, ensuring that the complaining Party and the Party complained against are afforded equal time in both argument and rebuttal argument:
Argument
argument of the complaining Party;
argument of the Party complained against.
Rebuttal Argument
reply of the complaining Party;
counter-reply of the Party complained against.
The panel may direct questions to either Party at any time during the hearing.
The panel shall arrange for either a transcript or a video and audio recording of the hearing to be prepared and delivered to the Parties as soon as possible after the hearing. The Parties may comment on the transcript or on the video and audio recording and the panel may consider those comments and deliver any revised version of the transcript to the Parties as soon as possible. The cost of a full transcript or a video and audio recording shall be jointly shared between the Parties.
Each Party may deliver a supplementary written submission concerning any matter that arose during the hearing within ten days after the date of the hearing.
Questions in Writing
The panel may at any time during the proceedings submit questions in writing to one or both Parties. Any questions submitted to one Party shall be copied to the other Party.
Each Party shall provide the other Party with a copy of its responses to the questions submitted by the panel. The other Party shall have an opportunity to provide comments in writing on the Party’s responses within six days after the delivery of such copy.
Confidentiality
Each Party and the panel shall treat as confidential information that qualifies as confidential pursuant to Rule 36. When a Party submits to the panel a written submission which contains confidential information, it shall also provide, within 15 days, a submission without the confidential information and which can be disclosed to the public.
36 Confidential information consists of:
confidential business information;
information that is protected against being made available to the public under this Agreement;
information that is protected against being made available to the public, in the case of information of the complaining Party, under the law of the complaining Party, and in the case of information from the Party complained against, under the law of the Party complained against; or
information the disclosure of which would impede law enforcement.
If the Parties disagree on whether information qualifies as confidential, the panel shall decide, on request of a Party, after consultation with the Parties.
Nothing in this Annex shall preclude a Party from disclosing statements of its own positions to the public to the extent that, when making reference to information submitted by the other Party, it does not disclose any information designated by the other Party as confidential.
The panel shall meet in closed session when the submission and arguments of a Party contain confidential information. The Parties shall maintain the confidentiality of the panel hearings when the hearings are held in closed session.
Ex Parte Contacts
The panel shall not meet or communicate with a Party in the absence of the other Party.
A panellist shall not discuss any aspect of the subject matter of the proceedings with one Party or both Parties in the absence of the other panellists.
A Party shall not have any contact with a panellist. Any contact between a Party and a person who is under consideration for selection as a panellist shall be limited to issues relating to the selection process and appointment.
Amicus Curiae Submissions
The panel may receive unsolicited written submissions from natural persons of a Party or legal persons established in the territory of a Party who are independent from the governments of the Parties, provided that they:
are received by the panel by a date determined by the panel and which shall not be later than the date set for the first written submission of the Party complained against ;
are concise and in no case longer than fifteen pages, including any annexes, typed at double space;
are directly relevant to a factual or a legal issue under consideration by the panel and the natural or legal persons concerned explain how the submission would assist the Panel in determining such factual or legal issue by bringing a perspective, particular knowledge, or insight that is different from that of the Parties;
contain a description of the person making the submission, including for a natural person his or her nationality and for a legal person its place of establishment, the nature of its activities, its legal status, its general objectives and its source of financing;
specify the nature of the interest that the person has in the panel proceedings; and
(4) are drafted in the languages chosen by the Parties in accordance with Rules 46 and 47 of this Annex.
The Parties may agree to modify the conditions in points (a) to (f) within five days of the date of the establishment of the panel.
The submissions shall be delivered to the Parties for their comments. The Parties may submit comments to the panel within ten days of the delivery.
The panel shall list in its report all the submissions it has received pursuant to Rule 42 of this Annex. The panel shall not be obliged to address in its report the arguments made in such submissions, however, if it does, it shall also take into account any comments made by the Parties pursuant to Rule 43 of this Annex.
