09 July 2011

Land Dispute, Case No. 18/Civil/2009/TDD

On 10 May 2011 the Dili District Court conducted a hearing in Civil Case No. 18/Civil/2009/TDD relating to a land dispute between the plaintiff AMS and the respondent AS.

The land in dispute is located in Bebora - Dili and is 300 meters squared. The plaintiff or his representative claimed that the aforementioned piece of land belongs to them, and the land was obtained through an auction which was carried out by the Military Court of Surabaya/Indonesia on behalf of Captain AZ in 1996.

Prior to the auction, the land was seized by the Indonesian government because evidence indicated that AZ was involved in a criminal case.

The respondent claimed to be the owner of the land which was obtained from CHH (a Timorese person of Chinese descent) in 1981. In 1982 the front section of the land was leased to Pertamina for 25 years.

The witness HH testified that the auction was a scam because he was not informed about the auction by any party including the court during the Indonesian occupation. The land in dispute was registered in the name of the witness but because of the political conflict in 1999, he gave power of attorney to his adopted son AS.

The trial was presided over by a panel of judges comprising Rosa Brandão, SH, João Ribeiro, SH and Alvaro Maria Freitas, SH. The plaintiff was represented by Arlindo Sanches, SH, and the respondent was represented by Pedro Apariçio, SH. Both of the legal representatives were private lawyers.

The court adjourned the trial until 1 June 2011 at 2.30pm to hear testimony from other witnesses.

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