Urgent Cases
In cases of urgency referred to in Article 22.11 (Decision on Urgency) of Chapter 22 (Dispute Settlement), the panel, after consulting the Parties, shall adjust the time periods referred to in this Annex as appropriate. The panel shall notify the Parties of such adjustments.
Translation and interpretation
During the consultations referred to in Article 22.4 (Consultations) of Chapter 22 (Dispute Settlement), and no later than the meeting referred to in Rule 9 of this Annex, the Parties shall endeavour to agree on a working language for the proceedings before the panel. If the Parties are unable to agree on a working language, the language in which the Agreement was negotiated shall be the working language for the panel procedure.
If a Party submits a document in a language that is not the working language, it shall at the same time submit a translation in a working language at its own cost.
Panel reports and decisions shall be issued in the working language.
Any Party may provide comments on the accuracy of the translation of any document into the working language in accordance with Rule 47.
Other Procedures
The time periods laid down in this Annex shall be adjusted in line with the special time periods provided for the adoption of a report or decision by the panel in the proceedings under Article 22.15 (Reasonable Period of Time), Article 22.16 (Compliance Review), Article 22.17 (Temporary Remedies), Article 22.18 (Review of Any Measure Taken to Comply after the Adoption of Temporary Remedies) and Article 22.19 (Replacement of Panellists) of Chapter 22 (Dispute Settlement).
ANNEX 22-B
CODE OF CONDUCT FOR PANELLISTS AND MEDIATORS
Governing Principles
In order to preserve the integrity and impartiality of the dispute settlement mechanism, each candidate and panellist shall:
get acquainted with this Annex;
be independent and impartial;
avoid direct or indirect conflicts of interest;
avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety or bias;
observe high standards of conduct; and
not be influenced by self-interest, outside pressure, political considerations, public opinion, and loyalty to a Party or fear of criticism.
A panellist shall not, directly or indirectly, incur any obligation or accept any benefit that would in any way interfere, or appear to interfere, with the proper performance of his or her duties.
A panellist shall not use his or her position on the panel to advance any personal or private interests. A panellist shall avoid actions that may create the impression that others are in a special position to influence him or her.
A panellist shall not allow past or existing financial, business, professional, personal, or social relationships or responsibilities to influence his or her conduct or judgement.
A panellist shall avoid entering into any relationship or acquiring any financial interest that is likely to affect his or her impartiality or that might reasonably create an appearance of impropriety or bias.
Disclosure Obligations
Prior to the acceptance of his or her appointment as a panellist pursuant to Article 22.6 (Establishment of a Panel) of Chapter 22 (Dispute Settlement), a candidate requested to serve as a panellist shall disclose in writing to the Parties any interest, relationship or matter that is likely to affect his or her independence or impartiality or that might reasonably create an appearance of impropriety or bias in the proceedings. To this end, a candidate shall make all reasonable efforts to become aware of any such interests, relationships and matters, including financial, professional, employment or family interests.
The disclosure obligation under paragraph 6 is a continuing duty which requires a panellist to disclose any such interests, relationships or matters that may arise during any stage of the proceedings.
A candidate or a panellist shall communicate in writing to the Trade Committee [for consideration by the Parties any matters concerning actual or potential violations of this Annex at the earliest time he or she becomes aware of them.
Duties of Panellists
Upon acceptance of his or her appointment, a panellist shall be available to perform and shall perform his or her duties thoroughly and expeditiously throughout the proceedings, and with fairness and diligence.
A panellist shall consider only the issues that are raised in the proceedings and that are necessary for a decision and shall not delegate this duty to any other person, except as provided in Rule 9 of Annex 22-B (Rules of Procedures).
A panellist shall take all appropriate steps to ensure that his or her assistants and administrative staff are aware of, and comply with, the obligations of panellists under Parts I, II, III, IV and V of this Annex.
Obligations of Former Panellists
Each former panellist shall avoid actions that may create the appearance that he or she was biased in carrying out the duties or that he or she derived advantage from the decision of the panel.
Each former panellist shall comply with the obligations in Part V of this Annex.
Confidentiality
A panellist shall not, at any time, disclose any confidential or non-public information concerning the proceedings or acquired during the proceedings for which he or she has been appointed. A panellist shall not, in any case, disclose or use such information to gain personal advantage or advantage for others, or to adversely affect the interest of others.
A panellist shall not disclose a decision of the panel or parts thereof prior to its publication in accordance with Chapter 22 (Dispute Settlement).
A panellist shall not, at any time, disclose the deliberations of the panel, or any panellist’s view, nor make any statements on the proceedings for which he or she has been appointed or on the issues in dispute in the proceedings except to the extent required by law.
Expenses
Each panellist shall keep a record and render a final account of the time devoted to the proceedings and of his or her expenses, as well as the time and expenses of his or her assistants and administrative staff.
Mediators
This Annex applies to mediators mutatis mutandis.
Disclaimer: In view of the European Commission's transparency policy, the Commission is publishing the texts of its Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with Indonesia following the Ministerial announcement on 23 September 2025. These texts are published for information purposes only and may undergo further modifications including as a result of the process of legal revision. These texts are without prejudice to the final outcome of the Agreement between the EU and Indonesia. The texts will be final upon signature. The Agreement will become binding on the Parties under international law only after completion by each Party of its internal legal procedures necessary for the entry into force of the Agreement.
EXCEPTIONS
Article ARTICLE 23.1
For the purposes of Chapter 2 (National Treatment and Market Access for Goods), Chapter 4 (Customs and Trade Facilitation), Section B (Investment Liberalisation) of Chapter 8 [Trade in Services and Investment], Chapter 10 (Digital Trade), Section C of Chapter 13 (State Owned Enterprises)] and Chapter 14 (Energy and Raw Materials) , Article XX of the GATT 1994, including its Notes and Supplementary Provisions, is incorporated into and made part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis.
Subject to the requirement that such measures are not applied in a manner which would constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination between countries where like conditions prevail, or a disguised restriction on investment liberalization or trade in services, nothing in Sections [B] (Investment Liberalisation), [C] (Cross-Border Supply of Services]),
[D] (Temporary Presence of Natural Persons for Business Purposes), and [E](Regulatory Framework) of Chapter 8 (Trade in Services and Investment), Chapter 10 (Digital Trade), Section C of Chapter 13 (State-Owned Enterprises)] and Chapter 14 (Energy and Raw Materials)] shall be construed to prevent the adoption or enforcement by either Party of measures:
necessary to protect public security1 or public morals or to maintain public order2;
necessary to protect human, animal or plant life or health; or
necessary to secure compliance with laws or regulations which are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Agreement including those relating to:
the prevention of deceptive and fraudulent practices or to deal with the effects of a default on contracts;
the protection of the privacy of individuals in relation to the processing and dissemination of personal data and the protection of confidentiality of individual records and accounts; or
safety.
For greater certainty, the Parties understand that:
the measures referred to in point (b) of Article XX of GATT 1994 and in point (b) of paragraph 2 of this Article include environmental measures, which are necessary to protect human, animal or plant life or health; and
point (g) of Article XX of GATT 1994 applies to measures relating to the conservation of living and non-living exhaustible natural resources.
For greater certainty, the Parties understand that this Article can only be invoked with respect to measures that are otherwise inconsistent with the provisions of the Chapters or Sections referred to in paragraphs (1) to (3).
1 For greater certainty, public security may cover measures taken so as to protect critical public infrastructure (whether publicly or privately owned) including communications, power and water infrastructure from deliberate attempts intended to disable or degrade such infrastructure.
2 The public security and public order exceptions may be invoked only where a genuine and sufficiently serious threat is posed to one of the fundamental interests of society.
Article ARTICLE 23.2
Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed:
to require a Party to furnish or allow access to any information the disclosure of which it considers contrary to its essential security interests; or
to prevent a Party from taking an action which it considers necessary for the protection of its essential security interests:
connected to the production of or traffic in arms, ammunition and implements of war and to such traffic and transactions in other goods and materials, services and technology, and to economic activities, carried out directly or indirectly for the purpose of supplying a military establishment;
relating to fissionable and fusionable materials or the materials from which they are derived;
taken in time of war or other emergency in international relations; or
to prevent a Party from taking any action in pursuance of its obligations under the United Nations Charter for the purpose of maintaining international peace and security.
Article ARTICLE 23.3
For the purposes of this Article:
tax convention means a convention for the avoidance of double taxation or any other international agreement or arrangement relating wholly or mainly to taxation to which the European Union or its Member States or Indonesia is party.
residence means residence for tax purposes.
taxes and taxation measures do not include customs duties.
Each Party retain its right to regulate on taxation measures, without prejudice to its rights and obligations under this Agreement.
Nothing in this Agreement shall affect the rights and obligations of either Indonesia, or the European Union or any of its Member States, under any tax convention. In the event of any inconsistency between this Agreement and any such tax convention, that convention shall prevail to the extent of the inconsistency.
[To the extent MFN articles are included in the respective Chapters:] Articles […] (Most-favoured nation treatment [Investment Chapter – Cross-Border Supply of Services Chapter – Trade in Goods Chapter]) shall not apply to an advantage accorded by a Party pursuant to a tax convention. For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in this Agreement shall oblige a Party to extend to the other Party the benefit of any treatment, preference or privilege arising from any existing or future tax convention by which the Party is bound.
Subject to the requirement that taxation measures are not applied in a manner which would constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination between countries where like conditions prevail, or a disguised restriction on trade and investment, nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to prevent a Party from adopting, maintaining or enforcing any measure which:
aims at ensuring the equitable or effective3 imposition or collection of direct taxes;
3 Measures that are aimed at ensuring the equitable or effective imposition or collection of taxes include measures taken by a Party under its taxation system which:
apply to non-resident investors and service suppliers in recognition of the fact that the tax obligation of non-residents is determined with respect to taxable items sourced or located in the Party’s territory; or
apply to non-residents in order to ensure the imposition or collection of taxes in the Party's territory; or
aims at preventing the avoidance or evasion of taxes pursuant to the provision of any tax convention or domestic fiscal legislation; or
distinguishes between taxpayers, who are not in the same situation, in particular with regard to their place of residence or with regard to the place where their capital is invested.
Article ARTICLE 23.4
Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to require a Party to make available confidential information, the disclosure of which would impede law enforcement, or otherwise be contrary to the public interest, or which would prejudice the legitimate commercial interests of particular enterprises, public or private except where a panel requires such confidential information in dispute settlement proceedings under Chapter 22 (Dispute Settlement). In such cases, the panel shall ensure that confidentiality is fully protected.
When a Party submits information to the Trade Committee or to specialised committees which is considered as confidential under its laws and regulations, the other Party shall treat that information as confidential, unless the submitting Party agrees otherwise.
apply to non-residents or residents in order to prevent the avoidance or evasion of taxes, including compliance measures; or
apply to consumers of services supplied in or from the territory of the other Party in order to ensure the imposition or collection of taxes on such consumers derived from sources in the Party's territory; or
distinguish investors and service suppliers subject to tax on worldwide taxable items from other investors and service suppliers, in recognition of the difference in the nature of the tax base between them; or
determine, allocate or apportion income, profit, gain, loss, deduction or credit of resident persons or branches, or between related persons or branches of the same person, in order to safeguard the Party's tax base.
Tax terms or concepts in this paragraph and this footnote are determined according to tax definitions and concepts, or equivalent or similar definitions and concepts, under the domestic law of the Party taking the measure.
Article ARTICLE 23.5
If a right or obligation in this Agreement duplicates one in the WTO Agreement, any measure taken in conformity with a waiver adopted pursuant to Article IX of the WTO Agreement is deemed to be in conformity with the duplicated provision in this Agreement.